imgproxy
Fast and secure standalone server for resizing and converting remote images.
Best self-hosted Proxy software in 2026
A proxy is a server application that acts as an intermediary between a client requesting a resource and the server providing that resource. This section about forward (i.e. outgoing) proxies. For reverse proxies, see the Web Server section.
We track 10 open-source, self-hosted Proxy apps. 7 of them had commits in the last 90 days, 6 can run with Docker, and the most common licenses are Apache-2.0 (5), GPL-2.0 (3), MIT (2). The most-used languages are C, Go, Nodejs. Below are the top picks by GitHub stars, followed by every app ranked by stars weighted by maintenance health.
Top 5 by GitHub stars
| # | App | Stars | Health | Last activity | License | Language | Docker |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | imgproxy | 11.2k | Active | 2026-11-09 | MIT | Go, Docker | ✓ |
| 2 | Outline Server | 6.3k | Active | 2026-10-22 | Apache-2.0 | Docker, Nodejs | ✓ |
| 3 | Tinyproxy | 6.1k | Active | 2026-11-09 | GPL-2.0 | C, deb | – |
| 4 | sish | 4.8k | Active | 2026-11-03 | MIT | Go, Docker | ✓ |
| 5 | imagor | 4.1k | Active | 2026-11-07 | Apache-2.0 | Docker | ✓ |
- imgproxy — Fast and secure standalone server for resizing and converting remote images.
- Outline Server — Proxy server that runs a Shadowsocks instance for each access key and a REST API to manage the access keys.
- Tinyproxy — Light-weight HTTP/HTTPS proxy daemon.
- sish — HTTP(S)/WS(S)/TCP tunnels to localhost using only SSH (serveo/ngrok alternative).
- imagor — Fast, secure image processing server and Go library built on libvips, with on-demand resizing, cropping, filtering, format conversion and image composition, signed URLs and streaming pipelines for high-concurrency throughput.
Head-to-head comparisons
imgproxy vs Outline Serverimgproxy vs Tinyproxyimgproxy vs sishOutline Server vs TinyproxyOutline Server vs sishsish vs Tinyproxy
All 10 self-hosted Proxy apps
Ranked by GitHub stars weighted by maintenance health.
Outline Server
Proxy server that runs a Shadowsocks instance for each access key and a REST API to manage the access keys.
Tinyproxy
Light-weight HTTP/HTTPS proxy daemon.
sish
HTTP(S)/WS(S)/TCP tunnels to localhost using only SSH (serveo/ngrok alternative).
imagor
Fast, secure image processing server and Go library built on libvips, with on-demand resizing, cropping, filtering, format conversion and image composition, signed URLs and streaming pipelines for high-concurrency throughput.
g3proxy
Forward proxy server supporting proxy chaining, protocol inspection, MITM Interception, ICAP adaptation and transparent proxy.
GitProxy
Proxy for Git that applies rules and workflows to all outgoing git push operations and ensures they are compliant. It supports both HTTP/HTTPS and SSH protocols with security scanning and validation.
socks5-proxy-server
SOCKS5 proxy server with built-in authentication and Telegram-bot for user management and user statistics on data spent (handy when you pay per GB of data). It is dockerised and simple to install.
Privoxy
Non-caching web proxy with advanced filtering capabilities for enhancing privacy, modifying web page data and HTTP headers, controlling access, and removing ads and other obnoxious Internet junk.
Squid
Caching proxy for the Web supporting HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, and more. It reduces bandwidth and improves response times by caching and reusing frequently-requested web pages.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best self-hosted Proxy software in 2026?
By GitHub stars, the most popular self-hosted Proxy apps are imgproxy (11,185 stars), Outline Server (6,255 stars), Tinyproxy (6,055 stars). Popularity is only one signal: also check maintenance health, license and whether it fits your setup.
How many self-hosted Proxy apps are actively maintained?
7 of the 10 apps listed had commits in the last 90 days and 1 more in the last 12 months; for 2 we have no repository activity data.
Which self-hosted Proxy apps can I run with Docker?
6 of the 10 apps can run with Docker; 1 publish an image on Docker Hub, including sish.
Which licenses do self-hosted Proxy apps use?
The most common licenses in this category are Apache-2.0 (5 apps), GPL-2.0 (3 apps), MIT (2 apps).
How much does it cost to self-host Proxy software?
The software itself is free to download. Based on our rough hardware estimates, the cheapest suitable VPS plan starts at about $3.5/month (median $3.5/month across apps in this category). Several light apps can share one server.
Related categories
Figures from GitHub and Docker Hub as of 2026-11-15; hosting costs are rough estimates.