---
title: "Running my blog on Tor (.onion) and the Clearnet with Hugo + PaperMod"
date: 2025-09-19
tags: ["tor", "nginx", "hugo", "papermod", "cloudflare", "letsencrypt"]
categories: ["DevOps", "Notes"]
description: "How I hosted a Hugo + PaperMod site both as a Tor onion service and a normal HTTPS site behind Cloudflare, with clean configs, dual builds, and a one-command deploy."
draft: false
ShowToc: true
TocOpen: true
---

> TL;DR — The site is built once (Hugo project), **published twice**:  
> - **Onion**: `http://fjthpp2h3mj2rup25r3psmqamutnkbvxbpltlohdthw6fscgo3t6bpad.onion/` via Tor, no TLS/HSTS, bound to `127.0.0.1:3301`.  
> - **Clearnet**: `https://blog.alipourimjourneys.ir` behind Cloudflare, Let’s Encrypt cert, `Onion-Location` header pointing to the onion mirror.

---

## 1) Tor hidden service (onion) basics

I used Tor’s v3 onion services and mapped onion port 80 → my local web server on `127.0.0.1:3301`.

**Install & configure Tor (Debian/Ubuntu):**
```bash
sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y tor
sudoedit /etc/tor/torrc
```

Add:
```
HiddenServiceDir /var/lib/tor/hidden_site/
HiddenServicePort 80 127.0.0.1:3301
```

Make sure the directory is owned by Tor’s user and private:
```bash
sudo mkdir -p /var/lib/tor/hidden_site
sudo chown -R debian-tor:debian-tor /var/lib/tor/hidden_site
sudo chmod 700 /var/lib/tor/hidden_site
```

**Important:** use the right systemd unit:
```bash
# validate as the Tor user
sudo -u debian-tor tor -f /etc/tor/torrc --verify-config

# (re)start the real service
sudo systemctl enable --now tor@default
sudo systemctl restart tor@default
```

Get the onion address:
```bash
sudo cat /var/lib/tor/hidden_site/hostname
```

Quick check (do remote DNS via SOCKS):
```bash
curl -I --socks5-hostname 127.0.0.1:9050 "http://$(sudo cat /var/lib/tor/hidden_site/hostname)"
```

---

## 2) Nginx for the onion (localhost-only)

I keep the onion site strictly on localhost: **no HTTPS, no redirects, no HSTS**. Tor already provides e2e encryption and authenticity.

`/etc/nginx/sites-available/onion-blog`:
```nginx
server {
    listen 127.0.0.1:3301 default_server;
    server_name <your-56-char>.onion 127.0.0.1 localhost;

    # keep onion simple; no HSTS/redirects here
    add_header Referrer-Policy no-referrer always;
    add_header X-Content-Type-Options nosniff always;
    add_header X-Frame-Options SAMEORIGIN always;
    # (optional) strict CSP so nothing leaks to clearnet
    # add_header Content-Security-Policy "default-src 'self'; img-src 'self' data:; style-src 'self' 'unsafe-inline'; script-src 'self'" always;

    root /srv/hugo/mysite/public-onion;
    index index.html;

    location / { try_files $uri $uri/ /index.html; }
    location ~* \.(css|js|ico|png|jpg|jpeg|gif|svg|webp|txt|xml)$ {
        access_log off;
        add_header Cache-Control "public, max-age=31536000, immutable";
        try_files $uri =404;
    }
}
```

Enable/reload:
```bash
sudo ln -sf /etc/nginx/sites-available/onion-blog /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/onion-blog
sudo nginx -t && sudo systemctl reload nginx
```

> Gotcha I hit: I had **two** server blocks on `127.0.0.1:3301`, which caused 404s via onion. Make sure only the intended vhost listens there (or mark it `default_server`). Also, if you ever use a regex in `server_name`, the syntax is `server_name ~* \.onion$` (note the space after `~*`).

---

## 3) Hugo + PaperMod setup (and version bumps)

PaperMod now requires **Hugo Extended ≥ 0.146.0**. I installed the extended binary from the official tarball to avoid Snap’s sandbox limitations (Snap can’t read `/srv` paths by default).

```bash
# install Hugo extended (example)
VER=0.146.0
cd /tmp
wget https://github.com/gohugoio/hugo/releases/download/v${VER}/hugo_extended_${VER}_Linux-amd64.tar.gz
tar -xzf hugo_extended_${VER}_Linux-amd64.tar.gz
sudo mv hugo /usr/local/bin/hugo
hugo version  # should say "extended" and >= 0.146.0
```

Create the site and theme:
```bash
sudo mkdir -p /srv/hugo && sudo chown -R "$USER":"$USER" /srv/hugo
cd /srv/hugo
hugo new site mysite
cd mysite
git init
git submodule add https://github.com/adityatelange/hugo-PaperMod themes/PaperMod
```

**Config updates:** in newer Hugo, `paginate` is deprecated → use:
```toml
# config/_default/hugo.toml
title = "My Blog"
theme = "PaperMod"
enableRobotsTXT = true

[pagination]
  pagerSize = 10

[params]
  defaultTheme = "auto"
  showReadingTime = true
  showPostNavLinks = true
  showBreadCrumbs = true
  showCodeCopyButtons = true
```

I added per-environment overrides so I can build two outputs with different `baseURL`s:

```toml
# config/clearnet/hugo.toml
baseURL = "https://blog.alipourimjourneys.ir/"

# config/onion/hugo.toml
baseURL = "http://fjthpp2h3mj2rup25r3psmqamutnkbvxbpltlohdthw6fscgo3t6bpad.onion/"
```

---

## 4) Dual builds (clearnet + onion) and one-command deploy

I publish the same content twice—once for each base URL and docroot:

```bash
cd /srv/hugo/mysite
# clearnet build (served over HTTPS)
hugo --minify --environment clearnet -d public-clearnet
# onion build (served via Tor)
hugo --minify --environment onion    -d public-onion
sudo systemctl reload nginx
```

Helper script I use:
```bash
sudo tee /usr/local/bin/build-both >/dev/null <<'EOF'
#!/usr/bin/env bash
set -euo pipefail
cd /srv/hugo/mysite
hugo --minify --environment clearnet -d public-clearnet
hugo --minify --environment onion    -d public-onion
sudo systemctl reload nginx
echo "Deployed both at $(date)"
EOF
sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/build-both
```

While editing, I sometimes auto-rebuild on file save:
```bash
sudo apt install -y entr
cd /srv/hugo/mysite
find content layouts assets static config -type f | entr -r build-both
```

---

## 5) Clearnet behind Cloudflare + Let’s Encrypt (manual DNS-01)

Cloudflare is set to **Full (strict)**. I issued a public cert for `blog.alipourimjourneys.ir` using **manual DNS-01** (no API token):

```bash
sudo snap install --classic certbot
sudo certbot certonly --manual --preferred-challenges dns   -d blog.alipourimjourneys.ir   --agree-tos -m you@example.com --no-eff-email
```

Certbot tells you to add a TXT record `_acme-challenge.blog.alipourimjourneys.ir`. Add it in Cloudflare DNS, verify with `dig`, then continue. Cert ends up at:
```
/etc/letsencrypt/live/blog.alipourimjourneys.ir/fullchain.pem
/etc/letsencrypt/live/blog.alipourimjourneys.ir/privkey.pem
```

Clearnet Nginx vhosts:

```nginx
# HTTP → HTTPS redirect (optional; CF usually talks HTTPS to origin anyway)
server {
  listen 80; listen [::]:80;
  server_name blog.alipourimjourneys.ir;
  return 301 https://blog.alipourimjourneys.ir$request_uri;
}

# HTTPS origin (behind Cloudflare)
server {
  listen 443 ssl http2; listen [::]:443 ssl http2;
  server_name blog.alipourimjourneys.ir;

  ssl_certificate     /etc/letsencrypt/live/blog.alipourimjourneys.ir/fullchain.pem;
  ssl_certificate_key /etc/letsencrypt/live/blog.alipourimjourneys.ir/privkey.pem;

  # HSTS on clearnet only
  add_header Strict-Transport-Security "max-age=31536000; includeSubDomains; preload" always;

  # Help Tor Browser discover the onion mirror (safe on clearnet)
  add_header Onion-Location "http://<your-56-char>.onion$request_uri" always;

  root /srv/hugo/mysite/public-clearnet;
  index index.html;

  location / { try_files $uri $uri/ /index.html; }
}
```

> Note: don’t add HSTS or HTTPS redirects to the **onion** vhost. Keep onion pure HTTP on localhost.

---

## 6) Troubleshooting I ran into (and fixes)

- **Tor unit confusion:** `tor.service` is a tiny master; the real daemon is `tor@default`. Use that unit and verify config as `debian-tor`.
- **Permissions:** `HiddenServiceDir` must be owned by `debian-tor` and mode `700`.
- **Mapping mismatch:** If `HiddenServicePort 80 127.0.0.1:3301` is set, visit `http://<onion>/` (no `:3301`). If you set `HiddenServicePort 3301 127.0.0.1:3301`, you must use `http://<onion>:3301/`.
- **Curl & .onion:** modern curl refuses `.onion` unless you use remote DNS via SOCKS:
  ```bash
  curl -I --socks5-hostname 127.0.0.1:9050 "http://<onion>/"
  ```
- **Two Nginx vhosts on the same port:** I had a duplicate server on `127.0.0.1:3301` pointing somewhere else, which caused onion 404s. Keep only one (or mark one `default_server`).
- **Regex in `server_name`:** if you use it, write `server_name ~* \.onion$` (space after `~*`). I fixed an `invalid variable name` error caused by a missing space.
- **PaperMod with old Hugo:** upgraded to **extended ≥ 0.146.0**. Also updated `paginate` → `[pagination].pagerSize`.
- **Snap confinement:** Snap’s `hugo` couldn’t read `/srv` (`.../void: permission denied`). Switched to the tarball build in `/usr/local/bin`.

---

## 7) “Not secure” in Tor Browser?

That message can appear because onion uses **HTTP**. It’s OK: Tor provides e2e encryption + onion auth. If you enable HTTPS-Only Mode, add an exception for the site. Also ensure the onion build doesn’t reference **clearnet** resources (scan the built HTML for `http(s)://` links that aren’t your onion).

---

## 8) Day-to-day workflow

- Create content:
  ```bash
  hugo new posts/my-first-post.md  # then set draft: false
  ```
- Publish both:
  ```bash
  build-both
  ```
- (Optional) Auto on save:
  ```bash
  find content layouts assets static config -type f | entr -r build-both
  ```
- (Optional) Git push-to-deploy with a bare repo + post-receive hook that runs `build-both`.

---

## Final notes

- Clearnet gets **HTTPS + HSTS** and an `Onion-Location` header.  
- Onion gets **no HSTS/redirects**, and all assets are self-hosted to avoid mixed content.  
- Serving both worlds from one Hugo repo is easy: **two builds, two vhosts, one workflow**.

---

{{< sigdl >}}
