Polipo provides with caching HTTP proxy functionality. It contacts the Tor software via SOCKS5 to make the real connections: config/chroot local-includes/etc/polipo/config.

In case the firewall is buggy or not properly started, proxy settings are used as part of a defence in depth strategy:

• The standard http_proxy and HTTP_PROXY environment variables are globally set in config/chroot local-includes/etc/environment to point to Polipo.