How to make a .onion site: A step-by-step guide?

To create your own .onion site, follow this step-by-step guide based on the resources provided:

  1. Get a Working Tor: Start by downloading and installing the Tor Browser, a modified version of Mozilla Firefox designed for accessing the Tor network. Visit the official Tor Project website (https://www.torproject.org/) to download the appropriate version for your operating system.

  2. Acquire a Server for Tor Hosting: Sign up for a virtual private server (VPS) or dedicated server that supports Tor hosting, such as Digital Ocean mentioned in the YouTube video.

  3. Install and Configure Tor on the Server: Install Tor software on your server by following the instructions for your specific operating system. Ensure you have root access to configure Tor properly.

  4. Set Up an Onion Service: After installing Tor, create an onion service using torrc configuration file. You can find detailed guides on setting up an onion service at the official Tor Project community site and various tutorials like the one from Null Byte.

  5. Set Up a Web Server: Choose a web server software such as Apache, Nginx, or Lighttpd, install it on your server, and configure it to listen on localhost (127.0.0.1) and port 80 according to your chosen software documentation. For example, add the following lines to your Apache configuration file (httpd.conf):

    Listen 127.0.0.1:80
    ServerName your.onion
    DocumentRoot /var/www/your_onion_site_directory
    
  6. Create and Upload Your Website Content: Design your website using standard HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Place these files into the directory specified in the DocumentRoot directive of your web server configuration.

  7. Restart the Web Server: After making changes to the web server configuration file, restart the web server to apply the changes.

Your .onion site should now be accessible through the Tor network by entering your .onion domain in the Tor Browser. Remember to keep your .onion domain safe and secure since it cannot be changed once generated.