Ed2k: URI scheme
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- The correct title of this article is ed2k: URI scheme. The initial letter is shown capitalized due to technical restrictions.
ed2k links are used by the eDonkey2000 family of P2P programs, such as eDonkey2000 itself, eMule, Hybrid, MLDonkey, and others. These links are primarily used to provide a unique identifier for file without referring to a specific location, like in FTP and HTTP links. This is done by using a hash function on the file to calculate its checksum.
ed2k links allow the file to be automatically downloaded in eMule, eDonkey2000 or other compatible software. This linking feature was one of the first to be introduced in peer to peer file sharing. Now Magnet links serves a similar role but is not limited to the ed2K hash but can be other hashes such as SHA or MD5 etc.
The ed2k hash function is a variant of MD4 but is incompatible with MD4, as it differs in the way the hash is finalized.
After installing an ed2k client on Microsoft Windows, the ed2k:// protocol is optionally registered so that clicking on it in the browser automatically starts the download.
[edit] file link format
The typical ed2k link also includes the filename and the filesize. An example (a link to the 15Mb Purist Edit trailer) is provided below:
ed2k://|file|The_Two_Towers-The_Purist_Edit-Trailer.avi|14997504|965c013e991ee246d63d45ea71954c4d|/
The ed2k links can also include a reference to the IP address and port of the specific client that shares a file. This is done by adding a list of sources after the main part of the link:
ed2k://|file|The_Two_Towers-The_Purist_Edit-Trailer.avi|14997504|965c013e991ee246d63d45ea71954c4d|/|sources,202.89.123.6:4662|/
The "file" part indicates that this is a file link, as opposed to a server link.
[edit] Server links
A server link is a reference to an eDonkey2000 server; clicking on such a link typically adds it to the server list:
They have the following format:
ed2k://|server|IP|PORT|/
- IP -> IP of the server to connect to.
- PORT -> Port where the server is listening for incoming eD2k connections
example:
ed2k://|server|207.44.222.51|4242|/
[edit] External links
- emule forum guides How to remove the ed2k link protocol association in windows.
- Ed2k_link amule wiki: ed2k link.
- emule project Ed2k link formats supported by emule client.
