[tor-relays] Re: Snowflake setup fail

[Mike Dylan Poppelaars via tor-relays <tor-relays@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I ran into the same 403 problem when trying to download the 
docker-compose.yml file with wget.

It seems to be caused by the anti-DoS protection on Tor’s GitLab rather 
than by AlmaLinux or Docker itself.

What worked for me was simply creating the compose file manually instead 
of downloading it:

***
services:
    snowflake-proxy:
        network_mode: host
        image: 
containers.torproject.org/tpo/anti-censorship/pluggable-transports/snowflake:latest
        container_name: snowflake-proxy
        restart: unless-stopped
        # For a full list of Snowflake Proxy CLI parameters see
        # 
https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/anti-censorship/pluggable-transports/snowflake/-/tree/main/proxy?ref_type=heads#running-a-standalone-snowflake-proxy
        #command: [ "-ephemeral-ports-range", "30000:60000" ]
    watchtower:
        image: nickfedor/watchtower
        container_name: watchtower
        volumes:
          - /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock
        command: snowflake-proxy
***

I then ran:

***
docker compose config
docker compose up -d snowflake-proxy
***

and the Snowflake proxy started successfully.

So if you’re seeing the same 403, I’d suggest skipping the wget step for 
now and creating the file by hand. I tried this on AlmaLinux 9.8 and it 
works.

Also opening the link with a normal browser works after waiting for 5 
seconds, that's how I got the file.

~ Mike


On 21.08.2026 16:24, John Thompson via tor-relays wrote:
> Repeated blacklisting while running a tor relay has persuaded me to 
> try a snowflake proxy instead. I want to run a stand-alone proxy on 
> Almalinux-9.8. Following the instructions on 
> https://community.torproject.org/relay/setup/snowflake/standalone/docker/, 
> I have installed docker, but cannot complete the next step, 
> downloading the docker-compose.yml configuration file:
>
> $ wget -O docker-compose.yml 
> https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/anti-censorship/pluggable-transports/snowflake/-/raw/main/docker-compose.yml?ref_type=heads
> --2026-08-21 09:17:57-- 
> https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/anti-censorship/pluggable-transports/snowflake/-/raw/main/docker-compose.yml?ref_type=heads
> Resolving gitlab.torproject.org (gitlab.torproject.org)... 
> 2620:7:6002:0:266:37ff:feb8:3489, 204.8.99.149
> Connecting to gitlab.torproject.org 
> (gitlab.torproject.org)|2620:7:6002:0:266:37ff:feb8:3489|:443... 
> connected.
> HTTP request sent, awaiting response... 403 Forbidden
> 2026-08-21 09:17:57 ERROR 403: Forbidden.
>
> Is there a fix?

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