Automating TTP via systemd and Scripts

This tutorial demonstrates how to integrate TTP into automated workflows, system startup units, and NetworkManager dispatcher scripts using structured logging and non-interactive flags.

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1. Non-Interactive CLI Flags

When executing TTP inside automated scripts or background daemons, use non-interactive flags to format output and suppress interactive rich console displays:

• --quiet / -q: Suppress all progress banners, tables, and standard output. Only fatal errors are printed.
• --log-format json: Output structured JSON log entries suitable for log collectors (journalctl, Fluentd, Datadog).
• --verbose / -v: Include debug-level internal trace logs.

Example automated execution command:

sudo ttp --quiet --log-format json start --watchdog

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2. NetworkManager Dispatcher Script

To automatically start TTP when a network interface connects and stop it upon disconnection:

1. Create a NetworkManager dispatcher script at /etc/NetworkManager/dispatcher.d/99-ttp.sh:

#!/bin/bash
# /etc/NetworkManager/dispatcher.d/99-ttp.sh

IFACE="$1"
ACTION="$2"

# Only trigger on primary network interface (e.g. eth0, wlan0)
if [ "$IFACE" = "wlan0" ] || [ "$IFACE" = "eth0" ]; then
    case "$ACTION" in
        up)
            /usr/local/bin/ttp --quiet start --watchdog --lan-bypass
            ;;
        down)
            /usr/local/bin/ttp --quiet stop
            ;;
    esac
fi

1. Make the script executable and set root ownership:

sudo chmod +x /etc/NetworkManager/dispatcher.d/99-ttp.sh
sudo chown root:root /etc/NetworkManager/dispatcher.d/99-ttp.sh

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3. Creating a Custom systemd Service Unit

To run TTP as a system service managed by systemd:

1. Create /etc/systemd/system/transparent-tor-proxy.service:

[Unit]
Description=Transparent Tor Proxy (TTP)
After=network-online.target ttp-tor.service
Wants=network-online.target

[Service]
Type=oneshot
RemainAfterExit=yes
ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/ttp --quiet start --watchdog
ExecStop=/usr/local/bin/ttp --quiet stop
TimeoutStartSec=120
TimeoutStopSec=30

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

1. Reload systemd daemon and enable the service:

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable transparent-tor-proxy.service

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4. Script Return Codes and Status Inspection

When invoking TTP inside shell scripts, inspect exit codes to verify success:

#!/bin/bash
set -e

if sudo ttp --quiet start; then
    echo "TTP session established."
else
    echo "Failed to start TTP session." >&2
    exit 1
fi

Exit code 0 indicates successful session establishment. Exit code 1 indicates preflight failure or missing root privileges.