Welcome to darkproxy... ## Production hardening defaults The stack now uses safer defaults for production: * Service admin/web passwords are loaded from Docker secrets instead of inline values. * Admin/monitoring ports are bound to `127.0.0.1` on the host. * 3proxy SOCKS auth is currently disabled (`auth none`) for trusted/internal use. * Pi-hole ARP cache parsing is disabled in Docker (`FTLCONF_database_network_parseARPcache=false`) to prevent recurring netlink `neigh`/ARP errors. Before starting in production, set these secret files: ```sh printf 'YOUR_STRONG_PIHOLE_PASSWORD\n' > secrets/pihole_webpassword.txt printf 'YOUR_STRONG_GRAFANA_PASSWORD\n' > secrets/grafana_admin_password.txt ``` SOCKS auth note: * Current default is `auth none` in `3proxy/first-instanse.cfg`. * `secrets/3proxy_users.txt` is not used in this mode. * Only re-add `PROXY_USERS` compose wiring if you intentionally switch back to `auth strong`. Pi-hole note: disabling ARP parsing avoids noisy `Failed to read ARP cache` messages in containerized setups where neighbor-table netlink operations are not supported. This only affects Pi-hole's network-table enrichment, not DNS blocking/forwarding behavior. This container runs the following vontainers in the stack. dark3proxy - SOCKS5/http proxy with hostname-preserving router - DNS - pihole - ad blocking and metrics - PopuraDNS - non-recursive DNS forwards requests to the following: Alfis - Blockchain based yggdrasil resolver EmerCoin - Resolves EMC domains UnBound - Recursive DNS for Clearnet domains * .onion and .i2p domain names are now resolved via the stack (see DNS section below) - I2PD over Yggdrasil container (`container_name: darki2p`) * Yggdrasil IP network stack * Socks5 server for I2P - Tor container ## SOCKS ports on host Proxy access is exposed on a single host port: * `:2000` -> `dark3proxy` SOCKS (`dark3proxy:1080`), externally reachable. - Intended as the single client entrypoint for clearnet, onion, and Ygg/I2P routing rules. Router internals for `:2000`: * Front-end process: `3proxy/socks_router.py` (SOCKS5), keeps destination hostnames intact. * Upstream dispatch: - `*.onion` -> Tor SOCKS (`10.5.0.7:9050`) - `*.i2p` -> i2pd SOCKS (`10.5.0.2:4447`) - `*.ygg`, `*.meshname`, `*.meship`, and `200::/7` -> local Ygg-guarded SOCKS (`127.0.0.1:1085`) - all other targets -> Tor SOCKS (`10.5.0.7:9050`) * Existing 3proxy primary instance still runs for admin/legacy rules, with SOCKS moved to internal port `1088` to avoid collision. Additional non-proxy endpoint: * `127.0.0.1:2006/udp` -> Tor DNSPort (`darktor:9053`). Quick checks: ```sh # Onion over the only published proxy port curl --socks5-hostname :2000 -I http://duckduckgogg42xjoc72x3sjasowoarfbgcmvfimaftt6twagswzczad.onion # Clearnet over the only published proxy port curl --socks5-hostname :2000 -I https://example.com ``` The system offers a DNS that resolves many darknet and clearnet IP's. The stack now handles: Local resolution model (important): * DNS queries are resolved inside this Docker stack on your host (`pihole -> CoreDNS -> local resolver services`). * The stack does not forward DNS queries to public DNS providers for supported darknet/blockchain TLDs. * Some namespaces still require blockchain RPC data sources for authoritative records (see limitations below). * `*.onion` – forwarded to Tor's DNSPort running in the `darktor` container at 10.5.0.7:9053. * `*.i2p` – served by the built-in DNS server inside the `darki2p` container (10.5.0.2:53) which is enabled via the `[dns]` section in `i2pd.conf`. You can query these directly from any container on the `darkproxy` network, for example: ```sh # Tor .onion domains docker run --rm --network darkproxy infoblox/dig dig @10.5.0.4 facebookcorewwwi.onion # I2P .i2p domains docker run --rm --network darkproxy infoblox/dig dig @10.5.0.4 stats.i2p # Ethereum Name Service (.eth) via local ensdns service docker run --rm --network darkproxy infoblox/dig dig @10.5.0.4 vitalik.eth # ENS address/content hash records (TXT) docker run --rm --network darkproxy infoblox/dig dig @10.5.0.4 TXT vitalik.eth # Other supported TLDs: .bit, .alt, .loki, .zil, .web3, .exit, .onion4, .onion6 docker run --rm --network darkproxy infoblox/dig dig @10.5.0.4 example.bit ``` > **Note:** the CoreDNS service at `10.5.0.4` no longer enforces an ACL for > the root zone – it will happily perform recursive lookups for any client. > Queries from your host should now work without the “refused to do a recursive > query” error. If you later reintroduce an ACL, update this note accordingly. ### Host-side quick tests (no extra images) Run DNS queries from your host by executing `dig` in the existing `darkpihole` container: ```sh docker exec darkpihole dig @10.5.0.4 TXT vitalik.eth +short docker exec darkpihole dig @10.5.0.4 A vitalik.eth +short ``` Expected behavior: * `TXT` includes `address=` and (if present) `contenthash=`. * `A` returns a CNAME fallback like `.eth.limo.`. ## Supported TLDs and resolvers The stack now provides DNS resolution for a comprehensive set of alternative TLDs: | TLD | Resolver | Purpose | |-----|----------|---------| | `.onion`, `.exit`, `.onion4`, `.onion6` | Tor DNSPort (10.5.0.7:9053) | Tor hidden services | | `.i2p` | i2pd DNS (10.5.0.2:53) | I2P eepsite names | | `.eth` | ensdns (10.5.0.11) via CoreDNS | Ethereum Name Service (local resolver) | | `.bit` | namecoindns (10.5.0.12) via CoreDNS | Namecoin names (local resolver service) | | `.alt` | local unbound (10.5.0.5) via CoreDNS | Alternative DNS root (local-only fallback mode) | | `.loki` | local lokinet (10.5.0.14) via CoreDNS | Lokinet privacy network (no Cloudflare/public DNS forwarder dependency) | | `.zil` | zildns (10.5.0.15) via CoreDNS | Zilliqa blockchain (local resolver service; no Cloudflare DNS dependency) | | `.web3` | local unbound (10.5.0.5) via CoreDNS | General blockchain namespace (local-only fallback mode) | | Alfis TLDs | Alfis (10.5.0.3) | `.anon`, `.btn`, `.conf`, `.index`, `.merch`, `.mirror`, `.mob`, `.screen`, `.srv`, `.ygg` | | EmerCoin TLDs | EmerCoin (10.5.0.9) | `.emc`, `.coin`, `.lib`, `.bazar`, `.enum` | | OpenNIC TLDs | local unbound (10.5.0.5) via CoreDNS | `.bbs`, `.chan`, `.cyb`, `.dyn`, `.epic`, `.geek`, `.gopher`, `.indy`, `.libre`, `.neo`, `.null`, `.o`, `.oss`, `.oz`, `.parody`, `.pirate`, `.fur`, `.ku`, `.rm`, `.te`, `.ti`, `.uu`, `.ko` (local-only fallback mode) | | Clearnet | Unbound (10.5.0.5) | All other domains via recursive resolution | ## Local-only DNS mode limitations Darkproxy now avoids direct public DNS forwarders for `.alt`, `.zil`, `.web3`, OpenNIC TLDs, and Lokinet fallback DNS. Resolution still happens locally in this stack. The remaining external dependency surface is blockchain RPC/data access for record lookup, not public DNS forwarding. Important limitations still apply for authoritative data: * `.eth` requires an Ethereum JSON-RPC backend. By default this stack uses `https://ethereum-rpc.publicnode.com` in `ensdns`. * `.alt`, OpenNIC TLDs, and `.web3` are not in the ICANN root. In local-only fallback mode they are sent to local Unbound, so they usually return `NXDOMAIN` unless you provide your own authoritative/local resolver backend for those namespaces. * `.zil` is resolved through local `zildns`, which queries ZNS using `https://api.zilliqa.com` by default. This is a Zilliqa RPC lookup path (on-chain resolution), not a Cloudflare DNS forwarder path. You can override the RPC endpoint with `ZILDNS_ZNS_URL` in `docker-compose.yml`. * `zildns` supports `ZILDNS_CACHE_SECONDS` (record cache duration) and `ZILDNS_PREWARM_DOMAIN` (startup warm-up query) to reduce first-query latency. * For browser convenience, `A` lookups may return a CNAME to a public IPFS gateway when a `.zil` content hash exists. That gateway alias is separate from DNS resolution itself. * `.loki` is resolved by local Lokinet, and Lokinet fallback DNS points to local Unbound (no Cloudflare/public DNS forwarder dependency). ## Configuration validation and drift tests A simple automation is included to help detect accidental changes to the compose and DNS configuration: 1. **Local check** – run `scripts/validate-config.sh` (or its PowerShell equivalent). - The script requires `docker` to be installed; it will generate a normalized manifest and compare it against `docker-compose.lock.yml`. - If the baseline file does not exist it will be created; commit the file after review. - CoreDNS syntax is also validated using either a local `coredns` binary or a container. 2. **CI workflow** – `.github/workflows/config-validation.yml` is triggered on pushes or pull requests affecting `docker-compose.yml` or `PopuraDNS/`. The job executes the same `docker compose config` comparison and runs the Corefile check inside a container. 3. **Updating the baseline** – when intentional changes are made to the compose file, regenerate the baseline: ```sh scripts/validate-config.sh # fails with drift cp generated.yml docker-compose.lock.yml git add docker-compose.lock.yml ``` These steps ensure that configuration drift is caught early and reviewers can see what has changed. ## Local ENS (.eth) client If you want to resolve Ethereum ENS names locally from the host, use the standalone client script: ```sh python3 -m venv .venv-ens source .venv-ens/bin/activate pip install -r scripts/requirements-ens.txt python3 scripts/resolve_ens.py vitalik.eth --pretty ``` Options: * `--rpc ` to set a custom Ethereum JSON-RPC endpoint. * `--include-text` to include common ENS text records. Example: ```sh python3 scripts/resolve_ens.py ens.eth --include-text --pretty ``` ## Local Namecoin (.bit) resolver (true on-chain) `.bit` lookups are routed through a local blockchain-backed resolver path: * CoreDNS forwards `bit.:53` to `10.5.0.12:53` (`namecoindns`). * `namecoindns` queries local `namecoind` JSON-RPC (`10.5.0.13:8336`). * `namecoind` syncs the Namecoin blockchain and serves on-chain records. Quick test: ```sh docker exec darkpihole dig @10.5.0.4 A id.bit docker exec darkpihole dig @10.5.0.4 TXT id.bit ``` If your environment returns `NXDOMAIN` for `.bit`, configure Namecoin-capable records in Namecoin itself and wait for local `namecoind` sync completion. > **Important:** initial blockchain sync can take significant time. During sync, > `.bit` responses may be empty or incomplete. ## Local Lokinet (.loki) resolver `.loki` lookups are resolved by a local Lokinet daemon path: * CoreDNS forwards `loki.:53` to `10.5.0.14:53` (`lokinet`). * `lokinet` resolves `.loki` names through the Lokinet network. Quick test: ```sh docker exec darkpihole dig @10.5.0.4 A oxen.loki ``` > **Note:** Lokinet may need a short bootstrap period after startup before > `.loki` names resolve. ## Monitoring the proxy A lightweight Prometheus/Grafana stack is included to expose 3proxy metrics and give you visibility into traffic volumes, connected sessions, etc. ### how it works * `3proxy` is configured with `monitor -p6800`, which sets up a plain-text status socket. Samples look like `PROXY CONNS 12` or `SOCKS IN 345`. * `monitor/exporter.py` polls that socket every few seconds and exports the counters on HTTP port **9100** in Prometheus format. * The `docker-compose.yml` file now defines three new services: `3proxy_exporter`, `prometheus` and `grafana`. Prometheus scrapes the exporter and Grafana points at Prometheus as a data source. ### building & running The exporter lives in `monitor/`; build the image and start the stack: ```sh # build everything including the new services docker-compose build 3proxy_exporter prometheus grafana docker-compose up -d ``` Prometheus will be accessible on port **9090**, Grafana on **3000** (admin password `secret`). Use Grafana to create or import dashboards – a simple example JSON is provided in `monitor/3proxy-dashboard.json`. You can import that file directly or build your own panels using metrics such as `proxy_conns` and `proxy_bytes_in`. ### tips * Alerts can be added in Prometheus rules, e.g. fire when `proxy_conns` exceeds a threshold for several minutes. * If you don’t want the full stack, you can still query the monitor port directly with `nc`; nothing in the proxy depends on the exporter. * The `scripts/validate-config.sh` script warns if a 3proxy config lacks a `monitor` line. ## Production readiness checklist Make sure you never commit real secrets. The `secrets/` directory is now included in `.gitignore`; both timezone and Yggdrasil key files live there and are mounted into containers at runtime. Before deploying to a live environment, run the validation script and resolve any warnings or errors. The script covers: * YAML syntax and drift against the committed baseline * CoreDNS/PopuraDNS Corefile syntax * Unbound configuration syntax * Presence of required secret files * Simple 3proxy configuration sanity (presence of `socks`/`proxy` rules) * Detection of `:latest` image tags (pin to fixed versions) * Verification that restart policies exist The GitHub Actions workflow also includes a **smoke test** job that spins up all services in `docker-compose.yml` using a Docker‑in‑Docker service and waits for each container’s healthcheck to report `healthy`. This gives an additional layer of confidence that the stack can be built and started successfully. You can also extend the script with additional service-specific checks such as running `docker run ...` commands to exercise the images, scanning the `3proxy` config more deeply, or linting other mounted configuration files. Run the script locally via `./scripts/validate-config.sh` (or `.scripts/validate-config.ps1` on Windows) and review the output carefully. CI will execute the same validations automatically on pull requests.