What is Nicotine+?
Nicotine+ is an open-source client application for the Soulseek peer-to-peer file sharing network. Originally based on an older Windows client called PySoulseek, Nicotine+ has been under active development since 2003 and is now available on Windows, Mac and Linux platforms.
As an alternative to commercial P2P software like Limewire or Bearshare, Nicotine+ provides similar file-sharing and downloading capabilities but is completely free and open-source. It connects to the decentralized Soulseek network which at its peak in the early 2000s had over a million concurrent users.
Some key features of Nicotine+ include:
- Browsing and searching files shared by Soulseek users
- Downloading multiple files simultaneously
- Chat with other Soulseek users in user rooms and private messages
- Share selected folders and files on your computer for others to download
- Supports all major audio, video, book and image formats
- Plugin support for extending functionality
- Available in over 25 languages
As an open source project, Nicotine+ has benefited from contributions of developers around the world. It provides a good alternative to commercial P2P software with no ads, spyware or bundled extras. For those seeking an easy and free way to download music, books and more without restrictions, Nicotine+ is worth considering.