rtorrent is very useful if you want to download files in a shell. See e.g. tmux for a very useful scenario.
The basic use of rtorrent is very simple. Start rtorrent either with or without torrent files.
rtorrent [file/URL ...]If you haven’t supplied any torrent files at start up you can open a torrent file by pressing ENTER.
Inside rtorrent you may use UP/DN arrow keys to move between torrents. Use LE/RT arrow keys to get more information about a torrent.
To start download you need to press C-s on the selected torrent. To stop download enter C-d and to close (and remove) a stopped torrent enter C-k. To close rtorrent client completely enter C-q.