Tor Tutorials

How to Run a Tor Relay

The Tor network depends on volunteers running relays. By running a relay, you donate bandwidth to help millions of people browse anonymously. This guide covers setting up middle relays, guard relays, and bridge relays — the backbone of the Tor network.

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Types of Relays

Middle relay — Passes encrypted traffic between other relays. Low risk, moderate bandwidth.
Guard relay — First hop in a Tor circuit. Requires high uptime and bandwidth. Automatically promoted from middle relay after running stably.
Exit relay — Final hop that connects to the destination. Higher risk — your IP appears as the source. Only run if you understand the legal implications in your jurisdiction.
Bridge relay — Unlisted relay that helps users in censored countries connect to Tor. Not in the public directory.

Recommendation: Start with a middle relay. It's low risk and makes a real impact.

Setting Up a Middle Relay

sudo apt install tor
sudo nano /etc/tor/torrc

Add these lines:

ORPort 9001
Nickname myTorRelay
ContactInfo [email protected]
ExitRelay 0
RelayBandwidthRate 1 MB
RelayBandwidthBurst 2 MB

ExitRelay 0 ensures you're running a middle relay, not an exit. Restart Tor and your relay will join the network within a few hours.

Bandwidth Requirements

Minimum: 2 Mbps (250 KB/s) — even small relays help
Recommended: 10+ Mbps for meaningful contribution
Ideal: 100+ Mbps for high-impact relays
You can set bandwidth limits in torrc to control how much you donate

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Running a Tor relay on your home connection isn't ideal — it uses bandwidth and may attract attention from your ISP. AnubizHost provides VPS and dedicated servers in privacy-friendly locations perfect for running Tor relays. Our offshore servers in Iceland, Romania, and Finland are ideal for relay operators.

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