Gremoire

Launching Your Website on the Tor Network (Deep Web Guide) in Windows ​

This guide walks you through creating a hidden service on the Tor network so your website becomes accessible via a .onion address. Everything here applies to Windows and uses the Tor installation provided by Scoop.

1. Locate Your Tor Configuration File ​

When installed using Scoop, your torrc file is typically found here:

C:/Users/<YourUserName>/scoop/apps/tor/current/torrc

This file controls how Tor behaves.

2. Add a Hidden Service to Your torrc ​

Open torrc and add the following lines at the bottom:

HiddenServiceDir C:/Users/<YourUserName>/scoop/apps/tor/current/data/my_hidden_service
HiddenServicePort 80 127.0.0.1:8080

HiddenServiceDir is the folder where Tor stores your .onion address and keys.

HiddenServicePort tells Tor to forward traffic from the onion address’s port 80 to your local website running on port 8080.

Save the file after editing.

3. Start a Local Website on Port 8080 ​

Your hidden service points to 127.0.0.1:8080. You can run any website here. A quick example using Python:

python -m http.server 8080

Or with Node:

npx serve -p 8080

Any local web server will work as long as it listens on port 8080.

4. Start Tor to Generate Your .onion URL ​

Launch Tor from your terminal:

tor

On first startup, Tor will generate your hidden service directory and create two important files:

  • hostname (contains your .onion URL)
  • private_key (keep this absolutely private)

The directory will be located here:

C:/Users/<YourUserName>/scoop/apps/tor/current/data/my_hidden_service

Open the hostname file to see your new .onion address.

5. Test Your Website Over Tor ​

Open Tor Browser, then enter your onion address:

exampleexampleexample.onion

If your local server is running and Tor is active, your site will load.

6. Important Safety Tips ​

  • Host your website only on 127.0.0.1. Never use 0.0.0.0.
  • Do not share your hidden service's private_key.
  • Avoid external scripts like Google Analytics.
  • Keep metadata off your pages.

This keeps your hidden service isolated and anonymous.

7. Removing the Hidden Service (Optional) ​

To delete the service:

  1. Stop Tor.
  2. Remove the two HiddenService lines from torrc.
  3. Delete the folder:
C:/Users/<YourUserName>/scoop/apps/tor/current/data/my_hidden_service

Restart Tor. Your onion site is now gone.

You now have a complete, functioning Tor hidden service setup. This method works for static sites, APIs, dashboards, or entire applications provided they run locally on the port you map.