title: Open-source developers description: A participation path for open-source contributors. Four independent lines depending on what you have: running nodes, measurement analysis, campus deployments, and documentation. icon: material/console

Developers start here¶

The other role pages describe how to protect yourself. This one describes where your skills connect. Most of the anonymity network's infrastructure is run by volunteers — relays, bridges, measurement pipelines, mirrors — and every one of them is short-handed.

Look at what you have, then pick a line. The four are independent; starting one is enough.

Twenty minutes to pick a direction¶

2026 roadmap: this year's three themes and where each stands, to see whether one of them is yours
How to contribute: choosing a topic, saying so on Matrix, and what ongoing participation looks like
Self-skills evaluation form: a self-assessment across Tor, Tails, and OONI, with reading listed under each level

Four lines you can pick up¶

A machine that stays on, with stable bandwidth¶

The most direct contribution. Start with a relay; switch to a bridge if bandwidth is limited or the address changes.

How to set up a Tor relay: full configuration
How to set up a Tor WebTunnel bridge: far lower bandwidth requirements, and worth more in a censored environment
Tor Snowflake: the lowest barrier of all, a browser extension and it is running
Setting up a .onion service: give a service you already run an onion entrance
Help pin the site's IPFS mirror: currently a single point, and each additional pin is redundancy
Tor relay watcher: see how many relays exist in the region and which ASNs they sit in

You write code and work with data¶

The measurement line needs people who can read raw results and turn them into analysis.

Reading an OONI measurement: what the raw fields look like
How OONI decides a site is blocked: understand the logic before reading the data, or you will misread it
OONI nettest quick reference: what each test actually measures
ASN observation data retrieval and analysis: how this community's retrieval tool is configured and used, including the S3 public dataset layout
ASN observation data analysis: current coverage, where the gaps are the open questions
onionoo MCP: a community-run relay query service, and an interface worth extending
OONI website testing list: how the test list is maintained, where classification and updates need people

Influence inside a university or a company¶

Campus relays need someone who can talk to administration and legal. The technical part is the easy half.

Campus Tor relay proposal template: a proposal document, four outreach emails, and an administrative timeline drawn from a successful deployment at National Taiwan Normal University, ready to adapt
Campus Tor relay deployment SOP: the steps once a proposal clears
An FAQ for university administrators and legal counsel: the questions that come up in review, with answers

You write documentation, or translate¶

Contributor handbook: the single source for writing conventions, read it before drafting
Localization and translation: the workflow across three language editions
Development environment setup: preparation before starting a new topic

You need a baseline of your own¶

Technical ability and personal operational habits are separate things. Someone holding root and a pile of API keys is worth more to an attacker than an average user.

What an ordinary person should actually do: ordered by real-world effect, twenty minutes
Networks mistaken for anonymity: how far blockchains, private browsing windows, and VPNs are overestimated

What to take with you¶

Public Matrix room: say what you are picking up before you start, so two people do not do the same work
anoni-net/docs on GitHub: the site source and its issues, each written with the expected scope
Community-run CryptPad and Etherpad are available for drafting proposals, see community services

What this path does not cover¶

Legal risk assessment for running a relay: exit relays and middle relays differ substantially, and so does the law where you are. The campus relay FAQ collects the legal questions, and individual operators should assess against their own jurisdiction
Tor protocol internals: this site covers the tool and measurement layers. For specifications, go to the Tor Project's documentation