macos-tor-proxy

Simple shell function to enable/disable system-wide Tor SOCKS proxy on macOS.

What it does

• Configures macOS system-level SOCKS proxy to route traffic through Tor
• Manages Tor daemon lifecycle (start/stop)
• Sets shell environment variables for CLI tools
• Supports multiple network interfaces (Wi-Fi, USB Ethernet, etc.)

Installation

1. Install Tor daemon

brew install tor

2. Configure Tor

sudo mkdir -p /opt/homebrew/var/lib/tor
sudo chown "$(whoami)" /opt/homebrew/var/lib/tor

Edit Tor config:

vim /opt/homebrew/etc/tor/torrc

Add the following:

Log notice stderr
DataDirectory /opt/homebrew/var/lib/tor
SocksPort 127.0.0.1:9050

3. Add function to your shell

Open your shell config:

vim ~/.zshrc  # or ~/.bashrc for bash

Add the torctl() function from torctl.sh at the end of the file.

Reload shell config:

source ~/.zshrc  # or source ~/.bashrc

4. Verify installation

torctl status

Usage

Enable Tor proxy

torctl on

This will:

• Start Tor daemon via brew services
• Wait for Tor to be ready (port 9050)
• Configure system SOCKS proxy for all network interfaces
• Set shell proxy environment variables (ALL_PROXY, HTTP_PROXY, HTTPS_PROXY)

Disable Tor proxy

torctl off

This will:

• Disable system SOCKS proxy
• Unset shell proxy variables
• Stop Tor daemon

Check status

torctl status

Shows:

• Tor service state (brew services)
• Port 9050 listener status
• System proxy configuration
• Per-interface SOCKS settings
• Shell proxy environment variables

Verification

Check if traffic goes through Tor

Browser (system-wide):

torctl on
open https://check.torproject.org
# Should show "Congratulations. This browser is configured to use Tor."

CLI (curl):

torctl on
curl -s https://check.torproject.org | grep -i "Congratulations"
# Should output: Congratulations. This browser is configured to use Tor.

Check your IP:

torctl on
curl https://api.ipify.org
# Should show Tor exit node IP (not your real IP)

torctl off
curl https://api.ipify.org
# Should show your real IP

Configuration

Custom network interfaces

If your network interface name differs from default (Wi-Fi, RNDIS/Ethernet Gadget), edit the SERVICES array in the function:

# List all network services
networksetup -listallnetworkservices

# Edit function
vim ~/.zshrc
# Change:
local SERVICES=(
  "Wi-Fi"
  "Your Interface Name Here"
)

Uninstall

# Stop and remove Tor
torctl off  # or manually: brew services stop tor
brew uninstall tor

# Remove Tor data and configs
sudo rm -rf /opt/homebrew/etc/tor
sudo rm -rf /opt/homebrew/var/lib/tor
rm ~/Library/LaunchAgents/homebrew.mxcl.tor.plist 2>/dev/null || true

# Remove function from shell config
vim ~/.zshrc  # delete torctl() function
source ~/.zshrc

Security Notes

• This routes traffic through Tor but does not guarantee anonymity
• Browser fingerprinting, WebRTC leaks, and application-level identifiers can still expose you
• For serious anonymity needs, use Tor Browser
• System-wide proxy means all apps use Tor (can be slow)

Requirements

• macOS (tested on Ventura/Sonoma)
• Homebrew
• sudo access (for networksetup commands)
• nc (netcat) - pre-installed on macOS

License

Apache License