Make your own mirror

You can set up a Parrot archive mirror on your server for personal or public usage by following the steps below.

Make sure to have enough free space

You can sync the entire repository or pick just the ISO images.

Make sure to have enough free space to host a mirror, and be ready for future upgrades as the archive size fluctuates.

The current archive size is available here.

Manual Setup

Choose the upstream server

Use rsync.parrot.sh as the upstream — it automatically redirects to the nearest available mirror region for optimal speed and reliability.

Feel free to contact the Parrot team if you have specific mirroring needs or bandwidth limitations. We can provide you dedicated upstream sources or professional support for your mirror.

Download the archive

If you sync the entire archive with the below instructions, you do NOT need to synchronize the ISO archive. ISO files are included by default!

Sync the repository

┌─[user@parrot]─[~]
└──╼ $ rsync -Pahv --delete-after rsync://rsync.parrot.sh:/parrot /var/www/html/parrot

Configure a cronjob

launch the following command:

┌─[user@parrot]─[~]
└──╼ $ crontab -e

and add the following content to the crontab file:

┌─[user@parrot]─[~]
└──╼ $ 0 4 * * * flock -xn /tmp/parrot-rsync.lock -c 'rsync -aq --delete-after rsync://rsync.parrot.sh:/parrot /var/www/html/parrot'

Download the ISO archive only

Do not sync the ISO archive if you are already synchronizing the full archive with the above instructions. ISO files are already provided with the instructions in the precedent paragraph.

use the following instructions if you want to sync only the ISO files.

Sync the repository

┌─[user@parrot]─[~]
└──╼ $ rsync -Pahv --delete-after rsync://rsync.parrot.sh:/parrot-iso /var/www/html/parrot

Configure a cronjob

launch the following command:

┌─[user@parrot]─[~]
└──╼ $ crontab -e

and add the following content to the crontab file:

┌─[user@parrot]─[~]
└──╼ $ 30 2 * * * flock -xn /tmp/parrot-rsync.lock -c 'rsync -aq --delete-after rsync://rsync.parrot.sh:/parrot-iso /var/www/html/parrot'

Expose your mirror via rsync

Your mirror can be exposed via rsync to allow other people to sync from you and to allow our mirror director to periodically scan your mirror and perform indexing and health checks.

Rsync exposure is mandatory to add your mirror to our official list.

The following instructions will set up rsync and expose the parrot archive in compliance with our standards on a debian/ubuntu server. Minor adjustments are required for other non-apt systems.

install rsync with:

┌─[user@parrot]─[~]
└──╼ $ sudo apt install rsync

edit /etc/rsyncd.conf with nano:

┌─[user@parrot]─[~]
└──╼ $ sudo nano /etc/rsyncd.conf

paste the following settings in the config file and save it:

┌─[user@parrot]─[~]
└──╼ $ [parrot]
        comment = Parrot OS - full archive [rsync.parrot.sh/parrot]
        path = /var/www/html/parrot/
        hosts allow = *
        #hosts deny = *
        list=true
        uid=www-data
        gid=www-data
        read only = yes
        use chroot=yes
        dont compress # for better performance

[parrot-iso]
        comment = Parrot OS - ISO files only [rsync.parrot.sh/parrot-iso]
        path = /var/www/html/parrot/
        exclude = pool dists
        hosts allow = *
        list=true
        uid=www-data
        gid=www-data
        read only = yes
        use chroot=yes
        dont compress

Enable the rsync service:

┌─[user@parrot]─[~]
└──╼ $ sudo systemctl enable rsync

Start the rsync service:

┌─[user@parrot]─[~]
└──╼ $ sudo service rsync start

Make your mirror official

If you want your mirror to be added to our official mirrors list and to our mirror directors, email us at team@parrotsec.org.