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Run a Tor middle relay or obfs4 bridge
Help users in censored regions reach the open internet. Servury permits non-exit Tor relays and obfs4 bridges. Anonymous signup, no email required, no KYC. Pay with crypto or card, full root, no logs.
Important: Servury does not permit Tor exit relays. Middle relays and obfs4 bridges are explicitly welcome. Read the FAQ for the full ToS detail.
Quick start: middle relay on Servury
Tested on Ubuntu 24. Pick a 1 GB+ plan, deploy, SSH in.
# 1. Install Tor from the official repo (gets you the latest stable)
apt update && apt install -y apt-transport-https
echo "deb https://deb.torproject.org/torproject.org noble main" \
> /etc/apt/sources.list.d/tor.list
curl https://deb.torproject.org/torproject.org/A3C4F0F979CAA22CDBA8F512EE8CBC9E886DDD89.asc \
| gpg --dearmor > /usr/share/keyrings/tor-archive-keyring.gpg
apt update && apt install -y tor
# 2. Configure as a non-exit middle relay
cat > /etc/tor/torrc <<'EOF'
Nickname YourRelayName
ContactInfo abuse@yourdomain.com
ORPort 443
ExitRelay 0
SocksPort 0
RelayBandwidthRate 5 MB
RelayBandwidthBurst 10 MB
EOF
# 3. Restart Tor and let it self-publish
systemctl restart tor
journalctl -u tor -f # watch the bootstrap; takes ~3-4 hours to get traffic
# 4. (Optional) Run an obfs4 bridge instead, for users behind censorship:
# https://community.torproject.org/relay/setup/bridge/debian-ubuntu/What runs well on a Servury Tor VPS
Forwards Tor traffic between guard and exit. No abuse complaints. The "easy mode" of running a relay.
Helps users in countries that block public Tor (Iran, China, Russia, Turkmenistan). Unlisted, harder to block.
A WebRTC-based bridge variant. Run a Snowflake proxy as a Docker container with one command.
Host your own .onion service: a static site, a forum, an API endpoint. Tor handles the addressing, you run any backend.
If your VPS has spare CPU/network, run two Tor instances on different ports under different relay IDs. The Tor metrics team appreciates capacity.
No KYC, no logs, no payment info linked to your relay nickname. Run the relay anonymously, in addition to the Tor anonymity it provides users.
Frequently asked questions
Are exit relays allowed?
No. Servury's Acceptable Use Policy prohibits exit relays because they receive a high volume of abuse complaints (DMCA, law enforcement requests) that we are not staffed to triage at our price point. Middle relays and obfs4 bridges are explicitly welcome and do not generate that abuse load.
Why run a middle relay or bridge?
The Tor network depends on volunteer-run relays. Middle relays add capacity for everyone. obfs4 bridges are a lifeline for users in countries that censor the internet. Both are low-risk, high-impact ways to support free expression.
How much bandwidth will it use?
Tor traffic scales to whatever you allow. Set RelayBandwidthRate in torrc to cap it. Most Servury plans include enough monthly bandwidth for a multi-MB/s middle relay; check your plan before going wild.
How much RAM and CPU?
1 GB RAM and 1 vCPU is fine for a relay running ~5 MB/s. Bigger relays want 2 GB and 2 vCPU. Tor is single-threaded per process, so to use more cores you run more Tor instances.
Will my IP get blocklisted somewhere?
A middle relay's IP is not where traffic exits, so most blocklists do not flag it. If you run an obfs4 bridge, the IP is intentionally unlisted; Tor only hands it to users who request it.
Will I get abuse emails?
Middle relays: virtually never. Bridges: very rarely. Exit relays would (which is why we do not permit them).
Can I run a hidden service on the same VPS?
Yes. A separate Tor process or even the same instance can host an .onion service. Bind your web app to 127.0.0.1 and configure a HiddenServiceDir.
Does Servury log my Tor traffic?
No. No application-level logging on customer servers. Anonymous signup, crypto/card payment, no logs.
