Which model licenses does Pirate Face allow?

Pirate Face mirrors only models published under Apache-2.0 or MIT, plus one approved exception for Kimi-K3. Those are the terms the project treats as clearly safe to redistribute over BitTorrent, so gated weights and custom or non-commercial licenses are left out. Even with that rule, more than 669,000 Hugging Face models are eligible.

What happens to a Pirate Face torrent if Hugging Face deletes the model?

A Pirate Face torrent keeps working after a Hugging Face deletion. The HTTPS web seed that points at Hugging Face simply stops answering, and the download continues from other peers holding the same files. That is the whole design: there is no single host to shut down, so the swarm decides how long a set of weights stays reachable.

Can someone publish fake weights under my name on Pirate Face?

Pirate Face reserves handles that match Hugging Face accounts and asks the real owner to prove that identity before it shows a verified creator badge. The weights themselves cannot be faked either, because every file is pinned to Hugging Face's official SHA-256 and a tampered copy fails the hash check during download.

Can I point my existing Hugging Face code at Pirate Face?

Pirate Face lists a drop-in API — setting HF_ENDPOINT to https://pirateface.co so existing pipelines resolve through the site — as a planned feature rather than a live one. Until that ships, the usable path is browsing the Pirate Face model index, grabbing the magnet link, downloading it and then seeding it back to the swarm.

Pirate Face · 2026-09-20 · major

Pirate Face — open model weights turned into magnet links

Pirate Face is a torrent index that mirrors open Hugging Face models as magnet links. It covers 669k+ Apache-2.0 and MIT models, checks every file against Hugging Face's official SHA-256, and falls back to peers if the original is pulled.

Pirate Face social preview card for its index of open AI models shared as magnet links

Pirate Face mirrors open Hugging Face models as checksum-verified torrents, so the weights stay downloadable after the original is pulled.

Quick facts

What it is	Torrent index for open Hugging Face models
Eligible models	669k+
Licenses mirrored	Apache-2.0, MIT (plus a Kimi-K3 exception)
Integrity check	Official Hugging Face SHA-256 per file
Download fallback	HTTPS web seed, then peers
Drop-in API	Planned, not live yet

What is it?

Pirate Face turns open model weights into BitTorrent magnet links. The site lists more than 669,000 eligible Hugging Face models — LLMs, image models, audio models and datasets — and gives each one a magnet link anyone can download and seed. Only Apache-2.0 and MIT weights are mirrored, plus one approved exception for Kimi-K3.

How does it work?

Every file in a torrent carries its official Hugging Face SHA-256 fingerprint, so a copy fetched from any peer has to match the original byte for byte. A web seed — a plain HTTPS link to the file on Hugging Face — is built into each torrent, which is why a download still works with zero peers. When Hugging Face stops serving the file, the swarm keeps serving it. Handles are reserved to match Hugging Face accounts, and the real owner can claim one by proving that identity.

Why does it matter?

Open weights do disappear: repos get gated, relicensed or deleted, and work that depended on them stops being reproducible. A magnet link with a published hash gives researchers and self-hosters a copy no single host can withdraw, and the hash means nobody can quietly swap in different weights along the way.

Who is it for?

researchers and self-hosters

Frequently asked questions

Which model licenses does Pirate Face allow?: Pirate Face mirrors only models published under Apache-2.0 or MIT, plus one approved exception for Kimi-K3. Those are the terms the project treats as clearly safe to redistribute over BitTorrent, so gated weights and custom or non-commercial licenses are left out. Even with that rule, more than 669,000 Hugging Face models are eligible.
What happens to a Pirate Face torrent if Hugging Face deletes the model?: A Pirate Face torrent keeps working after a Hugging Face deletion. The HTTPS web seed that points at Hugging Face simply stops answering, and the download continues from other peers holding the same files. That is the whole design: there is no single host to shut down, so the swarm decides how long a set of weights stays reachable.
Can someone publish fake weights under my name on Pirate Face?: Pirate Face reserves handles that match Hugging Face accounts and asks the real owner to prove that identity before it shows a verified creator badge. The weights themselves cannot be faked either, because every file is pinned to Hugging Face's official SHA-256 and a tampered copy fails the hash check during download.
Can I point my existing Hugging Face code at Pirate Face?: Pirate Face lists a drop-in API — setting HF_ENDPOINT to https://pirateface.co so existing pipelines resolve through the site — as a planned feature rather than a live one. Until that ships, the usable path is browsing the Pirate Face model index, grabbing the magnet link, downloading it and then seeding it back to the swarm.

Try it

https://pirateface.co/models