Privoxy 3.0.4 User Manual
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2. Installation

Privoxy is available both in convenient pre-compiled - packages for a wide range of operating systems, and as raw source code. - For most users, we recommend using the packages, which can be downloaded from our - Privoxy Project - Page.

Note: If you have a previous Junkbuster or - Privoxy installation on your system, you - will need to remove it. On some platforms, this may be done for you as part - of their installation procedure. (See below for your platform). In any case - be sure to backup your old configuration if it is valuable to - you. See the note to - upgraders section below.

2.1. Binary Packages

How to install the binary packages depends on your operating system:

2.1.1. Red Hat, SuSE and Conectiva RPMs

RPMs can be installed with rpm -Uvh privoxy-3.0.4-1.rpm, - and will use /etc/privoxy for the location - of configuration files.

Note that on Red Hat, Privoxy will - not be automatically started on system boot. You will - need to enable that using chkconfig, - ntsysv, or similar methods. Note that SuSE will -automatically start Privoxy in the boot process.

If you have problems with failed dependencies, try rebuilding the SRC RPM: - rpm --rebuild privoxy-3.0.4-1.src.rpm. This - will use your locally installed libraries and RPM version.

Also note that if you have a Junkbuster RPM installed - on your system, you need to remove it first, because the packages conflict. - Otherwise, RPM will try to remove Junkbuster - automatically, before installing Privoxy.

2.1.2. Debian

DEBs can be installed with apt-get install privoxy, - and will use /etc/privoxy for the location of - configuration files.

2.1.3. Windows

Just double-click the installer, which will guide you through - the installation process. You will find the configuration files - in the same directory as you installed Privoxy in.

2.1.4. Solaris, NetBSD, FreeBSD, HP-UX

Create a new directory, cd to it, then unzip and - untar the archive. For the most part, you'll have to figure out where - things go.

2.1.5. OS/2

First, make sure that no previous installations of - Junkbuster and / or - Privoxy are left on your - system. Check that no Junkbuster - or Privoxy objects are in - your startup folder.

Then, just double-click the WarpIN self-installing archive, which will - guide you through the installation process. A shadow of the - Privoxy executable will be placed in your - startup folder so it will start automatically whenever OS/2 starts.

The directory you choose to install Privoxy - into will contain all of the configuration files.

2.1.6. Mac OSX

Unzip the downloaded file (you can either double-click on the file - from the finder, or from the desktop if you downloaded it there). - Then, double-click on the package installer icon named - Privoxy.pkg - and follow the installation process. - Privoxy will be installed in the folder - /Library/Privoxy. - It will start automatically whenever you start up. To prevent it from - starting automatically, remove or rename the folder - /Library/StartupItems/Privoxy.

To start Privoxy by hand, double-click on - StartPrivoxy.command in the - /Library/Privoxy folder. - Or, type this command in the Terminal:

/Library/Privoxy/StartPrivoxy.command -

You will be prompted for the administrator password.

2.1.7. AmigaOS

Copy and then unpack the lha archive to a suitable location. - All necessary files will be installed into Privoxy - directory, including all configuration and log files. To uninstall, just - remove this directory.

2.1.8. Gentoo

Gentoo source packages (Ebuilds) for Privoxy are - contained in the Gentoo Portage Tree (they are not on the download page, - but there is a Gentoo section, where you can see when a new - Privoxy Version is added to the Portage Tree).

Before installing Privoxy under Gentoo just do - first emerge rsync to get the latest changes from the - Portage tree. With emerge privoxy you install the latest - version.

Configuration files are in /etc/privoxy, the - documentation is in /usr/share/doc/privoxy-3.0.4 - and the Log directory is in /var/log/privoxy.

2.2. Building from Source

The most convenient way to obtain the Privoxy sources - is to download the source tarball from our project - page.

If you like to live on the bleeding edge and are not afraid of using - possibly unstable development versions, you can check out the up-to-the-minute - version directly from the - CVS repository.

To build Privoxy from source, - autoconf, - GNU make - (gmake), and, of course, a C compiler like gcc are required.

When building from a source tarball, - first unpack the source:

tar xzvf privoxy-3.0.4-beta-src* [.tgz or .tar.gz] - cd privoxy-3.0.4-beta

For retrieving the current CVS sources, you'll need CVS installed. - Note that sources from CVS are development quality, and may not be - stable, or well tested. To download CVS source, check the Sourceforge - documentation, which might give commands like:

cvs -d:pserver:anonymous@ijbswa.cvs.sourceforge.net:/cvsroot/ijbswa login - cvs -z3 -d:pserver:anonymous@ijbswa.cvs.sourceforge.net:/cvsroot/ijbswa co current - cd current

This will create a directory named current/, which will - contain the source tree.

You can also check out any Privoxy - "branch", just exchange the current - name with the wanted branch name (Example: v_3_0_branch for the 3.0 cvs - tree).

It is also strongly recommended to not run Privoxy - as root, and instead it is suggested to create a "privoxy" user - and group for this purpose. See your local documentation for the correct - command line to do this.

/etc/passwd might then look like:

privoxy:*:7777:7777:privoxy proxy:/no/home:/no/shell

And then /etc/group, like:

privoxy:*:7777:

Some binary packages may do this for you.

Then, to build from either unpacked tarball or CVS source:

+ +
autoheader + + + + Installation + + + + + + + + + +
+ + + + + + + + + +
Privoxy 3.0.29 User Manual
Prev Next
+
+
+
+
2. Installation
+
Privoxy is available both in convenient pre-compiled packages for a wide range + of operating systems, and as raw source code. For most users, we recommend using the packages, which can be + downloaded from our Privoxy Project Page.
+
Note: On some platforms, the installer may remove previously installed versions, if found. (See below for your + platform). In any case be sure to backup your old configuration if it is + valuable to you. See the note to upgraders section below.
+
+
2.1. Binary Packages
+
How to install the binary packages depends on your operating system:
+
+
2.1.1. Debian and Ubuntu
+
DEBs can be installed with apt-get install privoxy, and will use /etc/privoxy for the location of configuration files.
+
+
+
2.1.2. Windows
+
Just double-click the installer, which will guide you through the installation process. You will find the + configuration files in the same directory as you installed Privoxy in.
+
Version 3.0.5 beta introduced full Windows service functionality. On + Windows only, the Privoxy program has two new command line arguments to + install and uninstall Privoxy as a service.
+
+
+
Arguments:
+
+
--install[:service_name]
+
--uninstall[:service_name]
+
+
+
+
After invoking Privoxy with --install, you will need + to bring up the Windows service console to assign the user you want + Privoxy to run under, and whether or not you want it to run whenever the + system starts. You can start the Windows services console with the following + command: services.msc. If you do not take the manual step of modifying Privoxy's service settings, it will not start. Note too that you will need to give Privoxy + a user account that actually exists, or it will not be permitted to write to its log and configuration + files.
+
+
+
2.1.3. OS/2
+
First, make sure that no previous installations of Junkbuster and / or + Privoxy are left on your system. Check that no Junkbuster or Privoxy objects are in your startup + folder.
+
Then, just double-click the WarpIN self-installing archive, which will guide you through the installation + process. A shadow of the Privoxy executable will be placed in your startup + folder so it will start automatically whenever OS/2 starts.
+
The directory you choose to install Privoxy into will contain all of the + configuration files.
+
+
+
2.1.4. Mac OS X
+
Installation instructions for the OS X platform depend upon whether you downloaded a ready-built + installation package (.pkg or .mpkg) or have downloaded the source code.
+
+
+
2.1.5. Installation from + ready-built package
+
The downloaded file will either be a .pkg (for OS X 10.5 upwards) or a bzipped .mpkg file (for OS X 10.4). + The former can be double-clicked as is and the installation will start; double-clicking the latter will unzip + the .mpkg file which can then be double-clicked to commence the installation.
+
The privoxy service will automatically start after a successful installation (and thereafter every time your + computer starts up) however you will need to configure your web browser(s) to use it. To do so, configure them + to use a proxy for HTTP and HTTPS at the address 127.0.0.1:8118.
+
To prevent the privoxy service from automatically starting when your computer starts up, remove or rename + the file /Library/LaunchDaemons/org.ijbswa.privoxy.plist (on OS X 10.5 and higher) or + the folder named /Library/StartupItems/Privoxy (on OS X 10.4 'Tiger').
+
To manually start or stop the privoxy service, use the scripts startPrivoxy.sh and stopPrivoxy.sh supplied + in /Applications/Privoxy. They must be run from an administrator account, using sudo.
+
To uninstall, run /Applications/Privoxy/uninstall.command as sudo from an administrator account.
+
+
+
2.1.6. Installation from + source
+
To build and install the Privoxy source code on OS X you will need to obtain the macsetup module from the + Privoxy Sourceforge CVS repository (refer to Sourceforge help for details of how to set up a CVS client to have + read-only access to the repository). This module contains scripts that leverage the usual open-source tools + (available as part of Apple's free of charge Xcode distribution or via the usual open-source software package + managers for OS X (MacPorts, Homebrew, Fink etc.) to build and then install the privoxy binary and associated + files. The macsetup module's README file contains complete instructions for its use.
+
The privoxy service will automatically start after a successful installation (and thereafter every time your + computer starts up) however you will need to configure your web browser(s) to use it. To do so, configure them + to use a proxy for HTTP and HTTPS at the address 127.0.0.1:8118.
+
To prevent the privoxy service from automatically starting when your computer starts up, remove or rename + the file /Library/LaunchDaemons/org.ijbswa.privoxy.plist (on OS X 10.5 and higher) or + the folder named /Library/StartupItems/Privoxy (on OS X 10.4 'Tiger').
+
To manually start or stop the privoxy service, use the Privoxy Utility for Mac OS X (also part of the + macsetup module). This application can start and stop the privoxy service and display its log and configuration + files.
+
To uninstall, run the macsetup module's uninstall.sh as sudo from an administrator account.
+
+
+
2.1.7. FreeBSD
+
Privoxy is part of FreeBSD's Ports Collection, you can build and install it with cd + /usr/ports/www/privoxy; make install clean.
+
+
+
+
2.2. Building from Source
+
The most convenient way to obtain the Privoxy source code is to download the + source tarball from our project + download page, or you can get the up-to-the-minute, possibly unstable, development version from https://www.privoxy.org/.
+
To build Privoxy from source, autoconf, GNU make (gmake), and, of course, a C compiler + like gcc are required.
+
When building from a source tarball, first unpack the source:
+ + + + +
+
tar xzvf privoxy-3.0.29-beta-src.tar.gz + cd privoxy-3.0.29-beta
+
+
To build the development version, you can get the source code by doing:
+ + + + +
+
cd <root-dir> + git clone https://www.privoxy.org/git/privoxy.git
+
+
This will create a directory named <root-dir>/privoxy/, which will contain + the source tree.
+
Note that source code in Git is development quality, and may not be stable or well tested.
+
It is strongly recommended to not run Privoxy as root. You should + configure/install/run Privoxy as an unprivileged user, preferably by creating a + "privoxy" user and group just for this purpose. See your local documentation for the + correct command line to do add new users and groups (something like adduser, but the + command syntax may vary from platform to platform).
+
/etc/passwd might then look like:
+ + + + +
+
privoxy:*:7777:7777:privoxy proxy:/no/home:/no/shell
+
+
And then /etc/group, like:
+ + + + +
+
privoxy:*:7777:
+
+
Some binary packages may do this for you.
+
Then, to build from either unpacked tarball or CVS source:
+ + +
+
autoheader autoconf ./configure # (--help to see options) - make # (the make from GNU, sometimes called gmake) - su + make # (the make from GNU, sometimes called gmake) + su # Possibly required make -n install # (to see where all the files will go) - make -s install # (to really install, -s to silence output)
If you have GNU make, you can have the first four steps - automatically done for you by just typing:

make
in the freshly downloaded or unpacked source directory.
WARNING: If installing as root, the install will fail - unless a non-root user or group is specified, or a privoxy - user and group already exist on the system. If a non-root user is specified, - and no group, then the installation will try to also use a group of the same name - as "user". If a group is specified (and no user), then the - support files will be installed as writable by that group, and owned by the - user running the installation.
configure accepts --with-user and - --with-group options for setting user and group ownership - of the configuration files (which need to be writable by the daemon). The - specified user must already exist. When starting - Privoxy, it should be run as this same user to - insure write access to configuration and log files.
Alternately, you can specify user and group - on the make command line, but be sure both already exist:

make -s install USER=privoxy GROUP=privoxy
The default installation path for make install is - /usr/local. This may of course be customized with - the various ./configure path options. If you are doing - a root install to anywhere else besides /usr/local, be - sure to set the appropriate paths with the correct configure options - (./configure --help).
If you do install to /usr/local, the install will use - sysconfdir=$prefix/etc/privoxy by default. All other - destinations, and the direct usage of --sysconfdir flag - behave like normal, i.e. will not add the extra privoxy - directory. This is for a safer install, as there may already exist another - program that uses a file with the "config" name, and thus makes - /usr/local/etc cleaner.
If installing to /usr/local, the docs will go by default - to $prefix/share/doc. But if this directory doesn't - exist, it will then try $prefix/doc and install there before - creating a new $prefix/share/doc just for - Privoxy.
Again, if the installs goes to /usr/local, the - localstatedir (ie: var/) will default - to /var instead of $prefix/var so - the logs will go to /var/log/privoxy/, and the pid file - will be created in /var/run/privoxy.pid.
make install will attempt to set the correct values - in config (main configuration file). You may want - to check this to make sure all values are correct. If appropriate, - an init script will be installed, but it is up to the user to determine - how and where to start Privoxy. The init - script should be checked for correct paths and values, if anything other than - a default install is done.
If install finds previous versions of any configuration files, these will not - be overwritten, and the new ones will be installed with a "new" - extension. You will then need to manually update the installed configuration - files as needed. All template files will be overwritten. If you have - customized, local templates, you should save these first. If a previous - version of Privoxy is already running, you will - have to restart it manually.
For more detailed instructions on how to build Redhat and SuSE RPMs, - Windows self-extracting installers, building on platforms with - special requirements etc, please consult the developer manual.
2.3. Keeping your Installation Up-to-Date
As user feedback comes in and development continues, we will make updated versions - of both the main actions file (as a separate - package) and the software itself (including the actions file) available for - download.
If you wish to receive an email notification whenever we release updates of - Privoxy or the actions file, subscribe - to our announce mailing list, ijbswa-announce@lists.sourceforge.net.
In order not to lose your personal changes and adjustments when updating - to the latest default.action file we strongly - recommend that you use user.action and - user.filter for your local - customizations of Privoxy. See the Chapter on actions files for details.
Prev Home Next
Introduction What's New in this Release
\ No newline at end of file + make -s install # (to really install, -s to silence output)
+
+

Using GNU make, you can have the first four steps automatically done for you by just + typing:

+ + + + +

  make

in the freshly downloaded or unpacked source directory.

To build an executable with security enhanced features so that users cannot easily bypass the proxy (e.g. + "Go There Anyway"), or alter their own configurations, configure like this:

+ + + + +

 ./configure  --disable-toggle  --disable-editor  --disable-force

Note that all of these options can also be disabled through the configuration file.

WARNING: If installing as root, the install will fail + unless a non-root user or group is specified, or a privoxy user and group already exist + on the system. If a non-root user is specified, and no group, then the installation will try to also use a group + of the same name as "user". If a group is specified (and no user), then the support + files will be installed as writable by that group, and owned by the user running the installation.

configure accepts --with-user and --with-group options for setting user and group ownership of the configuration files (which need + to be writable by the daemon). The specified user must already + exist. When starting Privoxy, it must be run as this same user to + insure write access to configuration and log files!

Alternately, you can specify user and group on the make command line, but be sure both already exist:

+ + + + +

 make -s install  USER=privoxy GROUP=privoxy

The default installation path for make install is /usr/local. + This may of course be customized with the various ./configure path options. If you are + doing an install to anywhere besides /usr/local, be sure to set the appropriate paths + with the correct configure options (./configure --help). Non-privileged users must of + course have write access permissions to wherever the target installation is going.

If you do install to /usr/local, the install will use sysconfdir=$prefix/etc/privoxy by default. All other destinations, and the direct usage of + --sysconfdir flag behave like normal, i.e. will not add the extra privoxy directory. This is for a safer install, as there may already exist another program that + uses a file with the "config" name, and thus makes /usr/local/etc cleaner.

If installing to /usr/local, the documentation will go by default to $prefix/share/doc. But if this directory doesn't exist, it will then try $prefix/doc and install there before creating a new $prefix/share/doc + just for Privoxy.

Again, if the installs goes to /usr/local, the localstatedir (ie: var/) will default to /var + instead of $prefix/var so the logs will go to /var/log/privoxy/, and the pid file will be created in /var/run/privoxy.pid.

make install will attempt to set the correct values in config + (main configuration file). You should check this to make sure all values are correct. If appropriate, an init + script will be installed, but it is up to the user to determine how and where to start Privoxy. The init script should be checked for correct paths and values, if anything other + than a default install is done.

If install finds previous versions of local configuration files, most of these will not be overwritten, and + the new ones will be installed with a "new" extension. default.action and + default.filter will be overwritten. You will then need to + manually update the other installed configuration files as needed. The default template files will be overwritten. If you have customized, local templates, these + should be stored safely in a separate directory and defined in config by the + "templdir" directive. It is of course wise to always back-up any important + configuration files "just in case". If a previous version of Privoxy is already running, you will have to restart it manually.

For more detailed instructions on how to build Redhat RPMs, Windows self-extracting installers, building on + platforms with special requirements etc, please consult the developer manual.

2.2.1. Windows

2.2.1.1. Setup

Install the Cygwin utilities needed to build Privoxy. If you have a 64 + bit CPU (which most people do by now), get the Cygwin setup-x86_64.exe program here (the .sig file is here).

Run the setup program and from View / Category select:

+ + + + +

  Devel
+    autoconf 2.5
+    automake 1.15
+    binutils
+    cmake
+    gcc-core
+    gcc-g++
+    git
+    make
+    mingw64-i686-gcc-core
+    mingw64-i686-zlib
+  Editors
+    vim
+  Libs
+    libxslt: GNOME XSLT library (runtime)
+  Net
+    curl
+    openssh
+  Text
+    docbook-dssl
+    docbook-sgml31
+    docbook-utils
+    openjade
+  Utils
+    gnupg
+  Web
+    w3m

If you haven't already downloaded the Privoxy source code, get it now:

+ + + + +

  mkdir <root-dir>
+  cd <root-dir>
+  git clone https://www.privoxy.org/git/privoxy.git

Get the source code (.zip or .tar.gz) for tidy from https://github.com/htacg/tidy-html5/releases, unzip into <root-dir> and build the + software:

+ + + + +

  cd <root-dir>
+  cd tidy-html5-x.y.z/build/cmake
+  cmake ../.. -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release -DBUILD_SHARED_LIB:BOOL=OFF -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=/usr/local
+  make && make install

If you want to be able to make a Windows release package, get the NSIS .zip file from https://sourceforge.net/projects/nsis/files/NSIS%203/ and extract the NSIS directory to privoxy/windows. Then edit the windows/GNUmakefile to set the location of the NSIS executable + - eg:

+ + + + +

# Path to NSIS
+MAKENSIS = ./nsis/makensis.exe

2.2.1.2. Build

To build just the Privoxy executable and not the whole installation package, do:

+ + + + +

  cd <root-dir>/privoxy
+  ./windows/MYconfigure && make

Privoxy uses the GNU Autotools + for building software, so the process is:

+ + + + +

  $ autoheader              # creates config.h.in
+  $ autoconf                # uses config.h.in to create the configure shell script
+  $ ./configure [options]   # creates GNUmakefile
+  $ make        [options]   # builds the program

The usual configure options for building a native Windows application under + cygwin are

+ + + + +

  --host=i686-w64-mingw32
+  --enable-mingw32
+  --enable-zlib
+  --enable-static-linking
+  --disable-pthread
+  --disable-dynamic-pcre

You can set the CFLAGS and LDFLAGS envars before running + configure to set compiler and linker flags. For example:

+ + + + +

  $ export CFLAGS="-O2"              # set gcc optimization level
+  $ export LDFLAGS="-Wl,--nxcompat"  # Enable DEP
+  $ ./configure --host=i686-w64-mingw32 --enable-mingw32  --enable-zlib \
+  >             --enable-static-linking --disable-pthread --disable-dynamic-pcre
+  $ make                             # build Privoxy

See the Developer's + Manual for building a Windows release package.

2.3. Keeping your Installation + Up-to-Date

If you wish to receive an email notification whenever we release updates of Privoxy or the actions file, subscribe to our announce mailing + list, privoxy-announce@lists.privoxy.org.

In order not to lose your personal changes and adjustments when updating to the latest default.action file we strongly recommend + that you use user.action and user.filter for your local + customizations of Privoxy. See the Chapter on + actions files for details.