iMule

The All-platform ed2k/I2P client

This is the README file for iMule version 1.4.5.
Last update on 31 May 2009.
Copyright c public domain.
 i

Table of Contents

1 About . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

2 Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

3 Nomad or not nomad. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

4 I2P router . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

5 First time configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

5.1 Configuration for the internal router . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
5.2 Configuration for the external router . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

6 Bootstrapping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

7 Other configuration options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

8 Basic iMule Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

8.1 Transfer icons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

9 License . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

10 Developper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

11 FAQ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
11.1 Id like to search for specific file types, what filter stands for
which files? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
11.2 What are all those fancy colors in the download progress bar
about? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
11.3 Where can I get more information? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

12 Want to help? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

13 IRC, Links and Contact . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

13.1 Legal Notice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Chapter 1: About 1

1 About
iMule is a multiplatform ed2k/I2P client, fork of the aMule client, using the wxWidgets
class library. It was originally forked from the xMule project, which in turn was forked from
the lMule project. This is turn was the first fork of eMule to run natively on Linux and
other Unix-like systems.
Chapter 2: Installation 2

2 Installation
Decompress the archive in some directory.
Chapter 3: Nomad or not nomad 3

3 Nomad or not nomad

iMule uses configuration files for keeping many informations. These files can be kept either
in the users home folder or in iMules installation folder. The latter case is called "nomad",
because you can then install iMule on a removable disk and launch it from any computer
with the same configuration. iMule tests the existence of a file called "thisIsImuleConfigDir"
in its install directory in order to decide which configuration directory it should use. If the
file does not exist, then a subdirectory of the users home directory will be used.
By default, iMule is nomad. You can change this either by removing the file "thisIsImule-
ConfigDir" before running iMule, or by launching iMule, unchecking the "nomad" option
in the Preferences tab, and stopping/relaunching iMule.
Chapter 4: I2P router 4

4 I2P router
iMule uses the I2P protocol for ensuring anonymous transfers. This protocol is
provided by a piece of software : the "I2P router". You can get this software here :
http://www.i2p2.de/download.
iMule also has an internal I2P router, that can replace the java I2P router provided on
the link above, but the internal I2P router is not as efficient as the java one : it consumes
much cpu.
By default, iMule will try to launch its internal I2P router. You can change that in the
Preferences tab.
Chapter 5: First time configuration 5

5 First time configuration

Decide if you want to use the internal router or the external router (advised).

5.1 Configuration for the internal router

Launch iMule and go to Preferences -> I2P connection.
1. Check the top-most box called "Use internal I2P router" This enables some configura-
tion boxes : SAM port, I2P proxy port, TCP port, UDP port, and 7 other bandwidth
options.
2. Make sure the default TCP and UDP ports are accessible from the Internet, or enter
other values in the corresponding boxes so that these ports are accessible from inter-
net. Configure your firewall and/or your router and/or your modem so that they are
accessible from internet.
The other following options are not vital :
3. You can give the IP or the hostname of your router (for instance: mycom-
puter.dyndns.org) in the "IP/dynIP" box, after having checked the "dynamic address"
option. This can accelerate the starting process of the I2P router.
4. Configure the 4 max. bandwidth boxes. They concern the maximum total bandwidth
used by the I2P router, and not only by your iMule transfers.
5. Configure the anonymity level, i.e. the minimum number of I2P peers relaying your
messages (incoming and outgoing). 1 or 2 are good values. The higher the values are,
the slower the connections will be.
6. Configure the ratio of your bandwidth you share for relaying messages from other peers.
CHECK that points 4) and 6) allow AT LEAST 16 kB/s of shared bandwidth. This is
the minimum for a correct running of the I2P network.
7. You can configure the SAM port of the internal router or keep the standard 7656
value if no other application is using this port. SAM is the protocol iMule uses to
communicate with the I2P router (even the internal router), and is also used by other
softwares, like the anonymous bittorrent software I2P-BT. So, when iMules internal
router is launched, other apps can use its SAM port as they would do with the standard
router.
8. You can configure the I2P proxy port or keep the standard 4444 value. This is also
intended for use by other apps such as web browser : configure your browser to use the
HTTP Proxy at 127.0.0.1:4444, and it will be able to browse eepSites (www over I2P)
anonymously (check this by browsing www.imule.i2p for instance !)

5.2 Configuration for the external router

THIS PART HAS BEEN UPDATED FOR I2P ROUTER VERSION 0.6.5. So, if you are
running an older router, please update it !
1. You first have to configure your I2P router so that it launches the SAM server at
startup. This SAM server is used by iMule to communicate with the router.
Launch a web navigator and enter the address of the I2P router console in the
address bar. This will probably be http://127.0.0.1:7657.
Chapter 5: First time configuration 6

Click on Configuration
Click on Clients
Check the box near SAMBridge
Finally, click on Save Client Configuration
2. Launch iMule and go to Preferences -> I2P connection. Uncheck the "internal router"
box.
3. Enter the IP address of your router in the first text box. It will probably be 127.0.0.1
if the router is running on the same computer as iMule.
4. The "port" box is not used anymore by iMule. Do not bother.
5. Enter the SAM port of your router (if you did not change its value, it probably is 7656)
6. Enter the HTTP Proxy port of your I2P (4444 by default). The I2P proxy is used by
iMule for downloading information from www.imule.i2p (the nodes.dat file for boot-
straping peer connections, and a version check file).
7. Configure the anonymity levels of iMules connections (as explained for the internal
router).
Chapter 6: Bootstrapping 7

6 Bootstrapping
iMule is a Peer to peer application, and in order to enter the peers network, it has to know at
least one other iMule peer on start. The known peers are kept in a file named "nodes.dat"
in iMules configuration directory. On first use, you can copy the file provided in the archive
into the configuration directory. You can also click the "Nodes" button in iMule to try to
download a more recent nodes.dat file from iMules website, but before doing so, you have
to wait until iMule says it has successfully connected to the I2P network.
The remaining of this document has been pasted from aMule documentation and are
more or less relevant for iMule (I did not check everything).
Chapter 7: Other configuration options 8

7 Other configuration options

Go to the "Preferences" tab
Enter a nickname or leave as the default value.
Enter the "Download Capacity" and "Upload Capacity" according to your internet
connection. All values in iMule are kiloBytes (kB), but your Internet Service Providers
numbers are most likely kiloBits (kb).
8 kiloBits make up 1 kiloByte, so if your Internet Connection is 768kb Downstream
and 128kb Upstream (i.e. German Telekom DSL), your correct values are:
Downstream: 768kb / 8 = 96kB, so you enter 96 as "Download Capacity"
Upstream: 128kb / 8 = 16kB, so you enter 16 as "Upload Capacity"
Anyway, these values are used to calculate the current bandwidth usage for display
purposes only (mainly for statistics). Nevertheless, you need to know them to determine
the following down/upload limits:
Enter "Download Limit" and "Upload Limit" (IMPORTANT!)
Download Limit:
Leave this at 0, which stands for "no limit". However, if iMule uses too
much bandwidth and causes problems with other applications using your
internet connection, it would be a good idea to limit this to aproximetly
80% of your downstream capacity.
Upload Limit:
It is recommended that you set this limit to around 80% of your actual
upstream capacity, in order to avoid degrading the performance of your
connection.
Setting the Upload Limit to a value less than 10 will automatically reduce your Down-
load Limit after the following schema:
Upload Limit Max Download
>= 10 No limit
< 10 Upload Limit * 4
<4 Upload Limit * 3
NOTE: 56k Modem users: iMule only accepts integral values for these settings, you
cant enter 1.6 or whatever your sweet-spot setting is. Sorry.
"Maximum Connections":
As a general rule, set it to 500 - 2000.
"Maximum Sources per File":
This depends on how many files you tend to download at a time, if you tend to download
few files, high values are acceptable, otherwise go for lower values so that all files will
be able to get sources.
Choose the directories you want to share with other users:
DO NOT SHARE YOUR COMPLETE HARDDISK!
It is suggested that you either use the "Incoming" folder or a seperate folder for the
files you wish to share, to avoid inadvertedly sharing private files.
Chapter 7: Other configuration options 9

If you share more than 200 files, you should consider that some servers have a hard
limit due to resource constraints, which means that you may be kicked from them if
you share too many files or that some of your files wont be populated to the network
through that server. So it is not always a good idea to share lots of files.
Other:
The other options are pretty self-explanatory. If you dont know what it does, dont
touch it as a general rule. More information on getting started can be found in the
iMule wiki: http://www.imule.org/wiki/index.php/Getting_Started
Dont forget to connect to a server, or you probably wont download too much.
Chapter 8: Basic iMule Tips 10

8 Basic iMule Tips

NEVER run iMule as root.
If you are behind a firewall or router, be sure that the ports have been opened. The
default ports are 8887 (TCP) and 8886 (UDP). If these are blocked, you will have a
VERY LOW connection, or no connection at all.
Set your temp and shared directories in Preferences->Directories. To recursively select
a certain directory, right-click over it.
You should NOT share
Your temp download directory!
Your /etc directory
Probably not your /var, /lib, /boot, or /usr directory
Certainly make sure that any really confidential files (password files, private SSH
keys, credit card numbers :) are *not* shared. So generally do not share your
entire home directory, although you might want to share some files or directories
in it.
Remember that you get certain download priveledges with those clients (iMule, eMule,
etc users) to whom you upload files, in the form of reduced queue waits.

8.1 Transfer icons

To find descriptions of the various icons found inside iMule, take a look at http://
www.amule.org/wiki/index.php/Getting_Started#Icons_and_What_They_Signify
Chapter 9: License 11

9 License
iMule is released under the GNU General Public License. See the "COPYING" file for
details.
Chapter 10: Developper 12

10 Developper
mkvore
Chapter 11: FAQ 13

11 FAQ

11.1 Id like to search for specific file types, what filter

stands for which files?
File Type Extensions found
Audio .mp3 .mp2 .mpc .wav .ogg .aac .mp4 .ape .au .wma
Video .avi .mpg .mpeg .ram .rm .vob .divx .mov .ogg .vivo
Program .exe .com
Archive .zip .rar .ace .tar.gz .tar.bz2 .Z .arj
CDImage .bin .cue .iso .nrg .ccd .sub .img
Picture .jpg .jpeg .bmp .gif .tif .png

11.2 What are all those fancy colors in the download

progress bar about?
Each download in the the transfers window has a coloured bar to show current file avail-
ability and progress.
Black shows the parts of the file you already have
Red indicates a part missing in all known sources
Different shades of blue represent the availability of this part in the sources. The darker
the blue is the higher the availability
Yellow denotes a part being downloaded
The green bar on top shows the total download progress of this file
If you expand the download you see its sources with the corresponding bar. Here the
colours have a slightly different meaning:
Black shows parts you are still missing
Silver stands for parts this source is also missing
Green indicates parts you already have
Yellow denotes a part being uploaded to you
Learning how the progress bar works will greatly help your understanding of the eD2k
network.

11.3 Where can I get more information?

Here are some links that might be of your interest:
iMule forum http://forum.i2p/viewforum.php?f=30
iMule Wiki http://www.imule.i2p/trac/wiki
aMule Wiki (documentation pages) http://wiki.amule.org
aMule forums http://forum.amule.org
eMule documents http://www.emule-project.net/home/perl/help.cgi
Chapter 12: Want to help? 14

12 Want to help?
iMule is a free software project and requires the cooperation of its users to improve the
quality of the software. We welcome all contributions to the project in the form of new
features, bug fixes, feature requests, etc.
If you are not a programmer you can still contribute by providing good bug reports
when you come accross a problem with iMule. A good bug report gives the iMule Team
information enough to reproduce the bug (so we can see it in action) and fix it. If possible,
try to isolate under which the bug occurs (eg. does it happen on some specific window,
with some specific files, some specific conditions etc.) and provide as much detail as you
can in your report.
If you are a programmer and fix a bug you observe, please send us a patch or a note
about how you fixed the problem.
Chapter 13: IRC, Links and Contact 15

13 IRC, Links and Contact

IRC: Channel #i2p on irc.postman.i2p (127.0.0.1:6668)
iMule homepage
http://www.imule.i2p
aMule related links :
http://www.amule.org/wiki/index.php/FAQ_ed2k
http://www.amule.org/wiki/index.php/iMule
http://www.amule.org/wiki/index.php/FAQ_iMule
http://www.amule.org/wiki/index.php/FAQ_utils
http://www.amule.org/wiki/index.php/Getting_Started
http://www.amule.org/wiki/index.php/iMule_problems
wxWidgets toolkit homepage
http://www.wxwidgets.org
eMule homepage
http://www.emule-project.net

13.1 Legal Notice

iMule is an interface to the ed2k/i2p network. As such, the iMule developers have absolutely
no control or say over what is transferred on this medium and cannot be held liable for any
non-personal copyright infringements or other illegal activities.