Interfaces

aMule can be operated in two fundamental ways: as a single all-in-one application that bundles the core engine and a graphical interface in one process, or as a headless core (amuled) that runs on its own and is driven through one of several remote interfaces. Pick the combination that fits your setup — a desktop machine, a headless server or NAS, or remote access from a browser or terminal.

Graphical interface (GUI)

The GUI is shared by two clients that present the exact same panels and windows:

Client	Description
amule	All-in-one GUI client that bundles the core and the interface in a single process
amulegui	Remote GUI that connects to a running amuled instance via the EC protocol

See the GUI section for day-to-day usage of the interface: toolbar, networks, searching, downloads, shared files, messaging, statistics, preferences, and appearance.

Headless daemon and remote interfaces

For servers, NAS devices, or any machine without a desktop, run the headless core and control it remotely:

Interface	Description
amuled	Headless daemon — the aMule core with no GUI; intended for servers and remote operation
amulegui	Graphical remote client (same interface as amule)
amuleapi	REST API + Server-Sent Events daemon that also serves the new browser Web UI; the modern replacement for amuleweb
amulecmd	Interactive command-line interface, also usable in scripts and cron jobs
amuleweb	Legacy WebUI — HTTP interface accessible from any browser (deprecated; superseded by amuleapi's Web UI)

External Connections (EC) Protocol

The remote interfaces (amulegui, amuleapi, amulecmd, amuleweb) all communicate with a running amuled (or amule) instance through the External Connections (EC) protocol. EC is a TCP-based binary protocol that carries authentication, commands, and status updates between the core and any remote interface.

To use any remote interface:

1. Enable Accept External Connections in Preferences → Remote Controls (or set AcceptExternalConnections=1 in amule.conf).
2. Set an EC password in the same panel. The password is stored as an MD5 hash in amule.conf:

   echo -n yourpassword | md5sum | cut -d ' ' -f 1

3. Optionally restrict the listening interface to 127.0.0.1 if you only need local access.
4. The default EC port is 4712.

Remote interfaces can change download and shared folders only inside the folders the core allows (none by default), and a few settings can only be changed on the machine that runs the core. See amuled → Settings Reserved to the Daemon Host.

See also

aMule also ships several standalone Utilities (ed2k, alc/alcc, wxcas/cas) for tasks such as adding eD2k links, generating links for local files, and displaying statistics.