Installing Aria2 and AriaNg on Linux for Web-Based Download Management

Aria2 is a lightweight yet powerful command-line download utility that supports HTTP/HTTPS, FTP, SFTP, BitTorrent, and Metalink—all in one binary.
When paired with AriaNg, a modern web-based interface, you can turn any Linux server or VPS into a clean, fast, and fully remote-managed download center.

This guide covers how to install Aria2, configure RPC, deploy AriaNg, and manage everything through a browser.

1. Update Your System

Before installing anything, update your Linux environment:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

(For CentOS/Rocky/AlmaLinux, use yum or dnf instead.)

2. Install Aria2

On Debian/Ubuntu:

sudo apt install aria2 -y

On CentOS/Rocky Linux/AlmaLinux:

sudo yum install epel-release -y
sudo yum install aria2 -y

Verify installation:

aria2c -v

3. Create Aria2 Configuration Directory

mkdir -p ~/.aria2

Then create the main config file:

nano ~/.aria2/aria2.conf

Paste the recommended configuration:

dir=/downloads
enable-rpc=true
rpc-listen-port=6800
rpc-secret=yourpassword
continue=true
max-concurrent-downloads=5
split=16
min-split-size=10M
max-connection-per-server=16
input-file=/home/youruser/.aria2/aria2.session
save-session=/home/youruser/.aria2/aria2.session
save-session-interval=60
daemon=true

Create session file:

touch ~/.aria2/aria2.session

4. Create Downloads Directory

sudo mkdir -p /downloads
sudo chmod -R 777 /downloads

5. Start Aria2 with Systemd

Create the service file:

sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/aria2.service

Insert:

[Unit]
Description=Aria2c download manager
After=network.target

[Service]
Type=simple
User=youruser
ExecStart=/usr/bin/aria2c --conf-path=/home/youruser/.aria2/aria2.conf
Restart=on-abort

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Enable and start service:

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable aria2
sudo systemctl start aria2

Check status:

sudo systemctl status aria2

6. Install AriaNg (Web UI)

AriaNg is a static HTML interface and works perfectly with Nginx.

Install Nginx:

sudo apt install nginx -y

Download AriaNg:

cd /var/www
sudo git clone https://github.com/mayswind/AriaNg.git

Or download release:

wget https://github.com/mayswind/AriaNg/releases/latest/download/AriaNg.zip
sudo unzip AriaNg.zip -d /var/www/ariang

7. Configure Nginx for AriaNg

Create a new site:

sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/ariang

Insert:

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name _;

    root /var/www/ariang;
    index index.html;
}

Enable:

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/ariang /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
sudo systemctl restart nginx

Access AriaNg via browser:

http://your-server-ip/

8. Connect AriaNg to Aria2

Inside the AriaNg interface:

• Open Settings → RPC

• RPC Address: http://your-server-ip:6800/jsonrpc

• RPC Secret: the rpc-secret in your aria2.conf

Save and AriaNg will connect instantly.

9. (Optional) Enable HTTPS

For better security:

sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-nginx -y
sudo certbot --nginx

FAQ

1. Why is AriaNg unable to connect to Aria2 RPC?

Most of the time it’s due to the firewall blocking port 6800. Open it with:

sudo ufw allow 6800

Also verify that the rpc-secret matches in both Aria2 and AriaNg.

2. Aria2 stops when I close the SSH session. How do I keep it running?

Make sure you are running Aria2 using systemd, not manually.
systemctl start aria2 keeps it running in the background.

3. Can I set download speed limits?

Yes. Add the following to aria2.conf:

max-overall-download-limit=5M
max-download-limit=1M

Restart Aria2 afterward.

4. Does Aria2 support torrent or magnet links?

Yes. Aria2 handles both .torrent files and magnet links directly in AriaNg.

5. How can I protect AriaNg from unauthorized access?

Enable HTTPS and optional Nginx password authentication:

sudo apt install apache2-utils
sudo htpasswd -c /etc/nginx/.htpasswd admin

Then add to your server block:

auth_basic "Protected";
auth_basic_user_file /etc/nginx/.htpasswd;