2.1.1 Configuration

There is a number of variables that you can tweak in order to configure Polipo, and they should all be described in this manual (see Variable index). You can display the complete, most up-to-date list of configuration variables by using the -v command line flag or by accessing the “current configuration” page of Polipo’s web interface (see Web interface). Configuration variables can be set either on the command line or else in the configuration file given by the -c command-line flag.

Configuration variables are typed, and -v will display their types. The type can be of one of the following:

• ‘integer’ or ‘float’: a numeric value;
• ‘boolean’: a truth value, one of ‘true’ or ‘false’;
• ‘tristate’: one of ‘false’, ‘maybe’ or ‘true’;
• ‘4-state’, one of ‘false’, ‘reluctantly’, ‘happily’ or ‘true’;
• ‘5-state’, one of ‘false’, ‘reluctantly’, ‘maybe’, ‘happily’ or ‘true’;
• ‘atom’, a string written within double quotes ‘"’);
• ‘list’, a comma-separated list of strings;
• ‘intlist’, a comma-separated list of integers and ranges of integers (of the form ‘n–m’).

The configuration file has a very simple syntax. All blank lines are ignored, as are lines starting with a hash sign ‘#’. Other lines must be of the form

var = val

where var is a variable to set and val is the value to set it to.

It is possible to change the configuration of a running polipo by using the local configuration interface (see Web interface).