Jackett
- Free allowance
- The software is free and the API key is generated locally by the instance.
- Verdict
- self-hosted, last resortverdict qualifies: usable as stated; the read path was probed. Self-hosted options are listed last, because this site is for users who have no hardware.
- Cost
- free tier
- Identity
- anonymousno card, no phone
- Binding limit
- request-rateno global limit: each indexer carries its own, and the instance absorbs repeats with a per-indexer result cache (default 1,000 rows)
- Evidence
- documented2 sources; a first-party page was read and the sentence quoted
- Freshness
- stale on 2026-11-23checked 2026-10-23 (live); stale on 2026-11-23
| Free tier | The software is free and the API key is generated locally by the instance. The cost is the machine it runs on, not a subscription. unit unlimited; metered on none |
|---|---|
| Price | USD 0 |
| Limits |
The binding constraint is the machine: an instance needs a process that stays up, which for a user means a free compute service rather than local hardware. Trackers marked 'invite needed' in the indexer list 'have no active maintainer and may be broken'. |
| Binding | request-rate The upstream trackers' own rate limits pass straight through, and the instance's cache is the only thing that reduces how often they are hit. |
| Identity | anonymous Jackett itself needs no account. Individual indexers may need one, and the README marks some as invite-only with no active maintainer. |
| Egress | no byte allowance: Torznab XML only; the transfer is client-to-swarm free allowance: none published |
| Per-object cap | not applicable: Torznab results |
| Retention | the instance caches results per indexer (default 1,000 rows) and can bypass the cache with &cache=false |
| Interface | rest Torznab and TorrentPotato over HTTP at the instance's own address: /api/v2.0/indexers/all/results/torznab/api?apikey=...&t=search&q=... |
| Tooling | A container or a .NET runtime on a free compute instance; Sonarr, Radarr and Prowlarr speak the same Torznab. FlareSolverr is integrated for Cloudflare-walled indexers. |
| Reliability | Cloudflare-walled indexers fail without FlareSolverr, and the README warns that invite-only entries may be broken; a client that only runs Jackett gets partial coverage and does not know which indexer failed unless it reads the dashboard. |
| Notes | 'public torrent-search API behind Jackett' is really a private Torznab fan-out: Jackett adds no index of its own, it translates scrapers. The nearest hosted equivalent is TorrentClaw's Torznab endpoint, which needs a key and is PRO-gated. |
| Evidence note | documented The README was read on 2026-10-23, including the Torznab query syntax, the cache setting and the FlareSolverr note. A running instance on free compute would raise it to measured. |
| Parsed numbers |
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Evidence 2
| date | source | what it proved |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-10-23 | github.com/Jackett/Jackett | Torznab and TorrentPotato endpoints, the /api/v2.0/indexers/all/results/torznab/api path with an apikey, 'Cache max results per indexer: Default is 1000', and the FlareSolverr integration |
| 2026-10-23 | github.com/Jackett/Jackett | 'Trackers marked with (invite needed) have no active maintainer and may be broken or missing features' |
More fields 4
| protocol | torznab |
|---|---|
| indexers | hundreds listed in the README; the exact count was not established |
| requires host | yes |
| flaresolverr | yes |