How to create a .onion service

A .onion server needs Linux. These steps use Ubuntu. You can reuse the VM from the address guide, or a host on AWS, Azure, or Alibaba Cloud.

Install Tor

Install Tor from APT.
```
sudo apt install tor
```
Installing the Tor package on Ubuntu.
Confirm Tor is listening on port 9050.
```
ss -nlt
```
Look for a listener on port 9050.
Check the installed Tor version.
```
tor --version
```
Confirm you have a current Tor package.
Compare your public IP with the address seen through Tor.

Public IP:
```
wget -qO - https://api.ipify.org; echo
```
Tor IP:
```
torsocks wget -qO - https://api.ipify.org; echo
```
The two addresses should differ if Tor is working.

Edit Tor’s config file.
```
sudo vi /etc/tor/torrc
```
The main Tor configuration file.

Scroll until you find these commented lines:

#HiddenServiceDir /var/lib/tor/hidden_service/
#HiddenServicePort 80 127.0.0.1:80

Remove the # so the service is enabled:
```
HiddenServiceDir /var/lib/tor/hidden_service/
HiddenServicePort 80 127.0.0.1:80
```
Uncomment only the hidden service directory and port 80 lines.
Save and quit vi: press Esc, then type :wq and press Enter.

Write the file and exit the editor.
Restart Tor so the hostname keys are created.
```
sudo service tor restart
```
After a clean restart, Tor publishes the service.