The Problem:
If you install qBittorrent, it completely hijacks
magnet: links, and Tixati completely disappears as a choice from the Windows "Default Apps" settings menu for the .magnet protocol.
Even if you click "Check Now" inside Tixati's Shell Integration settings, Windows completely ignores it.
Why this happens:
qBittorrent registers its protocol "Capabilities" using modern Windows standards, while Tixati's installer relies on legacy registry methods. Because Windows doesn't see Tixati registered as a "capable" modern app, it creates an encrypted UserChoice registry lock that forces qBittorrent as the default and hides Tixati from the menu entirely.
I put together a native PowerShell automation script that resolves this. It manually injects Tixati into the Windows Capabilities system, smashes qBittorrent's sticky
UserChoice lock, and restores Tixati to the protocol selection list.
To apply this fix, open
PowerShell as an Administrator. Then,
simply copy all the text in the codebox below and paste it into your PowerShell window all at once, then press Enter:
# ==============================================================================
TIXATI MAGNET & TORRENT NATIVE FORCE-FIX SCRIPT
==============================================================================
$TixatiPath = '"C:\Program Files\Tixati\tixati.exe" "%1"'
1. Build and force structural protocol paths across HKCR and HKCU
$RegPaths = @(
"Registry::HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\magnet\shell\open\command",
"Registry::HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Tixati.magnet\shell\open\command",
"Registry::HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Tixati.torrent\shell\open\command",
"HKCU:\Software\Classes\magnet\shell\open\command",
"HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Tixati\Capabilities\URLAssociations",
"HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Tixati\Capabilities\FileAssociations"
)
foreach ($Path in $RegPaths) { if (-not (Test-Path $Path)) { New-Item -Path $Path -Force | Out-Null } }
2. Map Core System Handlers
Set-ItemProperty -Path "Registry::HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\magnet" -Name "(Default)" -Value "URL:torrent magnet link"
Set-ItemProperty -Path "Registry::HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\magnet" -Name "URL Protocol" -Value ""
Set-ItemProperty -Path "Registry::HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\magnet\shell\open\command" -Name "(Default)" -Value $TixatiPath
Set-ItemProperty -Path "Registry::HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Tixati.magnet" -Name "(Default)" -Value "Tixati Magnet Link"
Set-ItemProperty -Path "Registry::HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Tixati.magnet" -Name "URL Protocol" -Value ""
Set-ItemProperty -Path "Registry::HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Tixati.magnet\shell\open\command" -Name "(Default)" -Value $TixatiPath
Set-ItemProperty -Path "Registry::HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Tixati.torrent" -Name "(Default)" -Value "Torrent File"
Set-ItemProperty -Path "Registry::HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Tixati.torrent\shell\open\command" -Name "(Default)" -Value $TixatiPath
3. Map Current User Overrides (Stops Windows from hijacking associations)
Set-ItemProperty -Path "HKCU:\Software\Classes\magnet" -Name "(Default)" -Value "URL:torrent magnet link"
Set-ItemProperty -Path "HKCU:\Software\Classes\magnet" -Name "URL Protocol" -Value ""
Set-ItemProperty -Path "HKCU:\Software\Classes\magnet\shell\open\command" -Name "(Default)" -Value $TixatiPath
4. Integrate natively into Windows 'Default Apps' capabilities system
Set-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Tixati\Capabilities\URLAssociations" -Name "magnet" -Value "Tixati.magnet"
Set-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Tixati\Capabilities\FileAssociations" -Name ".torrent" -Value "Tixati.torrent"
Set-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\RegisteredApplications" -Name "Tixati" -Value "SOFTWARE\Tixati\Capabilities"
5. Obliterate cached Windows sticky UserChoice blocks
$CacheLocks = @(
"HKCU:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\Associations\UrlAssociations\magnet",
"HKCU:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts.torrent\UserChoice"
)
foreach ($Lock in $CacheLocks) { if (Test-Path $Lock) { Remove-Item -Path $Lock -Recurse -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue } }
6. Flush Shell Cache by restarting Explorer
Write-Host "🚀 Windows protocol configuration complete! Restarting shell..." -ForegroundColor Cyan
Stop-Process -Name explorer -Force
Once the script runs, your desktop interface will refresh. Tixati will immediately handle your magnet links again, and it will now appear natively alongside qBittorrent inside your Windows Default Apps menu if you ever need to manually switch between them.
Note: Personally, I am not a fan of qBittorrent at all and prefer using Tixati exclusively. However, certain strict private trackers stubbornly blacklist Tixati while whitelisting qBittorrent, which occasionally forces me to keep qBittorrent installed on my system. This protocol hijacking issue makes co-existing incredibly frustrating, so implementing this registry fix inside Tixati natively would be a massive quality-of-life win for everyone who wants Tixati as their primary client!
A Message to the Dev Team:
Tixati is easily the most lightweight, customizable, and visually superior torrent client available, and nothing else even comes close to its performance. It would be amazing if the development team could look at integrating these
RegisteredApplications registry keys (shown in
Step 4) directly into the official Tixati installer. This small change would give Tixati a modern integration blueprint so it can easily defend its protocol defaults and stand its ground against other clients on Windows 10/11.
