# Bridge relay set up help

**URL:** https://forum.torproject.org/t/bridge-relay-set-up-help/21084
**Category:** Relay Operator
**Created:** [January 13, 2026, 9:48am UTC](https://forum.torproject.org/t/bridge-relay-set-up-help/21084 "2026-01-13T09:48:39Z")
**Posts on this page:** 11
**Page:** 1

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### Author: ![vintage1950](https://forum.torproject.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/v/34f0e0/32.png) [@vintage1950](https://forum.torproject.org/u/vintage1950)
#### Post date: [January 13, 2026, 9:48am UTC](https://forum.torproject.org/t/bridge-relay-set-up-help/21084/1 "2026-01-13T09:48:39Z")

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Hello Tor community

I am new to Tor and very recently have been trying to set up a relay bridge.

Not sure but i think i might not have set it up correctly. after leaving it running all night i looked this morning and there was 60 mixed connections then they all disappeared . now i have just 2 outbound connections showing. is that normal . also what should my bridge 1 torrc file look like.

Thanks in advance

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### Author: ![jarl](https://forum.torproject.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/j/6bbea6/32.png) [@jarl](https://forum.torproject.org/u/jarl)
#### Post date: [January 13, 2026, 10:35am UTC](https://forum.torproject.org/t/bridge-relay-set-up-help/21084/2 "2026-01-13T10:35:44Z")

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It can take days or weeks till your bridge gets used and you see many connections. If you check you logs there should be a line like this:  
`Dez 14 20:51:26 host Tor[46906]: Your Tor server's identity key fingerprint is 'nickname fingerprint'`

Copy the fingerprint and paste it to this url to check what the bridge authority thinks about your bridge:  
`https://bridges.torproject.org/status?id=<your-fingerprint>`

If it says untested just wait a bit longer, if it says dysfunctional we need some more information to help you, like your operating system and what kind of bridge you tried to set up.

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### Author: ![vintage1950](https://forum.torproject.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/v/34f0e0/32.png) [@vintage1950](https://forum.torproject.org/u/vintage1950)
#### Post date: [January 14, 2026, 10:14am UTC](https://forum.torproject.org/t/bridge-relay-set-up-help/21084/3 "2026-01-14T10:14:06Z")

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Hi Jarl it came back with no resources for the given id

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<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![vintage1950](https://forum.torproject.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/v/34f0e0/32.png) [@vintage1950](https://forum.torproject.org/u/vintage1950)
#### Post date: [January 14, 2026, 10:14am UTC](https://forum.torproject.org/t/bridge-relay-set-up-help/21084/4 "2026-01-14T10:14:18Z")

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this is my /etc/tor/torrc

```auto
BridgeRelay1
Nickname @@@@@@@
ContactInfo @@@@@@@proton.me # Optional but recommended
ORPort 443 # The port for Tor traffic, 443 often works best

# Relay type configuration (non-exit)

ExitRelay 0
ServerTransportPlugin obfs4 exec /usr/bin/obfs4proxy
ServerTransportListenAddr obfs4 0.0.0.0:443
ExtORPort auto
AccountingStart day 0:00
AccountingMax 50 GBytes
RelayBandwidthRate 10 MB
RelayBandwidthBurst 20 MB
ControlPort 9051
CookieAuthentication 1

```

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<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![vintage1950](https://forum.torproject.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/v/34f0e0/32.png) [@vintage1950](https://forum.torproject.org/u/vintage1950)
#### Post date: [January 14, 2026, 10:14am UTC](https://forum.torproject.org/t/bridge-relay-set-up-help/21084/5 "2026-01-14T10:14:27Z")

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Hi again I’m running linux mint. desktop 32GB ram 16 core processor 500 gb ssd hard drive . I just feel my settings are not correct.

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### Author: ![jarl](https://forum.torproject.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/j/6bbea6/32.png) [@jarl](https://forum.torproject.org/u/jarl)
#### Post date: [January 14, 2026, 12:33pm UTC](https://forum.torproject.org/t/bridge-relay-set-up-help/21084/6 "2026-01-14T12:33:59Z")

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Your torrc looks good. Have you set the `CAP_NET_BIND_SERVICE` for the obfs4 binary and modified the systemd service file to allow listening on a port below 1024?

Do you see this line in your logs?  
`[notice] Self-testing indicates your ORPort is reachable from the outside. Excellent. Publishing server descriptor.`

Have you tried to connect to your bridge from a different network for example over mobile data?

> [@vintage1950](#):
>
> Hi again I’m running linux mint. desktop 32GB ram 16 core processor 500 gb ssd hard drive . I just feel my settings are not correct.

Do you run this bridge on your desktop? If so is it always on? If not a snowflake proxy might be a better fit for you.

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<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![vintage1950](https://forum.torproject.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/v/34f0e0/32.png) [@vintage1950](https://forum.torproject.org/u/vintage1950)
#### Post date: [January 28, 2026, 3:43pm UTC](https://forum.torproject.org/t/bridge-relay-set-up-help/21084/7 "2026-01-28T15:43:14Z")

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I gave up on the middle relay and tried running a snowflake proxy which seems to work much better.

I have done a few simple tests and so far over 22GB of data has been exchanged. in one day. i have even installed it on my other PC which looks promising.

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<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![vintage1950](https://forum.torproject.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/v/34f0e0/32.png) [@vintage1950](https://forum.torproject.org/u/vintage1950)
#### Post date: [January 28, 2026, 3:50pm UTC](https://forum.torproject.org/t/bridge-relay-set-up-help/21084/8 "2026-01-28T15:50:47Z")

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Hi Gus.

I got it working tor relay and also snowflake.

Thank you for the help.

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<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![vintage1950](https://forum.torproject.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/v/34f0e0/32.png) [@vintage1950](https://forum.torproject.org/u/vintage1950)
#### Post date: [January 28, 2026, 3:50pm UTC](https://forum.torproject.org/t/bridge-relay-set-up-help/21084/9 "2026-01-28T15:50:54Z")

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Hi Gus

Thank you for your reply.. i stopped trying to install Tor relay and seem to be having a lot of success with snowflake but having seen your reply i think i will give it another shot tomorrow as i have two computers and want to put them to good use helping the tor network. Sorry i did not reply sooner because i had lost my details .  
Vintage 1950.

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### Author: ![Maledict](https://forum.torproject.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/m/97f17d/32.png) [@Maledict](https://forum.torproject.org/u/Maledict)
#### Post date: [January 30, 2026, 1:14pm UTC](https://forum.torproject.org/t/bridge-relay-set-up-help/21084/10 "2026-01-30T13:14:58Z")

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If your bridge works fine when you use it manually then there’s nothing to worry about. My bridge took two weeks before starting to get any traffic, and the same thing happened when I changed my IP.

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<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![vintage1950](https://forum.torproject.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/v/34f0e0/32.png) [@vintage1950](https://forum.torproject.org/u/vintage1950)
#### Post date: [January 31, 2026, 4:31am UTC](https://forum.torproject.org/t/bridge-relay-set-up-help/21084/11 "2026-01-31T04:31:44Z")

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Thank you for your reply. the bridge now seems to be picking up. i also have a stand alone snowflake on the other pc.

> **···**
>
> -------- Original Message --------  
> On 1/30/26 21:25, Maledict
> 
> > Someone replied to your post.
> > 
> > | ![](https://forum.torproject.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/m/97f17d/45.png "Maledict") | [Maledict](https://forum.torproject.org/u/maledict)  
> > January 30 |
> > | --- | --- |
> > 
> > If your bridge works fine when you use it manually then there’s nothing to worry about. My bridge took two weeks before starting to get any traffic, and the same thing happened when I changed my IP.
> > 
> > * * *
> > 
> > [Visit Topic](https://forum.torproject.org/t/bridge-relay-set-up-help/21084/10) or reply to this email to respond.
> > 
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