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# Table of Contents
1. [Overview](#Overview)
2. [Outbound Connections Only](#outbound-connections-only)
1. [Overview](#overview)
2. [Getting Started](#getting-started)
3. [Tor Stream Isolation](#tor-stream-isolation)
4. [Listening for Inbound Connections](#listening-for-inbound-connections)
1. [v2 Onion Services](#v2-onion-services)
2. [v3 Onion Services](#v3-onion-services)
## 1. Overview
## Overview
`lnd` currently has _partial_ support for using Lightning over
`lnd` currently has complete support for using Lightning over
[Tor](https://www.torproject.org/). Usage of Lightning over Tor is valuable as
routing nodes no longer need to potentially expose their location via their
advertised IP address. Additionally, leaf nodes can also protect their location
by using Tor for anonymous networking to establish connections.
At the time of the writing of this documentation, `lnd` only supports usage of
Tor for establishing _outbound_ connections. In the near future, support for
full [Onion Service](https://www.torproject.org/docs/onion-services.html.en)
usage will be added as well. Support for both `v2` and `v3` onion services are
planned. With widespread usage of Onion Services within the network, concerns
about the difficulty of proper NAT traversal are alleviated, as usage of Onion
Services allows nodes to accept inbound connections even if they're behind a
NAT.
With widespread usage of Onion Services within the network, concerns about the
difficulty of proper NAT traversal are alleviated, as usage of Onion Services
allows nodes to accept inbound connections even if they're behind a NAT.
At the time of writing this documentation, `lnd` supports both types of onion
services: v2 and v3. However, only v2 onion services can automatically be
created and set up by `lnd` until Tor Control support for v3 onion services is
implemented in the stable release of the Tor daemon. v3 onion services can be
used as long as they are set up manually. We'll cover the steps on how to do
these things below.
Before following the remainder of this documentation, you should ensure that
you already have Tor installed locally. Official instructions to install the
@ -26,29 +31,19 @@ latest release of Tor can be found
[here](https://www.torproject.org/docs/tor-doc-unix.html.en).
**NOTE**: This documentation covers how to ensure that `lnd`'s _Lightning
protocol traffic_ is tunnled over Tor. Users will need to take care that if
they're running using a Bitcoin full-node, then that is also configured to
proxy all trafic over Tor. If using the `neutrino` backend for `lnd`, then it
will automatically also default to Tor usage if active within `lnd`.
protocol traffic_ is tunneled over Tor. Users must ensure that when also running
a Bitcoin full-node, that it is also proxying all traffic over Tor. If using the
`neutrino` backend for `lnd`, then it will automatically also default to Tor
usage if active within `lnd`.
## 2. Outbound Connections Only
Currenty, `lnd` only supports purely _outbound_ Tor usage. In this mode, `lnd`
_won't_ listen at all, and will only be able to establish outbound connections.
_All_ protocol traffic will be tunneled over Tor. Additionally, we'll also
force any DNS requests over Tor such that we don't leak our IP address to the
clear net.
The remainder of this tutorial assumes one already has the `tor` daemon
installed locally.
## Getting Started
First, you'll want to run `tor` locally before starting up `lnd`. Depending on
how you installed Tor, you'll find the configuration file at
`/usr/local/etc/tor/torrc`. Here's an example configuration file that we'll be
using for the remainder of the tutorial:
```
SOCKSPort 9050 # Default: Bind to localhost:9050 for local connections.
SOCKSPort 9050
Log notice stdout
ControlPort 9051
CookieAuthentication 1
@ -84,28 +79,49 @@ At this point, we can now start `lnd` with the relevant arguments:
<snip>
Tor:
--tor.socks= The port that Tor's exposed SOCKS5 proxy is listening on. Using Tor allows outbound-only connections (listening will be disabled) -- NOTE port must be between 1024 and 65535
--tor.dns= The DNS server as IP:PORT that Tor will use for SRV queries - NOTE must have TCP resolution enabled
--tor.active Allow outbound and inbound connections to be routed through Tor
--tor.socks= The port that Tor's exposed SOCKS5 proxy is listening on -- NOTE port must be between 1024 and 65535 (default: 9050)
--tor.dns= The DNS server as IP:PORT that Tor will use for SRV queries - NOTE must have TCP resolution enabled (default: soa.nodes.lightning.directory:53)
--tor.streamisolation Enable Tor stream isolation by randomizing user credentials for each connection.
--tor.controlport= The port that Tor is listening on for Tor control connections -- NOTE port must be between 1024 and 65535 (default: 9051)
--tor.v2 Automatically set up a v2 onion service to listen for inbound connections
--tor.v3 Use a v3 onion service to listen for inbound connections
--tor.privatekeypath= The path to the private key of the onion service being created (default: /Users/user/Library/Application Support/Lnd/onion_private_key)
```
The `--tor.socks` argument should point to the interface that the `Tor` daemon
is listening on to proxy connections. The `--tor.dns` flag is required in order
to be able to properly automatically bootstrap a set of peer connections. The
`tor` daemon doesn't currently support proxying `SRV` queries over Tor. So
instead, we need to connect directly to the authoritative DNS server over TCP,
in order query for `SRV` records that we can use to bootstrap our connections.
As of the time this documentation was written, for Bitcoin's Testnet, clients
should point to `nodes.lightning.directory`.
There are a couple things here, so let's dissect them. The `--tor.active` flag
allows `lnd` to route all outbound and inbound connections through Tor.
Finally, we'll start `lnd` with the proper arguments:
```
⛰ ./lnd --tor.socks=9050 --tor.dns=nodes.lightning.directory
Outbound connections are possible with the use of the `--tor.socks` and
`--tor.dns` arguments. The `--tor.socks` argument should point to the interface
that the `Tor` daemon is listening on to proxy connections. The `--tor.dns` flag
is required in order to be able to properly automatically bootstrap a set of
peer connections. The `tor` daemon doesn't currently support proxying `SRV`
queries over Tor. So instead, we need to connect directly to the authoritative
DNS server over TCP, in order query for `SRV` records that we can use to
bootstrap our connections.
Inbound connections are possible due to `lnd` automatically creating a v2 onion
service. A path to save the onion service's private key can be specified with
the `--tor.privatekeypath` flag. A v3 onion service can also be used, but it
must be created manually. We'll expand on how this works in [Listening for
Inbound Connections](#listening-for-inbound-connections).
Most of these arguments have defaults, so as long as they apply to you, routing
all outbound and inbound connections through Tor can simply be done with:
```shell
⛰ ./lnd --tor.active --tor.v2
```
With the above arguments, `lnd` will proxy _all_ network traffic over Tor!
Outbound support only can also be used with:
```shell
⛰ ./lnd --tor.active
```
This will allow you to make all outgoing connections over Tor, but still allow
regular (clearnet) incoming connections.
## 3. Tor Stream Isolation
## Tor Stream Isolation
Our support for Tor also has an additional privacy enhancing modified: stream
isolation. Usage of this mode means that Tor will always use _new circuit_ for
@ -116,5 +132,56 @@ circuit.
Activating stream isolation is very straightforward, we only require the
specification of an additional argument:
```
⛰ ./lnd --tor.socks=9050 --tor.dns=nodes.lightning.directory --tor.streamisolation
⛰ ./lnd --tor.active --tor.streamisolation
```
## Listening for Inbound Connections
In order to listen for inbound connections through Tor, an onion service must be
created. There are two types of onion services: v2 and v3.
### v2 Onion Services
v2 onion services can be created automatically by `lnd` and are currently the
default. To do so, run `lnd` with the following arguments:
```
⛰ ./lnd --tor.active --tor.v2
```
This will automatically create a hidden service for your node to use to listen
for inbound connections and advertise itself to the network. The onion service's
private key is saved to a file named `onion_private_key` in `lnd`'s base
directory. This will allow `lnd` to recreate the same hidden service upon
restart. If you wish to generate a new onion service, you can simply delete this
file. The path to this private key file can also be modified with the
`--tor.privatekeypath` argument.
### v3 Onion Services
v3 onion services are the latest generation of onion services and they provide a
number of advantages over the legacy v2 onion services. To learn more about
these benefits, see [Intro to Next Gen Onion Services](https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/wiki/doc/NextGenOnions).
Unfortunately, at the time of writing this, v3 onion service support is still
at an alpha level in the Tor daemon, so we're unable to automatically set them
up within `lnd` unlike with v2 onion services. However, they can still be run
manually! To do so, append the following lines to the torrc sample from above:
```
HiddenServiceDir PATH_TO_HIDDEN_SERVICE
HiddenServiceVersion 3
HiddenServicePort PORT_ONION_SERVICE_LISTENS_ON ADDRESS_LND_LISTENS_ON
```
If needed, instructions on how to set up a v3 onion service manually can be
found [here](https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/wiki/doc/NextGenOnions#Howtosetupyourownprop224service).
Once the v3 onion service is set up, `lnd` is able to use it to listen for
inbound connections. You'll also need the onion service's hostname in order to
advertise your node to the network. To do so, run `lnd` with the following
arguments:
```
⛰ ./lnd --tor.active --tor.v3 --externalip=ONION_SERVICE_HOSTNAME
```
Once v3 onion service support is stable, `lnd` will be updated to also
automatically set up v3 onion services.