Template:TorBrowser Proxy Configuration

Configuration for use of Tor Browser with a HTTP, HTTPS or SOCKS proxy using proxy settings method.

Why is this difficult?

This is difficult and may not work for you.

To learn why this is difficult, please press on Expand on the right.

Tor Browser, which is developed by upstream, The Tor Project (TPO), an independent entity has hard configured to use Tor as a proxy.

• Upstream does not support user using Tor Browser with an additional extra proxy at the end of the chain, i.e.: user → Tor → proxy → destination
• Upstream does also not support using Tor Browser with a proxy other than Tor, i.e.: user → custom proxy → destination. This may or may not currently be possible but upstream does not provide documentation on how to do this.
• Upstream does also not support using Tor Browser with a VPN instead of Tor, i.e. user → VPN → destination.
• Upstream does also not support using Tor Browser with a VPN in addition before Tor, i.e. user → Tor → VPN → destination.

That makes sense from TPO's perspective as a project that maintains a browser that should always connect using the Tor network. Due to that perspective, proxy settings have been removed from Tor Browser to avoid user confusion and accidental misconfiguration. Little attention is spend on custom proxy settings. That, from TPO's perspective is assumed to only make sense for users using a Tor transparent proxy and that are already running Tor on a different computer in their LAN. Only a minority of users is using such configurations.

Because of this organisational and technical background, the highly specialized use case of configuring Tor Browser running inside Whonix-Workstation^™ to use an additional proxy (user -> Tor -> proxy -> destination) is difficult to accomplish.

To learn more about this organisational and technical background see also Linux User Experience versus Commercial Operating Systems

COMMUNITY SUPPORT ONLY : THIS wiki CHAPTER only is only supported by the community. Whonix developers are very unlikely to provide free support for this content. See Community Support for further information, including implications and possible alternatives.

Archived instructions.

NOTE: The following archived instructions are most likely currently broken due to changes by upstream, The Tor Project. To resolve this issue, the user would have to proceed as per Self Support First Policy. Please post in Whonix forums to notify if this method is currently working, broken or if any solution has been found. To view the archived instructions, please press on Expand on the right.

Complete the following steps inside Whonix-Workstation^™ (anon-whonix).

1. Launch Tor Browser.

2. And enter about:config into the URL bar and press enter.

3. Change the following settings.

4. Set extensions.torbutton.use_nontor_proxy to true.

5. Set network.proxy.no_proxies_on to 0.

6. Proxy specific settings.

Depending on using a HTTP, HTTPS or SOCKS proxy.

A) HTTP proxy

If a HTTP proxy is being used, modify address and port number to the following strings.

• network.proxy.http
• network.proxy.http_port

B) HTTPS proxy

If a HTTPS proxy is being used, modify the following strings instead.

• network.proxy.ssl
• network.proxy.ssl_port

C) SOCKS proxy

This process can be repeated with socks proxies, but it is redundant and does not provide any advantage over the former types. The reason is because only Tor Browser is modified and no other programs are being tunneled through it.

• Set network.proxy.socks to the IP of proxy server.
• Set network.proxy.socks_port to the port number of the proxy server.
• Set network.proxy.socks_remote_dns to
  • false - if the proxy server does not support resolving DNS. In this case, DNS will go through Tor exit nodes thanks to Whonix, or
  • true - if the proxy server does resolving DNS which is better.
• Set network.proxy.socks_version to either 4 or 5 depending on the version of the proxy server.

7. Done.

Tor Browser proxy configuration has been completed.