# cyfdecyf/cow

HTTP proxy written in Go. COW can automatically identify blocked sites and use parent proxies to access.

Repository: https://github.com/cyfdecyf/cow
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/cow
Language: Go
License: BSD-2-Clause
License Family: permissive
Last push: 2023-02-05T17:10:19+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 23/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-02T17:46:02.011165+00:00)
- activity 0, release rhythm 8, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 5121, "days_push": 1305, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 8413, forks 1596 (observed 2026-08-28T04:10:21.037602+00:00)

## What it is
COW is an HTTP proxy server written in Go that automatically detects blocked websites and routes only those through parent (secondary) proxies such as SOCKS5, HTTP, or shadowsocks. It generates PAC files for direct connections and supports multiple parent proxies with simple load balancing.

## Use cases
- bypass website blocking with automatic detection
- route only blocked sites through a secondary proxy
- set up an HTTP proxy for mobile devices
- generate a PAC file that bypasses the proxy for accessible sites
- chain shadowsocks or SOCKS5 proxies with load balancing
- speed up browsing by direct-connecting unblocked sites

## When to choose
- you need a lightweight HTTP proxy that automatically learns which sites are blocked
- you want to combine multiple parent proxies (SOCKS5, HTTP, shadowsocks) with failover
- you want PAC-based direct access for unblocked sites to keep speeds fast

## When to avoid
- you need actively maintained software with recent updates and support
- you need a full VPN or encrypted tunnel for all traffic rather than selective proxying
- you need modern protocols like VLESS, Trojan, or WireGuard

## Facets
- artifact type: application
- maturity: maintenance
- function: proxy, http-server, networking, security
- domain: privacy, censorship-circumvention, networking, web-development
- platform: windows, go, cli
- tags: http-proxy, socks5, shadowsocks, pac, censorship-circumvention, parent-proxy, auto-detection, linux, macos

## Member repositories
- cyfdecyf/cow (main) score 23

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:10:21.037602+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-29T17:27:18.029974+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/cyfdecyf/cow (fetched 2026-08-28T04:10:21.037602+00:00, sha 8294ceec70d7)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.