[Privoxy-users] How to start Privoxy service with custom made configuration file

[Lee]

On Sun, May 3, 2026 at 11:45 AM <dontpwnme at tutamail.com> wrote:

> Dear all,
>
> Thanks for the tips. I added the parameter *--config-test* and
> *--no-daemon *and then I found that there are some "Fatal error" messages
> due to wrong syntax inside the action file. Moreover, I need to use "doas"
> to run the startup command as I'm using Alpine Linux. Privoxy is now able
> to start successfully.
>

Do you have an /etc/init.d/privoxy file?

I tried messing up my privoxy config and then stopping/starting privoxy.
No warnings or errors when starting /usr/sbin/privoxy but I was notified
when using /etc/init.d/privoxy start

$ sudo /usr/sbin/privoxy --user privoxy /etc/privoxy/config

lee at an17 /usr/sbin
$ ps -elf | grep privoxy
0 S lee        56830   56694  0  80   0 -  1633 pipe_r 12:46 pts/1
00:00:00 grep --color=auto privoxy

lee at an17 /usr/sbin
$ /etc/init.d/privoxy start
Starting privoxy (via systemctl): privoxy.serviceJob for privoxy.service
failed because the control process exited with error code.
See "systemctl status privoxy.service" and "journalctl -xeu
privoxy.service" for details.
 failed!

Regards,
Lee

3 May 2026, 16:29 by iansilvester at fastmail.fm:
>
> Hi there,
>
> To test a config file loaded from the command line you should include the
> parameter --config-test. Per the manpage, this attempts loading the config
> file and then exits with an exit code. 1 means there is an error in the
> config file, 0 means that the config files are at least syntactically
> correct.
>
> Ian
>
>
> On Sun, 26 Apr 2026, at 13:42, Lee via Privoxy-users wrote:
>
> On Sun, Apr 26, 2026 at 7:22 AM Jeremy via Privoxy-users wrote:
>
> I copied the default "config.new" file to a new file named "myconf". I
> made custom changes to the settings inside this "myconf" file. File
> ownership was changed to privoxy:privoxy which is aligned to all other
> files inside "/etc/privoxy/" directory. Then I try starting Privoxy by
> running:
>
> /usr/sbin/privoxy --user privoxy /etc/privoxy/myconf
>
> No error message is shown after running the above command but the Privoxy
> didn't start.
>
>
> I get an error message:
>
> $ /usr/sbin/privoxy --user privoxy /etc/privoxy/my-config
> 2026-04-26 13:18:19.158 7f90b3a6a300 Fatal error: Cannot setgid():
> Insufficient permissions.
>
> Is Privoxy designed to be able to use the default "/etc/privoxy/config"
> file only?
>
> works for me if I start privoxy using sudo:
>
> $ sudo /usr/sbin/privoxy --user privoxy /etc/privoxy/my-config
>
> $ ps -elf | grep privoxy
> 5 S privoxy 16199 1 1 80 0 - 26460 - 13:18 ?
> 00:00:00 /usr/sbin/privoxy --user privoxy /etc/privoxy/my-config
> 0 S lee 16204 16113 0 80 0 - 1633 pipe_r 13:19 pts/0
> 00:00:00 grep --color=auto privoxy
>
> Something you might need to check is apparmor settings - I use a
> non-default log file so I had to adjust /etc/apparmor.d/usr.sbin.privoxy
> I also have several custom .action files -- I don't remember if the
> apparmor profile comes with
> /etc/privoxy/** r,
> or if I had to add it..
>
> Regards,
> Lee
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