Privoxy HTTP Proxy Docker Container

A security-hardened, IPv4-only Privoxy HTTP proxy for Docker, designed for ad-blocking and to run behind a VPN gateway.

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📦 Links

• Docker Hub: boingbasti/nordvpn-privoxy
• GitHub Repository: boingbasti/docker-nordvpn-privoxy

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✨ Features

• Ad-Blocking & Privacy: Comes with a pre-configured setup to block ads, trackers, and other malicious content.
• Minimal & Secure: Built on a tiny Alpine Linux image for a minimal attack surface.
• Hardened by Default: The remote web interface (p.p / config.privoxy.org) is disabled to prevent unauthorized configuration changes from your network.
• Strictly IPv4: Listens only on IPv4 and is configured to block all outgoing requests to IPv6 destinations, preventing potential data leaks.
• Docker-Optimized: Logs are sent directly to the container's standard output for easy monitoring with docker logs.

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🛠 Requirements

• Docker installed on your host system.

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📦 Environment Variables

This image is configured using the bundled privoxy.conf file and does not use environment variables.

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🚀 Usage

There are two primary ways to use this proxy:

1. Standalone Mode

Run the proxy directly and expose its port to your host machine.

services:
  http-proxy:
    image: boingbasti/nordvpn-privoxy:latest
    build: .
    container_name: privoxy-proxy
    ports:
      # Exposes Privoxy's default port 8118 to the host
      - "8118:8118"
    restart: unless-stopped

➡️ Clients can now connect to the HTTP proxy at HOST_IP:8118.

2. VPN Gateway Mode (Recommended)

Attach the proxy to a VPN gateway container (e.g., docker-nordvpn-gateway) so all its traffic is routed through the VPN tunnel.

# In your existing docker-compose.yml with the vpn-gateway service...
services:
  vpn-gateway:
    # ... your vpn-gateway configuration ...

  http-proxy:
    image: boingbasti/nordvpn-privoxy:latest
    container_name: nordvpn-privoxy
    # This line is crucial: it shares the gateway's network stack
    network_mode: "service:vpn-gateway"
    depends_on:
      - vpn-gateway
    restart: unless-stopped

➡️ Clients should connect to the VPN gateway’s LAN IP (e.g., 192.168.1.240:8118).

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⚙️ Configuration

If you need custom rules, you can mount your own config to /etc/privoxy/config. This allows you to extend the functionality without building a new image.

1. Create your own configuration file locally (e.g., my-privoxy.conf).
   It’s often easiest to start with the default config and modify it.

2. Mount your file into the container using a volume in your docker-compose.yml:

services:
  http-proxy:
    # ...
    volumes:
      - ./my-privoxy.conf:/etc/privoxy/config:ro
    # ...

⚠️ Important: Your custom configuration file must contain
listen-address 0.0.0.0:8118, otherwise the proxy will not be accessible from your network.

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🔍 Troubleshooting

• Connection refused / not working
  In standalone mode, ensure the ports mapping (8118:8118) is correct and the port is not blocked by a firewall.

• Forbidden or Blocked errors when browsing
  This is likely Privoxy working as intended, blocking an ad or tracker.
  You can view the container logs (docker logs privoxy-proxy) to see details about what is being blocked.

• Cannot access IPv6 websites
  This is intentional. The proxy is strictly IPv4-only and will block requests to IPv6 addresses.