logos-storage-docs-obsidian/10 Notes/What is Seeding (AI).md

Seeding is the BitTorrent process where a node that has complete archive files makes them available for other peers to download. In Status-go, this happens when:

1. Community control nodes create new history archives
2. Any node successfully downloads archives from other peers

When Does Seeding Happen?

1. After Creating New Archives (Control Nodes Only)

In SeedHistoryArchiveTorrent, community control nodes seed archives after creating them:

func (m *ArchiveManager) SeedHistoryArchiveTorrent(communityID types.HexBytes) error {
	m.UnseedHistoryArchiveTorrent(communityID)

	id := communityID.String()
	torrentFile := torrentFile(m.torrentConfig.TorrentDir, id)

	metaInfo, err := metainfo.LoadFromFile(torrentFile)
	if err != nil {
		return err
	}

	info, err := metaInfo.UnmarshalInfo()
	if err != nil {
		return err
	}

	hash := metaInfo.HashInfoBytes()
	m.torrentTasks[id] = hash

	if err != nil {
		return err
	}

	torrent, err := m.torrentClient.AddTorrent(metaInfo)
	if err != nil {
		return err
	}

	torrent.DownloadAll()

	m.publisher.publish(&Subscription{
		HistoryArchivesSeedingSignal: &signal.HistoryArchivesSeedingSignal{
			CommunityID: communityID.String(),
		},
	})

	magnetLink := metaInfo.Magnet(nil, &info).String()

	m.logger.Debug("seeding torrent", zap.String("id", id), zap.String("magnetLink", magnetLink))
	return nil
}

This happens when:

• Periodic archiving: Control nodes regularly create archives of community message history
• Manual archiving: When explicitly triggered through InitHistoryArchiveTasks

2. After Downloading Archives Successfully

In DownloadHistoryArchivesByMagnetlink around line 644, seeding starts after successful downloads:

// After downloading all archives
m.publisher.publish(&Subscription{
    HistoryArchivesSeedingSignal: &signal.HistoryArchivesSeedingSignal{
        CommunityID: communityID.String(),
    },
})

This happens when:

• Regular members download archives via magnetlinks
• New community members download historical messages
• Nodes re-downloading updated archives

3. Seeding Signal Processing

When seeding starts, it triggers magnetlink message distribution in handleCommunitiesHistoryArchivesSubscription:

if sub.HistoryArchivesSeedingSignal != nil {
    // Signal UI that seeding started
    m.config.messengerSignalsHandler.HistoryArchivesSeeding(
	    sub.HistoryArchivesSeedingSignal.CommunityID
    )
    
    // Get community info
    c, err := m.communitiesManager.GetByIDString(
		sub.HistoryArchivesSeedingSignal.CommunityID
	)    
    // Only control nodes send magnetlink messages
    if c.IsControlNode() {
        err := m.dispatchMagnetlinkMessage(
	        sub.HistoryArchivesSeedingSignal.CommunityID
	    )
        // This broadcasts the magnetlink to community members
    }
}

Seeding Lifecycle

Start Seeding

1. Archives are created or downloaded successfully
2. HistoryArchivesSeedingSignal is published
3. BitTorrent client starts serving the files
4. Control nodes broadcast magnetlink messages

Continue Seeding

• Files remain available as long as the node is online
• Other peers can download from multiple seeders simultaneously
• BitTorrent automatically manages upload bandwidth

Stop Seeding

In UnseedHistoryArchiveTorrent:

func (m *ArchiveManager) UnseedHistoryArchiveTorrent(communityID types.HexBytes) {
    // Remove torrent from client
    torrent := m.torrentClient.Torrent(infoHash)
    if torrent != nil {
        torrent.Drop()
    }
    
    // Publish unseeding signal
    m.publisher.publish(&Subscription{
        HistoryArchivesUnseededSignal: &signal.HistoryArchivesUnseededSignal{
            CommunityID: communityID.String(),
        },
    })
}

This happens when:

• New archives replace old ones: When fresher magnetlinks are received
• Community leaves: When a user leaves a community
• Manual stop: When archiving is disabled

Key Points

• Only control nodes send magnetlinks, but any node can seed after downloading
• Seeding is automatic - happens immediately after successful archive creation or download
• Multiple seeders improve availability - BitTorrent's distributed nature means more seeders = better download speeds
• Seeding triggers UI notifications via SendHistoryArchivesSeedin.

This distributed seeding model ensures that community history archives remain available even if the original control node goes offline, making the system resilient and scalable.