# Is 1 circuit = 1 user?
**URL:** https://forum.torproject.org/t/is-1-circuit-1-user/12862
**Category:** Relay Operator
**Created:** [May 25, 2024, 8:10pm UTC](https://forum.torproject.org/t/is-1-circuit-1-user/12862 "2024-05-25T20:10:10Z")
**Posts on this page:** 7
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@lit144](https://forum.torproject.org/u/lit144)
#### Post date: [May 25, 2024, 8:10pm UTC](https://forum.torproject.org/t/is-1-circuit-1-user/12862/1 "2024-05-25T20:10:10Z")
Hey,
I am not quite sure if I understand the terminology right.
Let’s say you nyx shows that you have 20 circuits. Can circuits be interpreted as users?
I think it depends on of you are a middle relay or a guard.
If you are a guard then you can’t say that if you have 20 circuits you have 20 different connected users, because one user can create another tab and this would create another circuit.
But I think if you are a middle relay you can assume that the 20 circuits are 20 users? The only possible exception I can think of would be that one user that is connected to e.g. my middle relay opens another tab and coincidentally get’s me again as a middle relay, but the possibility for that is obviously very low.
Is my thought process correct?
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### Author:  [@everydayisoks](https://forum.torproject.org/u/everydayisoks)
#### Post date: [May 28, 2024, 1:19pm UTC](https://forum.torproject.org/t/is-1-circuit-1-user/12862/2 "2024-05-28T13:19:55Z")
> [@lit144](#):
>
> I am not quite sure if I understand the terminology right.
>
> Let’s say you nyx shows that you have 20 circuits. Can circuits be interpreted as users?
>
> I think it depends on of you are a middle relay or a guard.
>
> If you are a guard then you can’t say that if you have 20 circuits you have 20 different connected users, because one user can create another tab and this would create another circuit.
>
> But I think if you are a middle relay you can assume that the 20 circuits are 20 users? The only possible exception I can think of would be that one user that is connected to e.g. my middle relay opens another tab and coincidentally get’s me again as a middle relay, but the possibility for that is obviously very low.
>
> Is my thought process correct?
Multiple circuits may be created by a single userMultiple links may be created by a single user.
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### Author:  [@lit144](https://forum.torproject.org/u/lit144)
#### Post date: [May 29, 2024, 7:57am UTC](https://forum.torproject.org/t/is-1-circuit-1-user/12862/3 "2024-05-29T07:57:29Z")
So my take is right? If I have 7 circuits, that means i have **max** 7 users?
But what irritates me is that i nearly always had & have 7 users (±5) even when my low rate was lower than now (my relay is new).
I can’t believe that I still only have 7 (±5 users), because I have really much load (currently averaged around 15 Mbps).
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### Author:  [@trinity-1686a](https://forum.torproject.org/u/trinity-1686a)
#### Post date: [May 29, 2024, 8:11am UTC](https://forum.torproject.org/t/is-1-circuit-1-user/12862/4 "2024-05-29T08:11:13Z")
`nyx` doesn’t show circuits made by users through your relay, only circuits originating from your relay.
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### Author:  [@lit144](https://forum.torproject.org/u/lit144)
#### Post date: [May 29, 2024, 11:59am UTC](https://forum.torproject.org/t/is-1-circuit-1-user/12862/5 "2024-05-29T11:59:45Z")
Ah. Well, that seems very logical now.
Is there a way to estimate how many users I have? I assume I have to do some guesses depending on the inbounds/outbounds?
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### Author:  [@trinity-1686a](https://forum.torproject.org/u/trinity-1686a)
#### Post date: [May 29, 2024, 12:10pm UTC](https://forum.torproject.org/t/is-1-circuit-1-user/12862/6 "2024-05-29T12:10:59Z")
as a guard, you can use the same kind of processing as in [Sources – Tor Metrics](https://metrics.torproject.org/reproducible-metrics.html#relay-users) , but using only your own relay. The raw values are in `$DataDirectory/stats/dirreq-stats`. This will only count users for whom you are the guard though, not users using them as middle node.
For non-guard relay, maybe you could make some guesses based on the number of processed onionskins (data you can get from the MetricsPort, `tor_relay_load_onionskins_total`), but you’ll need to make some assumptions that are unlikely to be accurate, such as how many circuits would a single user make.
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### Author:  [@system](https://forum.torproject.org/u/system)
#### Post date: [June 13, 2024, 8:28pm UTC](https://forum.torproject.org/t/is-1-circuit-1-user/12862/7 "2024-06-13T20:28:18Z")
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