[Edit: see suggestions in the posts below about Nicotine and slskd, and also about scary features of Soulseek.]
I was checking the download page for Soulseek.
Curiously, the last builds for Window$ and Ma¢ date 2026-04, but the last for Linux 2024-06. Is that just a typo? Or maybe vice versa, given that the last news is from 2024.
Dave they dropped development for Linux, or altogether?
N+ works perfectly and is very easy to use. SLSKD is also very good but I hate the interface so I only use it with automations.
Thank you. I’m trying it out and it’s working nicely indeed. One more cool thing about it is that I can change the listening port without having to restart it. In fact, I can even change it in its config file before starting it. Useful for VPN connections that give you random ports.
I would never use their proprietary clients. And when looking for software for Linux, start on flathub.org
There are Nicotine+ multiplatform and Seeker for Android.
Soulseek is entirely proprietary and scary insecure. Check the Nicotine+ documentation for an overview. They do not mention encryption or TLS anywhere, which tells us that there is no encryption. Anyone relaying or passively monitoring your internet traffic will know your username, password and what you share.
This is seriously scary as even with user accounts, known contacts etc, you basically can’t trust anyone to actually be who they pretend to be. In practice it works, but that is likely because nobody cares to attack them.
The server is proprietary running whatever software and can access all your data.
And the best, they use MD5 hashes for the files afaik, which is broken. This is pretty unimportant but still interesting: the files you download are sent over an unencrypted connection and could be modified by a man-in-the-middle without you noticing. One could change the file or hide malware inside it that exploits a vulnerability etc.
Most importantly, this will just be open traffic that will be exposed to anyone who cares. You shouldnt use that IP to do ANYTHING else.
Sadly Soulseek is really good for finding stuff, still very much unbeaten.
There is aMule, recently revived. Many servers and also the decentralized Kademlia network. The UX is way worse than Soulseek, there is no Android version, the revival is heavily driven by AI… but it is pretty good, decentralized and encrypted!
I found this repo with tips for setting up aMule and some scripts.
Thanks for this info! I had no idea – my bad. Even though I’m an eMule veteran, I heard of Soulseek only six months ago or so. As you say, it’s sad about all these scary features, given that it’s really good for finding stuff.
I’m using Nicotine now, quite happy with it, and will give a try to aMule!
Seems like most people use nicotine+ or slskd on linux and they’re being actively developed.
Thank you so much for this! I didn’t know about Nicotine. Works great on Linux, in fact it doesn’t crash like Soulseek’s Qt client.
Yep, I have both installed. But use nicotine+ almost exclusively
I’ve been using Nicotine+ for a couple of years on Mint with no issues and I leave it running in the background 24/7.
Did you ask them?
Good point, I’ll login and ask.
