Clients learn which relays exist from the directory: a list of every relay’s descriptor, published every hour and signed by independent signers. This site is a readable copy of it, with history added.
Relay descriptors
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
nickname | Chosen by the operator: 1 to 19 lowercase letters, digits and hyphens. Unique in the directory, and never reused once retired. |
fingerprint | A hash of the relay’s identity key, shown as eight groups of four hexadecimal digits. The fingerprint, not the nickname, is what clients trust. |
addresses | The IPv4 and IPv6 addresses and ports the relay listens on. |
roles | Any of entry, transit and mailbox. |
onion-key | The X25519 key used for the relay’s routing layer, rotated weekly. |
capacity | The capacity the operator advertises. Clients weight relays by measured capacity, not by this figure. |
operator | An identifier for the vetted organization that runs the relay. |
version | The relay software version. |
Signing
Nine directory signers, run by Frothly and eight independent organizations on four continents, each vote on the directory every hour. A directory is valid only with at least five signatures. Since July 2026 the signers use hybrid signatures, combining Ed25519 with ML-DSA-65, so that a forged directory would require breaking both.
Clients keep using the last valid directory for up to twenty-four hours if a new one cannot be fetched.
Measurement and calibration
Measurement clients run by Frothly test every relay around the clock and publish its measured capacity, which clients use to weight their choices. Measurements drift slowly over time and are periodically corrected against reference relays. The relay network’s status page reports when this calibration is in progress.
Status in the directory
- Relays joining the directory spend sixty days on probation, during which they carry a limited share of traffic.
- A relay that stops answering for more than an hour is withdrawn from new routes until it returns; this site shows it as offline after a day.
- An operator may withdraw a relay for maintenance at any time.
Bridges
Bridges are entry relays that are not in the public directory. People whose networks block listed relays receive a few bridge addresses through the app, from contacts or from trusted organizations. Their number and locations are never published, here or anywhere else.