(1) Who do you want to share with?

As retroShare is a private file sharing program, you cannot just start up retroShare and connect to random peers on the Internet. Your first task is to find some friends you want to share with.


NB: One person needs an open port (i.e. not behind a firewall) to enable connections over the Internet. Otherwise you can only share on a LAN. (until retroShare v0.3 comes out!)



Advanced Option:
Alternatively you can test retroShare by running multiple versions on a single computer. This can only be done by running retroShare from the commandline, to specify an alternative configuration directory:


RetroShare -c <config_dir>


NB: RetroShare shuts down if it cannot bind to the default listening port (7812). If you want to run two versions on the same computer, you must first startup only one copy, change its listening port (in the "Config" Tab) and restart the server. Only then will the second version startup correctly.

(2) Install and Setup Retroshare

  • Download the Windows Installer, and run it.
  • Run retroShare from the Windows start menu.
  • Fill in the Information on the Setup Window. Only your name and password is mandatory.
  • Click "Generate Certificate" to start retroShare.
  • Select the "Config" Tab when the main window appears.
  • Ensure that your server address is right. If not, correct it and press the "Restart Server" Button. Remember that either you or your peer must have a valid and accessible Server Address.
  • Add the directories you want to share using the "Add Directory" button.
  • Choose your download directory using the "Select save directory" button.

(3) Exchange Certificates

  • Select the "Connect" Tab.
  • Click on your Entry in the top window. It should be the only line.
  • Click on the "Export Selected" Button. This allows you to save your certificate to a file.
  • Send your certificate file to your friends. This can be done via email, a usb stick. or any other method you choose.

(4) Sign each others Certificate

  • Get your friend's certificates (via email/usb stick?)
  • Select the "Connect" Tab.
  • Click on the "Import Friend" Button. This allows you to load your friends certificate.
  • Click on your friends entry in the top window.
  • Click on "Configure Selected" button. This brings up the the details of your new peer.
  • Click on "Sign Certificate". The certificate status should change from "Unknown" to "Trusted (S)"

(5) Connect and Share

  • Go to the "Connect" Tab.
  • Tick the "Auto Connect" Box to connect to your peer. Remember the connection will not succeed until both peers have signed each others certificates.
  • If you have trouble connecting, please read the FAQ.
  • Once connected, you can go to either the "File Listings" or the "Search" Tabs to look for files to download.
  • Select the file, and click the "Download" button