hermes-config/skills/self-hosting/private-tracker-seedbox/references/mam-troubleshooting.md

MAM (MyAnonaMouse) Troubleshooting Reference

Tracker Error: "Unrecognized host/PassKey"

Full error from MAM's tracker detail page:

ip          port   agent                 error
181.214.x.x 36590  -qB5230- / 5.2.3     Unrecognized host/PassKey. (181.214.x.x)

Root cause: Browser IP ≠ torrent client IP. MAM compares the IP you're browsing from against the IP your torrent client is announcing from. When they don't match (e.g., browser on home connection, torrent client on VPN), the passkey is rejected even though the passkey itself and the client version are valid.

MAM FAQ reference:

"If you are running your client over a VPN, but not your browser (or browser is on a different vpn tunnel), such as a docker container that also runs the vpn, you'll first need to be approved to use a VPN by staff (per rule 1.2). Then you'll want to use the Dynamic Seedbox endpoint to manage the client on a non-matching IP."

Resolution:

1. Get staff approval via MAM ticket system
2. Set up Mousehole to call the Dynamic Seedbox API: https://www.myanonamouse.net/api/endpoint.php/3/json/dynamicSeedbox.php

Tracker Error: "Non-Whitelisted client or version"

Bencoded tracker response:

d8:intervali86400e12:min intervali86400e8:retry ini86400e14:failure reason58:Non-Whitelisted client or version https://s.mrd.ninja/CLNTe

Check the allowed clients page: https://s.mrd.ninja/CLNTe

qBittorrent status on MAM:

• Allowed: from 5.0.1 to latest 5.2.x line (confirmed as of 2026-07-09)
• qBittorrent Anonymous Mode IS rejected by MAM
• Peer ID format: -qB5230- for 5.2.3 on non-Windows
• User-agent: qBittorrent/5.2.3

Known caveat: The tracker-level whitelist filter may lag behind the web page. If a new version is on the web whitelist but still getting rejected, there may be a propagation delay.

Fastresume Fields (via strings)

Key fields in .fastresume files that matter for troubleshooting:

Field	Meaning
paused	0 = active, 1 = paused
disable_dht	0 = DHT enabled (should be 1 for private trackers)
num_complete	seeders count, 16777215 = sentinel (unknown)
num_incomplete	leechers count, 16777215 = sentinel (unknown)
total_downloaded	bytes downloaded so far
active_time	seconds the torrent has been active
last_seen_complete	0 = never seen a complete copy
last_download	0 = no downloads

Ben code sentinel value 16777215 (0xFFFFFF) means "no data" — the tracker hasn't returned peer information.

Dynamic Seedbox API

• Endpoint: https://www.myanonamouse.net/api/endpoint.php/3/json/dynamicSeedbox.php
• Requires: Valid MAM session cookie
• Purpose: Registers the current IP of the calling client as an authorized seedbox IP for the user's account
• Frequency: Called periodically by Mousehole (handled automatically once configured)

Docker Compose Patterns

Adding Mousehole as a sidecar to existing gluetun + qBittorrent

Required changes to an existing docker-compose.yml:

1. Gluetun ports: add - 127.0.0.1:5010:5010 (or - 5010:5010 for LAN/KasmVNC access)
2. Gluetun environment: add ,5010 to FIREWALL_VPN_INPUT_PORTS
3. New service: add the mousehole service with network_mode: "service:gluetun"
4. New volume: add a mousehole: volume for cookie persistence

The mousehole service does NOT need to communicate with qBittorrent — it only talks to the MAM API. It shares gluetun's network stack so outbound traffic goes through the VPN tunnel.

Docker Port Binding

When docker compose restart doesn't pick up compose file changes:

# This restarts with OLD config:
docker compose restart gluetun

# This recreates with NEW config:
docker compose up -d gluetun

To verify what ports are actually bound:

docker port gluetun

127.0.0.1:5010 binding means host-only. If accessing from KasmVNC or another Docker container, the port must bind to 0.0.0.0 (specify just 5010:5010 in compose without an IP prefix).