2 File : $Source: /cvsroot/ijbswa/current/doc/source/p-config.sgml,v $
4 Purpose : Used with other docs and files only.
6 $Id: p-config.sgml,v 2.10 2006/09/07 02:02:56 hal9 Exp $
8 Copyright (C) 2001-2006 Privoxy Developers <developers@privoxy.org>
11 ========================================================================
12 NOTE: Please read developer-manual/documentation.html before touching
13 anything in this, or other Privoxy documentation.
14 ========================================================================
17 This file contains all the config file comments and options. It used to
18 build both the user-manual config sections, and all of config (yes, the main
21 Rationale: This is broken up into two files since a file with a prolog
22 (DTD, etc) cannot be sourced as a secondary file. config.sgml is basically
23 a wrapper for this file.
27 OPTIONS: The actual options are included in this file and prefixed with
28 '@@', and processed by the Makefile to strip the '@@'. Default options
29 that should appear commented out should be listed as: '@@#OPTION'.
30 Otherwise, as '@@OPTION'. Example:
32 @@listen-address 127.0.0.1:8118
34 The Makefile does significant other processing too. The final results
35 should be checked to make sure that the perl processing does not
36 fubar something!!! Makefile processing requires w3m, fmt (shell line
40 This file is included into:
43 config (the actual Privoxy config file)
48 <!-- This part only goes into user-manual -->
50 <title>The Main Configuration File</title>
53 Again, the main configuration file is named <filename>config</filename> on
54 Linux/Unix/BSD and OS/2, and <filename>config.txt</filename> on Windows.
55 Configuration lines consist of an initial keyword followed by a list of
56 values, all separated by whitespace (any number of spaces or tabs). For
64 <emphasis>confdir /etc/privoxy</emphasis></literallayout>
70 Assigns the value <literal>/etc/privoxy</literal> to the option
71 <literal>confdir</literal> and thus indicates that the configuration
72 directory is named <quote>/etc/privoxy/</quote>.
76 All options in the config file except for <literal>confdir</literal> and
77 <literal>logdir</literal> are optional. Watch out in the below description
78 for what happens if you leave them unset.
82 The main config file controls all aspects of <application>Privoxy</application>'s
83 operation that are not location dependent (i.e. they apply universally, no matter
84 where you may be surfing).
91 <!-- This part only goes into the config file -->
94 @@TITLE<!-- between the @@ is stripped by Makefile -->@@
95 Sample Configuration File for Privoxy v&p-version;
98 $Id: p-config.sgml,v 2.10 2006/09/07 02:02:56 hal9 Exp $
101 Copyright (C) 2001-2006 Privoxy Developers http://privoxy.org
106 #################################################################
111 II. FORMAT OF THE CONFIGURATION FILE #
113 1. LOCAL SET-UP DOCUMENTATION #
114 2. CONFIGURATION AND LOG FILE LOCATIONS #
116 4. ACCESS CONTROL AND SECURITY #
118 6. WINDOWS GUI OPTIONS #
120 #################################################################
124 <literallayout>I. INTRODUCTION
125 =============== <!-- fuck this madness --></literallayout>
128 This file holds the Privoxy configuration. If you modify this
129 file, you will need to send a couple of requests (of any kind) to the proxy
130 before any changes take effect.
133 When starting Privoxy on Unix systems, give the name of this
134 file as an argument. On Windows systems, Privoxy will look for
135 this file with the name 'config.txt' in the same directory where
136 Privoxy is installed.
140 <literallayout><!-- funky spacing -->
142 II. FORMAT OF THE CONFIGURATION FILE
143 ====================================</literallayout>
146 Configuration lines consist of an initial keyword followed by a list
147 of values, all separated by whitespace (any number of spaces or
151 actionsfile default.action
154 Indicates that the actionsfile is named 'default.action'.
157 The '#' indicates a comment. Any part of a line following a '#' is
158 ignored, except if the '#' is preceded by a '\'.
161 Thus, by placing a # at the start of an existing configuration line,
162 you can make it a comment and it will be treated as if it weren't there.
163 This is called "commenting out" an option and can be useful.
166 Note that commenting out and option and leaving it at its default
167 are two completely different things! Most options behave very
168 differently when unset. See the the "Effect if unset" explanation
169 in each option's description for details.
172 Long lines can be continued on the next line by using a `\' as
178 <!-- ************************************************ -->
179 <!-- The following is common to both outputs (mostly) -->
180 <!-- ************************************************ -->
184 <!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
185 <sect2 id="local-set-up">
186 <title>Local Set-up Documentation</title>
189 If you intend to operate <application>Privoxy</application> for more users
190 than just yourself, it might be a good idea to let them know how to reach
191 you, what you block and why you do that, your policies, etc.
195 <!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
196 <sect3 renderas="sect4" id="user-manual"><title>user-manual</title>
199 <term>Specifies:</term>
202 Location of the <application>Privoxy</application> User Manual.
207 <term>Type of value:</term>
209 <para>A fully qualified URI</para>
213 <term>Default value:</term>
215 <para><emphasis>Unset</emphasis></para>
219 <term>Effect if unset:</term>
222 <ulink url="http://www.privoxy.org/user-manual/">http://www.privoxy.org/<replaceable class="parameter">version</replaceable>/user-manual/</ulink>
223 will be used, where <replaceable class="parameter">version</replaceable> is the <application>Privoxy</application> version.
231 The User Manual URI is the single best source of information on
232 <application>Privoxy</application>, and is used for help links from some
233 of the internal CGI pages. The manual itself is normally packaged with the
234 binary distributions, so you probably want to set this to a locally
242 Unix, in local filesystem (may not work with all browsers):
245 <screen> user-manual file:///usr/share/doc/privoxy-&p-version;/user-manual/</screen>
248 Windows, in local filesystem, <emphasis>must</emphasis> use forward slash notation:
251 <screen> user-manual file:/c:/some-dir/privoxy-&p-version;/user-manual/</screen>
254 Windows, UNC notation (with forward slashes):
257 <screen> user-manual file://///some-server/some-path/privoxy-&p-version;/user-manual/</screen>
261 The best all purpose solution is simply to put the full local
262 <literal>PATH</literal> to where the <citetitle>User Manual</citetitle> is
266 <screen> user-manual /usr/share/doc/privoxy/user-manual</screen>
269 The User Manual is then available to anyone with access to the proxy, by
270 following the built-in URL: <literal>http://config.privoxy.org/user-manual/</literal>
271 (or the shortcut: <literal>http://p.p/user-manual/</literal>).
274 If the documentation is not on the local system, it can be accessed
275 from a remote server, as:
278 <screen> user-manual http://example.com/privoxy/user-manual/</screen>
281 <!-- this gets hammered in conversion to config. Text repeated below. -->
284 If set, this option should be <emphasis>the first option in the config
285 file</emphasis>, because it is used while the config file is being read
298 If set, this option should be the first option in the config
299 file, because it is used while the config file is being read.
308 <![%config-file;[<literallayout>@@#user-manual http://www.privoxy.org/user-manual/</literallayout>]]>
312 <!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
313 <sect3 renderas="sect4" id="trust-info-url"><title>trust-info-url</title>
317 <term>Specifies:</term>
320 A URL to be displayed in the error page that users will see if access to an untrusted page is denied.
325 <term>Type of value:</term>
331 <term>Default value:</term>
333 <para>Two example URL are provided</para>
337 <term>Effect if unset:</term>
340 No links are displayed on the "untrusted" error page.
348 The value of this option only matters if the experimental trust mechanism has been
349 activated. (See <link linkend="trustfile"><emphasis>trustfile</emphasis></link> above.)
352 If you use the trust mechanism, it is a good idea to write up some on-line
353 documentation about your trust policy and to specify the URL(s) here.
354 Use multiple times for multiple URLs.
357 The URL(s) should be added to the trustfile as well, so users don't end up
358 locked out from the information on why they were locked out in the first place!
364 <![%config-file;[<literallayout>@@trust-info-url http://www.example.com/why_we_block.html</literallayout>]]>
365 <![%config-file;[<literallayout>@@trust-info-url http://www.example.com/what_we_allow.html</literallayout>]]>
369 <!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
370 <sect3 renderas="sect4" id="admin-address"><title>admin-address</title>
374 <term>Specifies:</term>
377 An email address to reach the proxy administrator.
382 <term>Type of value:</term>
384 <para>Email address</para>
388 <term>Default value:</term>
390 <para><emphasis>Unset</emphasis></para>
394 <term>Effect if unset:</term>
397 No email address is displayed on error pages and the CGI user interface.
405 If both <literal>admin-address</literal> and <literal>proxy-info-url</literal>
406 are unset, the whole "Local Privoxy Support" box on all generated pages will
413 <![%config-file;[<literallayout>@@#admin-address privoxy-admin@example.com</literallayout>]]>
417 <!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
418 <sect3 renderas="sect4" id="proxy-info-url"><title>proxy-info-url</title>
422 <term>Specifies:</term>
425 A URL to documentation about the local <application>Privoxy</application> setup,
426 configuration or policies.
431 <term>Type of value:</term>
437 <term>Default value:</term>
439 <para><emphasis>Unset</emphasis></para>
443 <term>Effect if unset:</term>
446 No link to local documentation is displayed on error pages and the CGI user interface.
454 If both <literal>admin-address</literal> and <literal>proxy-info-url</literal>
455 are unset, the whole "Local Privoxy Support" box on all generated pages will
459 This URL shouldn't be blocked ;-)
465 <![%config-file;[<literallayout>@@#proxy-info-url http://www.example.com/proxy-service.html</literallayout>]]>
469 <!-- ~ End section ~ -->
473 <!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
475 <sect2 id="conf-log-loc">
476 <title>Configuration and Log File Locations</title>
479 <application>Privoxy</application> can (and normally does) use a number of
480 other files for additional configuration, help and logging.
481 This section of the configuration file tells <application>Privoxy</application>
482 where to find those other files.
486 The user running <application>Privoxy</application>, must have read
487 permission for all configuration files, and write permission to any files
488 that would be modified, such as log files and actions files.
492 <!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
493 <sect3 renderas="sect4" id="confdir"><title>confdir</title>
497 <term>Specifies:</term>
499 <para>The directory where the other configuration files are located</para>
503 <term>Type of value:</term>
505 <para>Path name</para>
509 <term>Default value:</term>
511 <para>/etc/privoxy (Unix) <emphasis>or</emphasis> <application>Privoxy</application> installation dir (Windows) </para>
515 <term>Effect if unset:</term>
517 <para><emphasis>Mandatory</emphasis></para>
524 No trailing <quote><literal>/</literal></quote>, please
527 When development goes modular and multi-user, the blocker, filter, and
528 per-user config will be stored in subdirectories of <quote>confdir</quote>.
529 For now, the configuration directory structure is flat, except for
530 <filename>confdir/templates</filename>, where the HTML templates for CGI
531 output reside (e.g. <application>Privoxy's</application> 404 error page).
537 <![%config-file;[<literallayout>@@confdir .</literallayout>]]>
541 <!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
542 <sect3 renderas="sect4" id="logdir"><title>logdir</title>
546 <term>Specifies:</term>
549 The directory where all logging takes place (i.e. where <filename>logfile</filename> and
550 <filename>jarfile</filename> are located)
555 <term>Type of value:</term>
557 <para>Path name</para>
561 <term>Default value:</term>
563 <para>/var/log/privoxy (Unix) <emphasis>or</emphasis> <application>Privoxy</application> installation dir (Windows) </para>
567 <term>Effect if unset:</term>
569 <para><emphasis>Mandatory</emphasis></para>
576 No trailing <quote><literal>/</literal></quote>, please
582 <![%config-file;[<literallayout>@@logdir .</literallayout>]]>
586 <!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
587 <sect3 renderas="sect4" id="actionsfile"><title>
590 <anchor id="default.action">
591 <anchor id="standard.action">
592 <anchor id="user.action">
593 <!-- Note: slightly modified this section 04/28/02, hal. See NOTE. -->
596 <term>Specifies:</term>
599 The <link linkend="actions-file">actions file(s)</link> to use
604 <term>Type of value:</term>
606 <para>File name, relative to <literal>confdir</literal>, without the <literal>.action</literal> suffix</para>
610 <term>Default values:</term>
614 <msgtext><literallayout> standard # Internal purposes, no editing recommended</literallayout></msgtext>
617 <msgtext><literallayout> default # Main actions file</literallayout></msgtext>
620 <msgtext><literallayout> user # User customizations</literallayout></msgtext>
626 <term>Effect if unset:</term>
629 No actions are taken at all. Simple neutral proxying.
637 Multiple <literal>actionsfile</literal> lines are permitted, and are in fact recommended!
640 The default values include standard.action, which is used for internal
641 purposes and should be loaded, default.action, which is the
642 <quote>main</quote> actions file maintained by the developers, and
643 <filename>user.action</filename>, where you can make your personal additions.
646 Actions files are where all the per site and per URL configuration is done for
647 ad blocking, cookie management, privacy considerations, etc.
648 There is no point in using <application>Privoxy</application> without at
649 least one actions file.
655 <!-- NOTE: alternate markup to make a simpler list doesn't work due to -->
656 <!-- html -> text conversion, blah -->
657 <![%config-file;[<literallayout>@@actionsfile standard # Internal purpose, recommended</literallayout>]]>
658 <![%config-file;[<literallayout>@@actionsfile default # Main actions file</literallayout>]]>
659 <![%config-file;[<literallayout>@@actionsfile user # User customizations</literallayout>]]>
662 <!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
663 <sect3 renderas="sect4" id="filterfile"><title>filterfile</title>
664 <anchor id="default.filter">
667 <term>Specifies:</term>
670 The <link linkend="filter-file">filter file(s)</link> to use
675 <term>Type of value:</term>
677 <para>File name, relative to <literal>confdir</literal></para>
681 <term>Default value:</term>
683 <para>default.filter (Unix) <emphasis>or</emphasis> default.filter.txt (Windows)</para>
687 <term>Effect if unset:</term>
690 No textual content filtering takes place, i.e. all
691 <literal>+<link linkend="filter">filter</link>{<replaceable class="parameter">name</replaceable>}</literal>
692 actions in the actions files are turned neutral.
700 Multiple <literal>filterfile</literal> lines are permitted.
703 The <link linkend="filter-file">filter files</link> contain content modification
704 rules that use <link linkend="regex">regular expressions</link>. These rules permit
705 powerful changes on the content of Web pages, and optionally the headers
706 as well, e.g., you could disable your favorite JavaScript annoyances,
707 re-write the actual displayed text, or just have some fun
708 playing buzzword bingo with web pages.
712 <literal>+<link linkend="filter">filter</link>{<replaceable class="parameter">name</replaceable>}</literal>
713 actions rely on the relevant filter (<replaceable class="parameter">name</replaceable>)
714 to be defined in a filter file!
717 A pre-defined filter file called <filename>default.filter</filename> that contains
718 a number of useful filters for common problems is included in the distribution.
719 See the section on the <literal><link linkend="filter">filter</link></literal>
723 It is recommended to place any locally adapted filters into a separate
724 file, such as <filename>user.filter</filename>.
730 <![%config-file;[<literallayout>@@filterfile default.filter</literallayout>]]>
731 <![%config-file;[<literallayout>@@#filterfile user.filter # User customizations</literallayout>]]>
735 <!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
736 <sect3 renderas="sect4" id="logfile"><title>logfile</title>
740 <term>Specifies:</term>
748 <term>Type of value:</term>
750 <para>File name, relative to <literal>logdir</literal></para>
754 <term>Default value:</term>
756 <para>logfile (Unix) <emphasis>or</emphasis> privoxy.log (Windows)</para>
760 <term>Effect if unset:</term>
763 No log file is used, all log messages go to the console (<literal>STDERR</literal>).
771 removed per bug report 688728 02/20/03 HB
774 The windows version will additionally log to the console.
778 The logfile is where all logging and error messages are written. The level
779 of detail and number of messages are set with the <literal>debug</literal>
780 option (see below). The logfile can be useful for tracking down a problem with
781 <application>Privoxy</application> (e.g., it's not blocking an ad you
782 think it should block) but in most cases you probably will never look at it.
785 Your logfile will grow indefinitely, and you will probably want to
786 periodically remove it. On Unix systems, you can do this with a cron job
787 (see <quote>man cron</quote>). For Red Hat, a <command>logrotate</command>
788 script has been included.
791 On SuSE Linux systems, you can place a line like <quote>/var/log/privoxy.*
792 +1024k 644 nobody.nogroup</quote> in <filename>/etc/logfiles</filename>, with
793 the effect that cron.daily will automatically archive, gzip, and empty the
794 log, when it exceeds 1M size.
797 Any log files must be writable by whatever user <application>Privoxy</application>
798 is being run as (default on UNIX, user id is <quote>privoxy</quote>).
804 <![%config-file;[<literallayout>@@logfile logfile</literallayout>]]>
808 <!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
809 <sect3 renderas="sect4" id="jarfile"><title>jarfile</title>
813 <term>Specifies:</term>
816 The file to store intercepted cookies in
821 <term>Type of value:</term>
823 <para>File name, relative to <literal>logdir</literal></para>
827 <term>Default value:</term>
829 <para>Unset (commented out). When activated: jarfile (Unix) <emphasis>or</emphasis> privoxy.jar (Windows)</para>
833 <term>Effect if unset:</term>
836 Intercepted cookies are not stored in a dedicated log file.
844 The jarfile may grow to ridiculous sizes over time.
847 If debug 8 (show header parsing) is enabled, cookies are
848 written to the logfile with the rest of the headers.
854 <![%config-file;[<literallayout>@@#jarfile jarfile</literallayout>]]>
858 <!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
859 <sect3 renderas="sect4" id="trustfile"><title>trustfile</title>
862 <term>Specifies:</term>
865 The trust file to use
870 <term>Type of value:</term>
872 <para>File name, relative to <literal>confdir</literal></para>
876 <term>Default value:</term>
878 <para><emphasis>Unset (commented out)</emphasis>. When activated: trust (Unix) <emphasis>or</emphasis> trust.txt (Windows)</para>
882 <term>Effect if unset:</term>
885 The entire trust mechanism is turned off.
893 The trust mechanism is an experimental feature for building white-lists and should
894 be used with care. It is <emphasis>NOT</emphasis> recommended for the casual user.
897 If you specify a trust file, <application>Privoxy</application> will only allow
898 access to sites that are specified in the trustfile. Sites can be listed
902 Prepending a <literal>~</literal> character limits access to this site
903 only (and any sub-paths within this site), e.g.
904 <literal>~www.example.com</literal>.
907 Or, you can designate sites as <emphasis>trusted referrers</emphasis>, by
908 prepending the name with a <literal>+</literal> character. The effect is that
909 access to untrusted sites will be granted -- but only if a link from this
910 trusted referrer was used. The link target will then be added to the
911 <quote>trustfile</quote> so that future, direct accesses will be granted.
912 Sites added via this mechanism do not become trusted referrers themselves
913 (i.e. they are added with a <literal>~</literal> designation).
916 If you use the <literal>+</literal> operator in the trust file, it may grow
917 considerably over time.
920 It is recommended that <application>Privoxy</application> be compiled with
921 the <literal>--disable-force</literal>, <literal>--disable-toggle</literal> and
922 <literal> --disable-editor</literal> options, if this feature is to be
926 Possible applications include limiting Internet access for children.
933 <![%config-file;[<literallayout>@@#trustfile trust</literallayout>]]>
937 <!-- ~ End section ~ -->
939 <!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
940 <sect2 id="debugging">
941 <title>Debugging</title>
944 These options are mainly useful when tracing a problem.
945 Note that you might also want to invoke
946 <application>Privoxy</application> with the <literal>--no-daemon</literal>
947 command line option when debugging.
950 <sect3 renderas="sect4" id="debug"><title>debug</title>
954 <term>Specifies:</term>
957 Key values that determine what information gets logged to the
958 <link linkend="logfile"><emphasis>logfile</emphasis></link>.
963 <term>Type of value:</term>
965 <para>Integer values</para>
969 <term>Default value:</term>
971 <para>12289 (i.e.: URLs plus informational and warning messages)</para>
975 <term>Effect if unset:</term>
986 The available debug levels are:
990 debug 1 # show each GET/POST/CONNECT request
991 debug 2 # show each connection status
992 debug 4 # show I/O status
993 debug 8 # show header parsing
994 debug 16 # log all data into the logfile
995 debug 32 # debug force feature
996 debug 64 # debug regular expression filter
997 debug 128 # debug fast redirects
998 debug 256 # debug GIF de-animation
999 debug 512 # Common Log Format
1000 debug 1024 # debug kill pop-ups
1001 debug 2048 # CGI user interface
1002 debug 4096 # Startup banner and warnings.
1003 debug 8192 # Non-fatal errors
1007 To select multiple debug levels, you can either add them or use
1008 multiple <literal>debug</literal> lines.
1011 A debug level of 1 is informative because it will show you each request
1012 as it happens. <emphasis>1, 4096 and 8192 are highly recommended</emphasis>
1013 so that you will notice when things go wrong. The other levels are probably
1014 only of interest if you are hunting down a specific problem. They can produce
1015 a hell of an output (especially 16).
1019 The reporting of <emphasis>fatal</emphasis> errors (i.e. ones which crash
1020 <application>Privoxy</application>) is always on and cannot be disabled.
1023 If you want to use CLF (Common Log Format), you should set <quote>debug
1024 512</quote> <emphasis>ONLY</emphasis> and not enable anything else.
1030 <![%config-file;[<literallayout>@@debug 1 # show each GET/POST/CONNECT request</literallayout>]]>
1031 <![%config-file;[<literallayout>@@debug 4096 # Startup banner and warnings</literallayout>]]>
1032 <![%config-file;[<literallayout>@@debug 8192 # Errors - *we highly recommended enabling this*</literallayout>]]>
1036 <!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
1037 <sect3 renderas="sect4" id="single-threaded"><title>single-threaded</title>
1041 <term>Specifies:</term>
1044 Whether to run only one server thread
1049 <term>Type of value:</term>
1051 <para><emphasis>None</emphasis></para>
1055 <term>Default value:</term>
1057 <para><emphasis>Unset</emphasis></para>
1061 <term>Effect if unset:</term>
1064 Multi-threaded (or, where unavailable: forked) operation, i.e. the ability to
1065 serve multiple requests simultaneously.
1073 This option is only there for debug purposes and you should never
1074 need to use it. <emphasis>It will drastically reduce performance.</emphasis>
1080 <![%config-file;[<literallayout>@@#single-threaded</literallayout>]]>
1085 <!-- ~ End section ~ -->
1088 <!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
1089 <sect2 id="access-control">
1090 <title>Access Control and Security</title>
1093 This section of the config file controls the security-relevant aspects
1094 of <application>Privoxy</application>'s configuration.
1098 <!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
1099 <sect3 renderas="sect4" id="listen-address"><title>listen-address</title>
1103 <term>Specifies:</term>
1106 The IP address and TCP port on which <application>Privoxy</application> will
1107 listen for client requests.
1112 <term>Type of value:</term>
1114 <para>[<replaceable class="parameter">IP-Address</replaceable>]:<replaceable class="parameter">Port</replaceable></para>
1119 <term>Default value:</term>
1121 <para>127.0.0.1:8118</para>
1125 <term>Effect if unset:</term>
1128 Bind to 127.0.0.1 (localhost), port 8118. This is suitable and recommended for
1129 home users who run <application>Privoxy</application> on the same machine as
1138 You will need to configure your browser(s) to this proxy address and port.
1141 If you already have another service running on port 8118, or if you want to
1142 serve requests from other machines (e.g. on your local network) as well, you
1143 will need to override the default.
1146 If you leave out the IP address, <application>Privoxy</application> will
1147 bind to all interfaces (addresses) on your machine and may become reachable
1148 from the Internet. In that case, consider using <link
1149 linkend="acls">access control lists</link> (ACL's, see below), and/or
1153 If you open <application>Privoxy</application> to untrusted users, you will
1154 also want to turn off the <literal><link
1155 linkend="enable-edit-actions">enable-edit-actions</link></literal> and
1156 <literal><link linkend="enable-remote-toggle">enable-remote-toggle</link></literal>
1162 <term>Example:</term>
1165 Suppose you are running <application>Privoxy</application> on
1166 a machine which has the address 192.168.0.1 on your local private network
1167 (192.168.0.0) and has another outside connection with a different address.
1168 You want it to serve requests from inside only:
1172 listen-address 192.168.0.1:8118
1179 <![%config-file;[<literallayout>@@listen-address 127.0.0.1:8118</literallayout>]]>
1183 <!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
1184 <sect3 renderas="sect4" id="toggle"><title>toggle</title>
1188 <term>Specifies:</term>
1191 Initial state of "toggle" status
1196 <term>Type of value:</term>
1202 <term>Default value:</term>
1208 <term>Effect if unset:</term>
1211 Act as if toggled on
1219 If set to 0, <application>Privoxy</application> will start in
1220 <quote>toggled off</quote> mode, i.e. behave like a normal, content-neutral
1221 proxy where all ad blocking, filtering, etc are disabled. See
1222 <literal>enable-remote-toggle</literal> below. This is not really useful
1223 anymore, since toggling is much easier via <ulink
1224 url="http://config.privoxy.org/toggle">the web interface</ulink> than via
1225 editing the <filename>conf</filename> file.
1228 The windows version will only display the toggle icon in the system tray
1229 if this option is present.
1235 <![%config-file;[<literallayout>@@toggle 1</literallayout>]]>
1239 <!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
1240 <sect3 renderas="sect4" id="enable-remote-toggle"><title>enable-remote-toggle</title>
1243 <term>Specifies:</term>
1246 Whether or not the <ulink url="http://config.privoxy.org/toggle">web-based toggle
1247 feature</ulink> may be used
1252 <term>Type of value:</term>
1258 <term>Default value:</term>
1264 <term>Effect if unset:</term>
1267 The web-based toggle feature is disabled.
1275 When toggled off, <application>Privoxy</application> acts like a normal,
1276 content-neutral proxy, i.e. it acts as if none of the actions applied to
1280 For the time being, access to the toggle feature can <emphasis>not</emphasis> be
1281 controlled separately by <quote>ACLs</quote> or HTTP authentication,
1282 so that everybody who can access <application>Privoxy</application> (see
1283 <quote>ACLs</quote> and <literal>listen-address</literal> above) can
1284 toggle it for all users. So this option is <emphasis>not recommended</emphasis>
1285 for multi-user environments with untrusted users.
1288 Note that you must have compiled <application>Privoxy</application> with
1289 support for this feature, otherwise this option has no effect.
1295 <![%config-file;[<literallayout>@@enable-remote-toggle 1</literallayout>]]>
1299 <!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
1300 <sect3 renderas="sect4" id="enable-remote-http-toggle"><title>enable-remote-http-toggle</title>
1303 <term>Specifies:</term>
1306 Whether or not Privoxy recognizes special HTTP headers to change its behaviour.
1311 <term>Type of value:</term>
1317 <term>Default value:</term>
1323 <term>Effect if unset:</term>
1326 Privoxy ignores special HTTP headers.
1334 When toggled on, the client can change <application>Privoxy's</application>
1335 behaviour by setting special HTTP headers. Currently the only supported
1336 special header is <quote>X-Filter: No</quote>, to disable filtering for
1337 the ongoing request, even if it is enabled in one of the action files.
1340 If you are using <application>Privoxy</application> in a
1341 multi-user environment or with untrustworthy clients and want to
1342 enforce filtering, you will have to disable this option,
1343 otherwise you can ignore it.
1349 <![%config-file;[<literallayout>@@enable-remote-http-toggle 1</literallayout>]]>
1353 <!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
1354 <sect3 renderas="sect4" id="enable-edit-actions"><title>enable-edit-actions</title>
1357 <term>Specifies:</term>
1360 Whether or not the <ulink url="http://config.privoxy.org/show-status">web-based actions
1361 file editor</ulink> may be used
1366 <term>Type of value:</term>
1372 <term>Default value:</term>
1378 <term>Effect if unset:</term>
1381 The web-based actions file editor is disabled.
1389 For the time being, access to the editor can <emphasis>not</emphasis> be
1390 controlled separately by <quote>ACLs</quote> or HTTP authentication,
1391 so that everybody who can access <application>Privoxy</application> (see
1392 <quote>ACLs</quote> and <literal>listen-address</literal> above) can
1393 modify its configuration for all users. So this option is <emphasis>not
1394 recommended</emphasis> for multi-user environments with untrusted users.
1397 Note that you must have compiled <application>Privoxy</application> with
1398 support for this feature, otherwise this option has no effect.
1404 <![%config-file;[<literallayout>@@enable-edit-actions 1</literallayout>]]>
1407 <!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
1408 <sect3 renderas="sect4" id="acls"><title>
1409 ACLs: permit-access and deny-access</title>
1410 <anchor id="permit-access">
1411 <anchor id="deny-access">
1415 <term>Specifies:</term>
1418 Who can access what.
1423 <term>Type of value:</term>
1426 <replaceable class="parameter">src_addr</replaceable>[/<replaceable class="parameter">src_masklen</replaceable>]
1427 [<replaceable class="parameter">dst_addr</replaceable>[/<replaceable class="parameter">dst_masklen</replaceable>]]
1430 Where <replaceable class="parameter">src_addr</replaceable> and
1431 <replaceable class="parameter">dst_addr</replaceable> are IP addresses in dotted decimal notation or valid
1432 DNS names, and <replaceable class="parameter">src_masklen</replaceable> and
1433 <replaceable class="parameter">dst_masklen</replaceable> are subnet masks in CIDR notation, i.e. integer
1434 values from 2 to 30 representing the length (in bits) of the network address. The masks and the whole
1435 destination part are optional.
1440 <term>Default value:</term>
1442 <para><emphasis>Unset</emphasis></para>
1446 <term>Effect if unset:</term>
1449 Don't restrict access further than implied by <literal>listen-address</literal>
1457 Access controls are included at the request of ISPs and systems
1458 administrators, and <emphasis>are not usually needed by individual users</emphasis>.
1459 For a typical home user, it will normally suffice to ensure that
1460 <application>Privoxy</application> only listens on the localhost
1461 (127.0.0.1) or internal (home) network address by means of the
1462 <link linkend="listen-address"><emphasis>listen-address</emphasis></link>
1466 Please see the warnings in the FAQ that this proxy is not intended to be a substitute
1467 for a firewall or to encourage anyone to defer addressing basic security
1471 Multiple ACL lines are OK.
1472 If any ACLs are specified, then the <application>Privoxy</application>
1473 talks only to IP addresses that match at least one <literal>permit-access</literal> line
1474 and don't match any subsequent <literal>deny-access</literal> line. In other words, the
1475 last match wins, with the default being <literal>deny-access</literal>.
1478 If <application>Privoxy</application> is using a forwarder (see <literal>forward</literal> below)
1479 for a particular destination URL, the <replaceable class="parameter">dst_addr</replaceable>
1480 that is examined is the address of the forwarder and <emphasis>NOT</emphasis> the address
1481 of the ultimate target. This is necessary because it may be impossible for the local
1482 <application>Privoxy</application> to determine the IP address of the
1483 ultimate target (that's often what gateways are used for).
1486 You should prefer using IP addresses over DNS names, because the address lookups take
1487 time. All DNS names must resolve! You can <emphasis>not</emphasis> use domain patterns
1488 like <quote>*.org</quote> or partial domain names. If a DNS name resolves to multiple
1489 IP addresses, only the first one is used.
1492 Denying access to particular sites by ACL may have undesired side effects
1493 if the site in question is hosted on a machine which also hosts other sites.
1498 <term>Examples:</term>
1501 Explicitly define the default behavior if no ACL and
1502 <literal>listen-address</literal> are set: <quote>localhost</quote>
1503 is OK. The absence of a <replaceable class="parameter">dst_addr</replaceable> implies that
1504 <emphasis>all</emphasis> destination addresses are OK:
1508 permit-access localhost
1512 Allow any host on the same class C subnet as www.privoxy.org access to
1513 nothing but www.example.com:
1517 permit-access www.privoxy.org/24 www.example.com/32
1521 Allow access from any host on the 26-bit subnet 192.168.45.64 to anywhere,
1522 with the exception that 192.168.45.73 may not access www.dirty-stuff.example.com:
1526 permit-access 192.168.45.64/26
1527 deny-access 192.168.45.73 www.dirty-stuff.example.com
1536 <!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
1537 <sect3 renderas="sect4" id="buffer-limit"><title>buffer-limit</title>
1541 <term>Specifies:</term>
1544 Maximum size of the buffer for content filtering.
1549 <term>Type of value:</term>
1551 <para>Size in Kbytes</para>
1555 <term>Default value:</term>
1561 <term>Effect if unset:</term>
1564 Use a 4MB (4096 KB) limit.
1572 For content filtering, i.e. the <literal>+filter</literal> and
1573 <literal>+deanimate-gif</literal> actions, it is necessary that
1574 <application>Privoxy</application> buffers the entire document body.
1575 This can be potentially dangerous, since a server could just keep sending
1576 data indefinitely and wait for your RAM to exhaust -- with nasty consequences.
1580 When a document buffer size reaches the <literal>buffer-limit</literal>, it is
1581 flushed to the client unfiltered and no further attempt to
1582 filter the rest of the document is made. Remember that there may be multiple threads
1583 running, which might require up to <literal>buffer-limit</literal> Kbytes
1584 <emphasis>each</emphasis>, unless you have enabled <quote>single-threaded</quote>
1591 <![%config-file;[<literallayout>@@buffer-limit 4096</literallayout>]]>
1596 <!-- ~ End section ~ -->
1599 <!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
1601 <sect2 id="forwarding">
1602 <title>Forwarding</title>
1605 This feature allows routing of HTTP requests through a chain of
1607 It can be used to better protect privacy and confidentiality when
1608 accessing specific domains by routing requests to those domains
1609 through an anonymous public proxy (see e.g. <ulink
1610 url="http://www.multiproxy.org/anon_list.htm">http://www.multiproxy.org/anon_list.htm</ulink>)
1611 Or to use a caching proxy to speed up browsing. Or chaining to a parent
1612 proxy may be necessary because the machine that <application>Privoxy</application>
1613 runs on has no direct Internet access.
1617 Also specified here are SOCKS proxies. <application>Privoxy</application>
1618 supports the SOCKS 4 and SOCKS 4A protocols.
1621 <sect3 renderas="sect4" id="forward"><title>forward</title>
1624 <term>Specifies:</term>
1627 To which parent HTTP proxy specific requests should be routed.
1632 <term>Type of value:</term>
1635 <replaceable class="parameter">target_pattern</replaceable>
1636 <replaceable class="parameter">http_parent</replaceable>[:<replaceable class="parameter">port</replaceable>]
1639 where <replaceable class="parameter">target_pattern</replaceable> is a <link linkend="af-patterns">URL pattern</link>
1640 that specifies to which requests (i.e. URLs) this forward rule shall apply. Use <literal>/</literal> to
1641 denote <quote>all URLs</quote>.
1642 <replaceable class="parameter">http_parent</replaceable>[:<replaceable class="parameter">port</replaceable>]
1643 is the DNS name or IP address of the parent HTTP proxy through which the requests should be forwarded,
1644 optionally followed by its listening port (default: 8080).
1645 Use a single dot (<literal>.</literal>) to denote <quote>no forwarding</quote>.
1650 <term>Default value:</term>
1652 <para><emphasis>Unset</emphasis></para>
1656 <term>Effect if unset:</term>
1659 Don't use parent HTTP proxies.
1667 If <replaceable class="parameter">http_parent</replaceable> is <quote>.</quote>, then requests are not
1668 forwarded to another HTTP proxy but are made directly to the web servers.
1671 Multiple lines are OK, they are checked in sequence, and the last match wins.
1676 <term>Examples:</term>
1679 Everything goes to an example anonymizing proxy, except SSL on port 443 (which it doesn't handle):
1683 forward / anon-proxy.example.org:8080
1688 Everything goes to our example ISP's caching proxy, except for requests
1689 to that ISP's sites:
1693 forward / caching-proxy.example-isp.net:8000
1694 forward .example-isp.net .
1703 <!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
1704 <sect3 renderas="sect4" id="socks"><title>
1705 forward-socks4 and forward-socks4a</title>
1706 <anchor id="forward-socks4">
1707 <anchor id="forward-socks4a">
1711 <term>Specifies:</term>
1714 Through which SOCKS proxy (and to which parent HTTP proxy) specific requests should be routed.
1719 <term>Type of value:</term>
1722 <replaceable class="parameter">target_pattern</replaceable>
1723 <replaceable class="parameter">socks_proxy</replaceable>[:<replaceable class="parameter">port</replaceable>]
1724 <replaceable class="parameter">http_parent</replaceable>[:<replaceable class="parameter">port</replaceable>]
1727 where <replaceable class="parameter">target_pattern</replaceable> is a <link linkend="af-patterns">URL pattern</link>
1728 that specifies to which requests (i.e. URLs) this forward rule shall apply. Use <literal>/</literal> to
1729 denote <quote>all URLs</quote>.
1730 <replaceable class="parameter">http_parent</replaceable> and <replaceable class="parameter">socks_proxy</replaceable>
1731 are IP addresses in dotted decimal notation or valid DNS names (<replaceable class="parameter">http_parent</replaceable>
1732 may be <quote>.</quote> to denote <quote>no HTTP forwarding</quote>), and the optional
1733 <replaceable class="parameter">port</replaceable> parameters are TCP ports, i.e. integer values from 1 to 64535
1738 <term>Default value:</term>
1740 <para><emphasis>Unset</emphasis></para>
1744 <term>Effect if unset:</term>
1747 Don't use SOCKS proxies.
1755 Multiple lines are OK, they are checked in sequence, and the last match wins.
1758 The difference between <literal>forward-socks4</literal> and <literal>forward-socks4a</literal>
1759 is that in the SOCKS 4A protocol, the DNS resolution of the target hostname happens on the SOCKS
1760 server, while in SOCKS 4 it happens locally.
1763 If <replaceable class="parameter">http_parent</replaceable> is <quote>.</quote>, then requests are not
1764 forwarded to another HTTP proxy but are made (HTTP-wise) directly to the web servers, albeit through
1770 <term>Examples:</term>
1773 From the company example.com, direct connections are made to all
1774 <quote>internal</quote> domains, but everything outbound goes through
1775 their ISP's proxy by way of example.com's corporate SOCKS 4A gateway to
1780 forward-socks4a / socks-gw.example.com:1080 www-cache.example-isp.net:8080
1781 forward .example.com .
1785 A rule that uses a SOCKS 4 gateway for all destinations but no HTTP parent looks like this:
1789 forward-socks4 / socks-gw.example.com:1080 .
1794 To chain Privoxy and Tor, both running on the same system, you should use
1799 forward-socks4 / 127.0.0.1:9050 .
1804 The public <application>Tor</application> network can't be used to reach your local network,
1805 therefore it's a good idea to make some exceptions:
1809 forward 192.168.*.*/ .
1811 forward 127.*.*.*/ .
1815 Unencrypted connections to systems in these address ranges will
1816 be as (un)secure as the local network is, but the alternative is that you
1817 can't reach the network at all.
1820 If you also want to be able to reach servers in your local network by
1821 using their names, you will need additional exceptions that look like
1826 forward localhost/ .
1835 <![%user-man;[ <!-- not included in config due to length -->
1836 <!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
1837 <sect3 renderas="sect4" id="advanced-forwarding-examples"><title>Advanced Forwarding Examples</title>
1840 If you have links to multiple ISPs that provide various special content
1841 only to their subscribers, you can configure multiple <application>Privoxies</application>
1842 which have connections to the respective ISPs to act as forwarders to each other, so that
1843 <emphasis>your</emphasis> users can see the internal content of all ISPs.
1847 Assume that host-a has a PPP connection to isp-a.net. And host-b has a PPP connection to
1848 isp-b.net. Both run <application>Privoxy</application>. Their forwarding
1849 configuration can look like this:
1859 forward .isp-b.net host-b:8118
1870 forward .isp-a.net host-a:8118
1875 Now, your users can set their browser's proxy to use either
1876 host-a or host-b and be able to browse the internal content
1877 of both isp-a and isp-b.
1881 If you intend to chain <application>Privoxy</application> and
1882 <application>squid</application> locally, then chain as
1883 <literal>browser -> squid -> privoxy</literal> is the recommended way.
1887 Assuming that <application>Privoxy</application> and <application>squid</application>
1888 run on the same box, your <application>squid</application> configuration could then look like this:
1893 # Define Privoxy as parent proxy (without ICP)
1894 cache_peer 127.0.0.1 parent 8118 7 no-query
1896 # Define ACL for protocol FTP
1899 # Do not forward FTP requests to Privoxy
1900 always_direct allow ftp
1902 # Forward all the rest to Privoxy
1903 never_direct allow all</screen>
1907 You would then need to change your browser's proxy settings to <application>squid</application>'s address and port.
1908 Squid normally uses port 3128. If unsure consult <literal>http_port</literal> in <filename>squid.conf</filename>.
1912 You could just as well decide to only forward requests for Windows executables through
1913 a virus-scanning parent proxy, say, on <literal>antivir.example.com</literal>, port 8010:
1919 forward /.*\.(exe|com|dll|zip)$ antivir.example.com:8010</screen>
1925 <sect3 renderas="sect4" id="forwarded-connect-retries"><title>forwarded-connect-retries</title>
1928 <term>Specifies:</term>
1931 How often Privoxy retries if a forwarded connection request fails.
1936 <term>Type of value:</term>
1939 <replaceable class="parameter">Number of retries.</replaceable>
1944 <term>Default value:</term>
1946 <para><emphasis>0</emphasis></para>
1950 <term>Effect if unset:</term>
1953 Forwarded connections are treated like direct connections and no retry attempts are made.
1961 <replaceable class="parameter">forwarded-connect-retries</replaceable> is mainly interesting
1962 for socks4a connections, where Privoxy can't detect why the connections failed.
1963 The connection might have failed because of a DNS timeout in which case a retry makes sense,
1964 but it might also have failed because the server doesn't exist or isn't reachable. In this
1965 case the retry will just delay the appearance of Privoxy's error message.
1968 Only use this option, if you are getting many forwarding related error messages,
1969 that go away when you try again manually. Start with a small value and check Privoxy's
1970 logfile from time to time, to see how many retries are usually needed.
1975 <term>Examples:</term>
1978 forwarded-connect-retries 1
1983 <![%config-file;[<literallayout>@@forwarded-connect-retries 0</literallayout>]]>
1988 <!-- ~ End section ~ -->
1991 <!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
1993 <sect2 id="windows-gui">
1994 <title>Windows GUI Options</title>
1996 <application>Privoxy</application> has a number of options specific to the
1997 Windows GUI interface:
2000 <anchor id="activity-animation">
2001 <![%config-file;[<para>@@</para>]]> <!-- for spacing -->
2003 If <quote>activity-animation</quote> is set to 1, the
2004 <application>Privoxy</application> icon will animate when
2005 <quote>Privoxy</quote> is active. To turn off, set to 0.
2008 <![%config-file;[<literallayout>@@#activity-animation 1</literallayout>]]>
2014 <emphasis>activity-animation 1</emphasis>
2021 <anchor id="log-messages">
2022 <![%config-file;[<para>@@</para>]]> <!-- for spacing -->
2024 If <quote>log-messages</quote> is set to 1,
2025 <application>Privoxy</application> will log messages to the console
2029 <![%config-file;[<literallayout>@@#log-messages 1</literallayout>]]>
2035 <emphasis>log-messages 1</emphasis>
2042 <anchor id="log-buffer-size">
2043 <![%config-file;[<para>@@</para>]]> <!-- for spacing -->
2045 If <quote>log-buffer-size</quote> is set to 1, the size of the log buffer,
2046 i.e. the amount of memory used for the log messages displayed in the
2047 console window, will be limited to <quote>log-max-lines</quote> (see below).
2051 Warning: Setting this to 0 will result in the buffer to grow infinitely and
2052 eat up all your memory!
2055 <![%config-file;[<literallayout>@@#log-buffer-size 1</literallayout>]]>
2061 <emphasis>log-buffer-size 1</emphasis>
2068 <anchor id="log-max-lines">
2069 <![%config-file;[<para>@@</para>]]> <!-- for spacing -->
2071 <application>log-max-lines</application> is the maximum number of lines held
2072 in the log buffer. See above.
2075 <![%config-file;[<literallayout>@@#log-max-lines 200</literallayout>]]>
2081 <emphasis>log-max-lines 200</emphasis>
2088 <anchor id="log-highlight-messages">
2089 <![%config-file;[<para>@@</para>]]> <!-- for spacing -->
2091 If <quote>log-highlight-messages</quote> is set to 1,
2092 <application>Privoxy</application> will highlight portions of the log
2093 messages with a bold-faced font:
2096 <![%config-file;[<literallayout>@@#log-highlight-messages 1</literallayout>]]>
2102 <emphasis>log-highlight-messages 1</emphasis>
2109 <anchor id="log-font-name">
2110 <![%config-file;[<para>@@</para>]]> <!-- for spacing -->
2112 The font used in the console window:
2115 <![%config-file;[<literallayout>@@#log-font-name Comic Sans MS</literallayout>]]>
2121 <emphasis>log-font-name Comic Sans MS</emphasis>
2128 <anchor id="log-font-size">
2129 <![%config-file;[<para>@@</para>]]> <!-- for spacing -->
2131 Font size used in the console window:
2134 <![%config-file;[<literallayout>@@#log-font-size 8</literallayout>]]>
2140 <emphasis>log-font-size 8</emphasis>
2147 <anchor id="show-on-task-bar">
2148 <![%config-file;[<para>@@</para>]]> <!-- for spacing -->
2150 <quote>show-on-task-bar</quote> controls whether or not
2151 <application>Privoxy</application> will appear as a button on the Task bar
2155 <![%config-file;[<literallayout>@@#show-on-task-bar 0</literallayout>]]>
2161 <emphasis>show-on-task-bar 0</emphasis>
2168 <anchor id="close-button-minimizes">
2169 <![%config-file;[<para>@@</para>]]> <!-- for spacing -->
2171 If <quote>close-button-minimizes</quote> is set to 1, the Windows close
2172 button will minimize <application>Privoxy</application> instead of closing
2173 the program (close with the exit option on the File menu).
2176 <![%config-file;[<literallayout>@@#close-button-minimizes 1</literallayout>]]>
2182 <emphasis>close-button-minimizes 1</emphasis>
2189 <anchor id="hide-console">
2190 <![%config-file;[<para>@@</para>]]> <!-- for spacing -->
2192 The <quote>hide-console</quote> option is specific to the MS-Win console
2193 version of <application>Privoxy</application>. If this option is used,
2194 <application>Privoxy</application> will disconnect from and hide the
2198 <![%config-file;[<literallayout>@@#hide-console</literallayout>]]>
2204 #<emphasis>hide-console</emphasis>
2214 <!-- end config content common to both outputs -->
2217 <!-- These are dummy anchors to keep the processor quiet -->
2218 <!-- when building config-file only (ie. they are used in u-m only) -->
2221 <anchor id="filter">
2222 <anchor id="filter-file">
2224 <anchor id="actions-file">
2225 <anchor id="af-patterns">
2229 <!-- eof p-config.sgml -->