Dockerized Tor Relay server

A simple Docker container for running a Tor relay server. The container is also configured to listen on port 9001 for the relay traffic. Make sure to open the port in your firewall.

Usage

Minimal usage

Running the relay is super simple.

$ docker run -d \
    -p 9001:9001 \
    --name torrelay \
    -e 'TORRC=/etc/tor/torrc.middle' \
    -e 'NICKNAME=DockerTorRelay' \
    -v /etc/localtime:/etc/localtime \
    --restart always \
    dedimax/docker-tor-relay

Required configuration

Give your node a nickname

It recommended that you provide a Nickname. You can do this using the following flag.

-e 'NICKNAME=MyTorRelay' \

Set your node type

You can set your node type by changing the torrc file. There are 3 configuration: Bridge, Exit and Middle Node. If you are not sure what to use then "middle" is the right node to start.

-e 'TORRC=/etc/tor/torrc.middle' \ -e 'TORRC=/etc/tor/torrc.bridge' \ -e 'TORRC=/etc/tor/torrc.exit' \

Recommended additional flags

Configure contact info

It is also recommended that you provide your contact information. This is mostly used for contact information in case there is something wrong with your node.

-e 'CONTACTINFO=John Smith <jsmith@example.com>' \

Use persistant storage

Since Tor relies on keys on saved keys on disk for establishing trust, it is a good idea to use a volume to store your tor keys on the host (since Docker containers are ephemeral by nature).

You can do this by passing on the following.

-v '/some/local/path:/home/tord/.tor' \

Other parameters (optional)

Expose local socks port: -p 127.0.0.1:9050:9050 \

Final configuration

$ docker run -d \
    -p 9001:9001 \
    -p 127.0.0.1:9050:9050 \
    --name torrelay \
    -e 'TORRC=/etc/tor/torrc.middle' \
    -e 'NICKNAME=DockerTorRelay' \
    -e 'CONTACTINFO=John Smith <jsmith@example.com>' \
    -v /etc/localtime:/etc/localtime \
    -v '/var/torrelay:/home/tord/.tor' \
    --restart always \
    dedimax/docker-tor-relay