> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.safesquid.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# SafeSquid daemon

<Note>
  CLI man page: `safesquid(8)`
</Note>

SafeSquid is the main proxy process on the Secure Web Gateway appliance. It accepts client connections, applies policies from the Web UI, and forwards allowed traffic.

## Binary and service

* **Binary** — `/opt/safesquid/bin/safesquid`
* **Service user** — `ssquid` (group `root` on the appliance)
* **PID file** — `/var/run/safesquid/safesquid.pid`
* **Init script** — `/etc/init.d/safesquid`
* **systemd unit** — `/etc/systemd/system/safesquid.service`

## Command-line options

* **`-f`** — Run in the foreground (no double-fork). Use for debugging.
* **`-v`** — Print the build version and exit.

Most tunables (listen address, thread limits, log levels) are set in `/opt/safesquid/startup.ini`, not on the command line.

## Service control

```
/etc/init.d/safesquid start
/etc/init.d/safesquid stop
/etc/init.d/safesquid restart
/etc/init.d/safesquid status
/etc/init.d/safesquid foreground
```

## Important paths

* **Policy** — `/usr/local/safesquid/security/policies/config.xml`
* **Web UI** — `/usr/local/safesquid/ui_root/` — browse at `http://safesquid.cfg/`
* **Logs** — `/var/log/safesquid/` (native, extended, config, performance, …)
* **Cache** — `/var/cache/safesquid/`
* **Startup settings** — `/opt/safesquid/startup.ini`, `/opt/safesquid/setup.ini` — see [startup.ini tunables](/admin_guide/start_here/startup_ini) (not in sectionMaster)

## CLI manual

After the package installs man pages: `man safesquid`

## Subscription and updates

Background UPDATE hooks refresh application signatures, content signatures, categorisation feeds, and related databases. License state is managed under [Subscription](/admin_guide/infrastructure_and_access/subscription) in the Web UI; see [Cloud / categorisation feeds](/admin_guide/start_here/cloud_feeds) for paths under `/var/lib/safesquid/`.

## See also

* [First configuration](/admin_guide/start_here/first_configuration)
* [Architecture and request pipeline](/admin_guide/start_here/architecture)
* [Access restrictions](/admin_guide/infrastructure_and_access/access_restrictions)
* [Subscription](/admin_guide/infrastructure_and_access/subscription)
* [Logging and troubleshooting](/admin_guide/start_here/logging)


## Related topics

- [Welcome to SafeSquid](/getting_started/welcome.md)
- [Subscription](/admin_guide/infrastructure_and_access/subscription.md)
- [Monit](/use_cases/audit_and_forensics/audit_forensics_monit.md)
- [Upgrade SafeSquid](/use_cases/upgrade/version_upgrade.md)
- [Block Emails or Files including Archives or Social Posts using Keywords](/use_cases/data_leakage_prevention/block_emails_or_files_including_archives_or_social_posts_using_keywords.md)