How To Install TinyProxy on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS

In this tutorial, we will show you how to install TinyProxy on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS. Proxy servers are a fundamental tool in the world of networking and internet security. Whether it’s for improving privacy, filtering content, or optimizing network performance, a reliable proxy server can be invaluable. TinyProxy, as its name suggests, is a lightweight and efficient open-source proxy server that is perfect for smaller systems and personal use.

This article assumes you have at least basic knowledge of Linux, know how to use the shell, and most importantly, you host your site on your own VPS. The installation is quite simple and assumes you are running in the root account, if not you may need to add ‘sudo‘ to the commands to get root privileges. I will show you the step-by-step installation of the TinyProxy on Ubuntu 22.04. You can follow the same instructions for Ubuntu 22.04 and any other Debian-based distribution like Linux Mint, Elementary OS, Pop!_OS, and more as well.

Prerequisites

• A server running one of the following operating systems: Ubuntu 22.04, 20.04, and any other Debian-based distribution like Linux Mint.
• It’s recommended that you use a fresh OS install to prevent any potential issues.
• SSH access to the server (or just open Terminal if you’re on a desktop).
• An active internet connection. You’ll need an internet connection to download the necessary packages and dependencies for TinyProxy.
• A non-root sudo user or access to the root user. We recommend acting as a non-root sudo user, however, as you can harm your system if you’re not careful when acting as the root.

Install TinyProxy on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS Jammy Jellyfish

Step 1. Updating your system is a crucial first step to ensure that you have the latest package information. Open your terminal and enter the following command:

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade

Step 2. Installing TinyProxy on Ubuntu 22.04.

With your system up to date, you’re ready to install TinyProxy. Use the following command to install it:

sudo apt install tinyproxy

This command will fetch TinyProxy and its dependencies and install it on your system. The process may take a moment, but once it’s completed, you’re ready to move on to configuring TinyProxy.

Step 3. Configuring TinyProxy.

The TinyProxy configuration file is where you’ll define how your proxy server functions. It’s located at /etc/tinyproxy/tinyproxy.conf. You’ll need superuser privileges to modify this file. Use your favorite text editor to open it. For instance, if you prefer nano, use:

sudo nano /etc/tinyproxy/tinyproxy.conf

Inside the configuration file, you’ll find various settings that allow you to customize your TinyProxy server. Here are some key configurations you can adjust:

• Port: By default, TinyProxy runs on port 8888. You can change this to any other available port if needed.

Port 8888

• Allow/Deny Rules: These rules control which clients can access your proxy server. Customize the Allow and Deny settings to match your requirements.

Allow 192.168.1.0/24
Deny 0/0

• Listen to Address: By default, TinyProxy listens on all available network interfaces. You can restrict it to a specific address.

Listen 192.168.1.10

• Timeout: The Timeout setting controls the maximum time (in seconds) a connection is allowed to remain idle. You can adjust this as per your needs.

Timeout 600

Save the file then, start the TinyProxy service, use the following command:

sudo systemctl start tinyproxy

To ensure that TinyProxy starts automatically every time your system boots up, use the following command:

sudo systemctl enable tinyproxy

Step 4. Testing TinyProxy.

To make sure that TinyProxy is working as expected, you should test it. You can use a web browser or a command-line tool like curl. Here’s a simple test using curl:

curl -x http://localhost:8888 http://example.com

Replace http://example.com with the URL you want to access through the proxy. If you receive the expected response, your TinyProxy is up and running!

Congratulations! You have successfully installed TinyProxy. Thanks for using this tutorial for installing TinyProxy on the Ubuntu system. For additional help or useful information, we recommend you check the official TinyProxy website.