[tor-relays] My Family

[Roger Dingledine]

On Tue, Jul 27, 2021 at 01:56:09PM +0000, torix wrote:
> Okay, then I have another question about MyFamily.  Is the only correct format
> MyFamily fingerprint1,fingerprint2,fingerprint3
> or can I put in:
> MyFamily
> #relay 1
> fingerprint1
> #relay 2
> fingerprint2
> #relay 3
> fingerprint3
> 
> I end up with a file in the second format so I know which fingerprint is which, but then creating the comma separated one line format to put in the relays.

According to the MyFamily entry in 'man torrc', you can do it either all
on one line, or each on its own line. But in the 'each on its own line'
case you still need to set MyFamily at the beginning of each line.

       MyFamily fingerprint,fingerprint,...
           Declare that this Tor relay is controlled or administered by a
           group or organization identical or similar to that of the other
           relays, defined by their (possibly $-prefixed) identity
           fingerprints. This option can be repeated many times, for
           convenience in defining large families: all fingerprints in all
           MyFamily lines are merged into one list. When two relays both
           declare that they are in the same 'family', Tor clients will not
           use them in the same circuit. (Each relay only needs to list the
           other servers in its family; it doesn't need to list itself, but it
           won't hurt if it does.) Do not list any bridge relay as it would
           compromise its concealment.

           If you run more than one relay, the MyFamily option on each relay
           must list all other relays, as described above.

           Note: do not use MyFamily when configuring your Tor instance as a
           bridge.

There is even a third option, where you end each line with a backslash,
which tells Tor that these multiple lines are actually just one long line:

       To split one configuration entry into multiple lines, use a
       single backslash character (\) before the end of the line. Comments can
       be used in such multiline entries, but they must start at the beginning
       of a line.

I.e. you could use your above approach with one fingerprint per line,
without saying MyFamily on each one of them, if you added a backslash
at the end of each fingerprint.

--Roger