Set-up a Tor-enabled darkirc node

To connect to Tor, we use Arti. This is an experimental project with incomplete security features. See Arti's roadmap for more information.

Using Tor, we can host anonymous nodes as Tor hidden services. To do this, we need to set up our Tor daemon and create a hidden service. The following instructions should work on any Linux system.

Step 1: Install Tor and Launch a Hidden Service

Tor can usually be installed with your package manager. For example on an apt based system we can run:

# apt install tor

This will install it. Now in /etc/tor/torrc we can set up the hidden service. For hosting an anonymous darkirc node, set up the following lines in the file:

HiddenServiceDir /var/lib/tor/darkfi_darkirc
HiddenServicePort 25551 127.0.0.1:25551

Then restart Tor:

# /etc/init.d/tor restart

You can grab the hostname of your hidden service from the directory:

# cat /var/lib/tor/darkfi_darkirc/hostname

Note your .onion address and the ports you used while setting up the Hidden Service.

Step 2: Build and run darkirc

In the main repository: make BINS="darkirc". Then run ./darkirc. This will create a configuration file at ~/.config/darkirc/darkirc_config.toml.

Step 3: Configure Network Settings

Change the following settings in the configuration file created in Step 2.

As you modify the file, if you notice some settings are missing, simply add them. Some settings may be commented-out by default.

# connection settings
outbound_connect_timeout = 60
channel_handshake_timeout = 55
channel_heartbeat_interval = 90
outbound_peer_discovery_cooloff_time = 60

allowed_transports = ["tor", "tor+tls"]
external_addr = ["tor://youraddress.onion:your-port"]

# seeds
seeds = [
    # These addresses are commented-out by default
    "tor://czzulj66rr5kq3uhidzn7fh4qvt3vaxaoldukuxnl5vipayuj7obo7id.onion:5263",
    "tor://vgbfkcu5hcnlnwd2lz26nfoa6g6quciyxwbftm6ivvrx74yvv5jnaoid.onion:5273",
]

# inbound settings
inbound = ["tcp://127.0.0.1:your-port"]
inbound_connections = 8

This configuration allows your node to send and receive traffic only via Tor.

The settings under inbound settings are optional, but enabling them will increase the strength and reliability of the network.

Step 4: Connect

Run ./darkirc. Welcome to the dark forest.

Troubleshooting

Run darkirc -vv for verbose debugging. This will show detailed errors including tor connection issues. Refer to Network troubleshooting for troubleshooting resources.