socks5: halve connection TTFB latency by removing unnecessary auth round-trip

application.go

@@ -135,6 +135,7 @@ func (a *Application) Init(ctx context.Context, tunDevice tun.Device) error {
 		p2pHost.SetStreamHandler(protocol.TunnelPacketMethod, a.Tunnel.StreamHandler)
 	}
 	p2pHost.SetStreamHandler(protocol.Socks5PacketMethod, a.SOCKS5.ProxyStreamHandler)
+	p2pHost.SetStreamHandler(protocol.Socks5NoAuthMethod, a.SOCKS5.ProxyStreamHandler)
 
 	if a.Tunnel != nil {
 		awlevent.WrapSubscriptionToCallback(a.ctx, func(_ interface{}) {

application_simnet_test.go

@@ -16,6 +16,8 @@ import (
 	"github.com/anywherelan/awl/vpn"
 )
 
+const EnvRunPerfTests = "AWL_PERF_TESTS"
+
 /*
 TestSimulatedTunnelPerformance performs a benchmark of the AWL VPN tunnel under simulated network conditions.
 
@@ -32,8 +34,8 @@ It uses:
 func TestSimulatedTunnelPerformance(t *testing.T) {
 	const Mbps = 1_000_000
 
-	if os.Getenv("CI") != "" {
-		t.Skip("skip in CI because it's a benchmark")
+	if os.Getenv(EnvRunPerfTests) == "" {
+		t.Skipf("skip perf test because %s env is empty", EnvRunPerfTests)
 	}
 
 	scenarios := []struct {
@@ -230,8 +232,8 @@ func TestSimulatedSOCKS5ProxyPerformance(t *testing.T) {
 
 	const Mbps = 1_000_000
 
-	if os.Getenv("CI") != "" {
-		t.Skip("skip in CI because it's a benchmark")
+	if os.Getenv(EnvRunPerfTests) == "" {
+		t.Skipf("skip perf test because %s env is empty", EnvRunPerfTests)
 	}
 
 	scenarios := []struct {

application_test.go

@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/anywherelan/awl/api"
 	"github.com/anywherelan/awl/config"
 	"github.com/anywherelan/awl/entity"
+	"github.com/anywherelan/awl/protocol"
 )
 
 func TestMakeFriends(t *testing.T) {
@@ -391,6 +392,43 @@ func TestUpdateUseAsExitNodeConfig(t *testing.T) {
 	ts.Equal("", info.SOCKS5.UsingPeerID)
 }
 
+func TestSOCKS5ProxyFallbackToOldProtocol(t *testing.T) {
+	ts := NewTestSuite(t)
+
+	peer1 := ts.NewTestPeer(false) // client
+	peer2 := ts.NewTestPeer(false) // server (simulates old version)
+
+	ts.makeFriends(peer2, peer1)
+
+	// Remove new protocol handler from peer2 to simulate old peer
+	peer2.app.P2p.Host().RemoveStreamHandler(protocol.Socks5NoAuthMethod)
+
+	// Allow peer1 to use peer2 as exit node
+	peer1Config, err := peer2.api.KnownPeerConfig(peer1.PeerID())
+	ts.NoError(err)
+
+	err = peer2.api.UpdatePeerSettings(entity.UpdatePeerSettingsRequest{
+		PeerID:               peer1.PeerID(),
+		Alias:                peer1Config.Alias,
+		DomainName:           peer1Config.DomainName,
+		IPAddr:               peer1Config.IPAddr,
+		AllowUsingAsExitNode: true,
+	})
+	ts.NoError(err)
+
+	ts.Eventually(func() bool {
+		peer2Config, err := peer1.api.KnownPeerConfig(peer2.PeerID())
+		ts.NoError(err)
+		return peer2Config.AllowedUsingAsExitNode
+	}, 15*time.Second, 100*time.Millisecond)
+
+	peer1.app.SOCKS5.SetProxyPeerID(peer2.PeerID())
+	peer2.app.SOCKS5.SetProxyingLocalhostEnabled(true)
+
+	// Verify SOCKS5 still works via fallback to old protocol
+	testSOCKS5Proxy(ts, peer1.app.Conf.SOCKS5.ListenAddress, "")
+}
+
 func TestUpdatePeerSettingsIPAddr(t *testing.T) {
 	ts := NewTestSuite(t)
 

cmd/awl-tray/go.mod

@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ go 1.25.0
 
 replace (
 	github.com/anywherelan/awl => ../../
-	github.com/haxii/socks5 => github.com/anywherelan/socks5 v0.0.0-20260112065346-bea9abfe9bdc
+	github.com/haxii/socks5 => github.com/anywherelan/socks5 v0.0.0-20260404130029-d414a53712fc
 	github.com/ipfs/go-log/v2 => github.com/anywherelan/go-log/v2 v2.0.3-0.20221101180049-46e3967f6fe5
 	github.com/ncruces/zenity => github.com/pymq/zenity v0.0.0-20230509161854-c117c448544d
 )

cmd/awl-tray/go.sum

@@ -11,8 +11,8 @@ github.com/akavel/rsrc v0.10.2 h1:Zxm8V5eI1hW4gGaYsJQUhxpjkENuG91ki8B4zCrvEsw=
 github.com/akavel/rsrc v0.10.2/go.mod h1:uLoCtb9J+EyAqh+26kdrTgmzRBFPGOolLWKpdxkKq+c=
 github.com/anywherelan/go-log/v2 v2.0.3-0.20221101180049-46e3967f6fe5 h1:uQsw+HnQo6Ru5eFgUdEQYKMwkiYkoNZDQmY2ob1E58Y=
 github.com/anywherelan/go-log/v2 v2.0.3-0.20221101180049-46e3967f6fe5/go.mod h1:r8UEDyeHO6bYVcP9R2/HnK2ZSZ5CJp89gubcHLKfRv0=
-github.com/anywherelan/socks5 v0.0.0-20260112065346-bea9abfe9bdc h1:BxUih+wVbxEfAAC4+vzXSoDXHNFLgnLR9AmeXRtJbuk=
-github.com/anywherelan/socks5 v0.0.0-20260112065346-bea9abfe9bdc/go.mod h1:KpbKhNH2RqojJGPVT9faDXnYWkqzfgpKeehC8xTKaeY=
+github.com/anywherelan/socks5 v0.0.0-20260404130029-d414a53712fc h1:icO+nO4NZtJLZS8JnrCpGk8GGaaKNeleuY7WH7qzVik=
+github.com/anywherelan/socks5 v0.0.0-20260404130029-d414a53712fc/go.mod h1:KpbKhNH2RqojJGPVT9faDXnYWkqzfgpKeehC8xTKaeY=
 github.com/anywherelan/ts-dns v0.0.0-20240721135326-6d6b7b811853 h1:RVKWGnppAfxgD2wphkq+OYDOqqI8zgbymBLl2pxYKzY=
 github.com/anywherelan/ts-dns v0.0.0-20240721135326-6d6b7b811853/go.mod h1:ly7HpPle1G3D0jwrr12uolTGWKN3DPgxzBYNR086BLo=
 github.com/benbjohnson/clock v1.3.5 h1:VvXlSJBzZpA/zum6Sj74hxwYI2DIxRWuNIoXAzHZz5o=

go.mod

@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ module github.com/anywherelan/awl
 go 1.25.0
 
 replace (
-	github.com/haxii/socks5 => github.com/anywherelan/socks5 v0.0.0-20260112065346-bea9abfe9bdc
+	github.com/haxii/socks5 => github.com/anywherelan/socks5 v0.0.0-20260404130029-d414a53712fc
 	github.com/ipfs/go-log/v2 => github.com/anywherelan/go-log/v2 v2.0.3-0.20221101180049-46e3967f6fe5
 )
 

go.sum

@@ -3,8 +3,8 @@ github.com/GrigoryKrasnochub/updaterini v0.1.0 h1:csl3bqQIShuI8RnXzKprTgEhqi3I59
 github.com/GrigoryKrasnochub/updaterini v0.1.0/go.mod h1:w+8blQZCZzGmJGXqmXbeSOsUOF6LqyeqckxSiZah7RI=
 github.com/anywherelan/go-log/v2 v2.0.3-0.20221101180049-46e3967f6fe5 h1:uQsw+HnQo6Ru5eFgUdEQYKMwkiYkoNZDQmY2ob1E58Y=
 github.com/anywherelan/go-log/v2 v2.0.3-0.20221101180049-46e3967f6fe5/go.mod h1:r8UEDyeHO6bYVcP9R2/HnK2ZSZ5CJp89gubcHLKfRv0=
-github.com/anywherelan/socks5 v0.0.0-20260112065346-bea9abfe9bdc h1:BxUih+wVbxEfAAC4+vzXSoDXHNFLgnLR9AmeXRtJbuk=
-github.com/anywherelan/socks5 v0.0.0-20260112065346-bea9abfe9bdc/go.mod h1:KpbKhNH2RqojJGPVT9faDXnYWkqzfgpKeehC8xTKaeY=
+github.com/anywherelan/socks5 v0.0.0-20260404130029-d414a53712fc h1:icO+nO4NZtJLZS8JnrCpGk8GGaaKNeleuY7WH7qzVik=
+github.com/anywherelan/socks5 v0.0.0-20260404130029-d414a53712fc/go.mod h1:KpbKhNH2RqojJGPVT9faDXnYWkqzfgpKeehC8xTKaeY=
 github.com/anywherelan/ts-dns v0.0.0-20240721135326-6d6b7b811853 h1:RVKWGnppAfxgD2wphkq+OYDOqqI8zgbymBLl2pxYKzY=
 github.com/anywherelan/ts-dns v0.0.0-20240721135326-6d6b7b811853/go.mod h1:ly7HpPle1G3D0jwrr12uolTGWKN3DPgxzBYNR086BLo=
 github.com/benbjohnson/clock v1.3.5 h1:VvXlSJBzZpA/zum6Sj74hxwYI2DIxRWuNIoXAzHZz5o=

p2p/p2p.go

@@ -248,6 +248,11 @@ func (p *P2p) NewStream(ctx context.Context, id peer.ID, proto protocol.ID) (net
 	return p.host.NewStream(ctx, id, proto)
 }
 
+func (p *P2p) NewStreamMulti(ctx context.Context, id peer.ID, protos ...protocol.ID) (network.Stream, error) {
+	ctx = network.WithAllowLimitedConn(ctx, "awl")
+	return p.host.NewStream(ctx, id, protos...)
+}
+
 func (p *P2p) NewStreamWithDedicatedConn(ctx context.Context, id peer.ID, proto protocol.ID) (network.Stream, error) {
 	ctx = network.WithAllowLimitedConn(ctx, "awl")
 

protocol/protocol.go

@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ const (
 	GetStatusMethod    protocol.ID = basePath + "/status/"
 	TunnelPacketMethod protocol.ID = basePath + "/tunnel/"
 	Socks5PacketMethod protocol.ID = basePath + "/socks5/"
+	Socks5NoAuthMethod protocol.ID = basePath + "/socks5-noauth/"
 )
 
 type (

service/auth_status.go

@@ -29,6 +29,7 @@ type P2p interface {
 	ConnectPeer(ctx context.Context, peerID peer.ID) error
 	IsConnected(peerID peer.ID) bool
 	NewStream(ctx context.Context, id peer.ID, proto libp2pProtocol.ID) (network.Stream, error)
+	NewStreamMulti(ctx context.Context, id peer.ID, protos ...libp2pProtocol.ID) (network.Stream, error)
 	NewStreamWithDedicatedConn(ctx context.Context, id peer.ID, proto libp2pProtocol.ID) (network.Stream, error)
 	SubscribeConnectionEvents(onConnected, onDisconnected func(network.Network, network.Conn))
 	RecordPeerLatency(id peer.ID, rtt time.Duration)

service/socks5.go

@@ -125,12 +125,18 @@ func (s *SOCKS5) ProxyStreamHandler(stream network.Stream) {
 
 	if !enabled {
 		metrics.SOCKS5ErrorsTotal.WithLabelValues("server", "proxying_disabled").Inc()
-		_ = s.server.SendServerFailureReply(stream)
+		if stream.Protocol() != protocol.Socks5NoAuthMethod {
+			_ = s.server.SendServerFailureReply(stream)
+		}
 		return
 	}
 
 	// ignore error, we can do nothing about it
-	_ = s.server.ServeStreamConn(stream)
+	if stream.Protocol() == protocol.Socks5NoAuthMethod {
+		_ = s.server.ServeStreamConnNoAuth(stream)
+	} else {
+		_ = s.server.ServeStreamConn(stream)
+	}
 
 	// stream.Write() + stream.Reset() are not guaranteed to run sequentially
 	// e.g reader on the other side may not read everything we sent because of stream.Reset()
@@ -201,7 +207,7 @@ func (s *SOCKS5) proxyConn(ctx context.Context, conn net.Conn) error {
 		return err
 	}
 
-	stream, err := s.p2p.NewStream(ctx, remotePeerID, protocol.Socks5PacketMethod)
+	stream, err := s.p2p.NewStreamMulti(ctx, remotePeerID, protocol.Socks5NoAuthMethod, protocol.Socks5PacketMethod)
 	if err != nil {
 		metrics.SOCKS5ErrorsTotal.WithLabelValues("client", "peer_stream_failed").Inc()
 		return err
@@ -210,6 +216,12 @@ func (s *SOCKS5) proxyConn(ctx context.Context, conn net.Conn) error {
 		_ = stream.Reset()
 	}()
 
+	if stream.Protocol() == protocol.Socks5NoAuthMethod {
+		if err := s.client.HandleLocalAuth(conn); err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+	}
+
 	s.handleStream(conn, stream)
 
 	// stream.Write() + stream.Reset() are not guaranteed to run sequentially

socks5/client.go

@@ -2,9 +2,11 @@ package socks5
 
 import (
 	"errors"
+	"fmt"
 	"net"
 	"time"
 
+	socks5Lib "github.com/haxii/socks5"
 	"github.com/ipfs/go-log/v2"
 )
 
@@ -46,6 +48,42 @@ func (c *Client) ConnsChan() <-chan net.Conn {
 	return c.connsCh
 }
 
+// HandleLocalAuth performs the SOCKS5 auth negotiation locally, responding with NoAuth.
+// This avoids sending the auth handshake over the network to the remote peer.
+func (c *Client) HandleLocalAuth(conn net.Conn) error {
+	// Read version byte
+	version := []byte{0}
+	if _, err := conn.Read(version); err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("failed to read version: %w", err)
+	}
+	if version[0] != 0x05 {
+		return fmt.Errorf("unsupported SOCKS version: %d", version[0])
+	}
+
+	// Read offered auth methods
+	methods, err := socks5Lib.ReadMethods(conn)
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("failed to read auth methods: %w", err)
+	}
+
+	// Check NoAuth is offered
+	hasNoAuth := false
+	for _, m := range methods {
+		if m == socks5Lib.AuthMethodNoAuth {
+			hasNoAuth = true
+			break
+		}
+	}
+	if !hasNoAuth {
+		_, _ = conn.Write([]byte{0x05, socks5Lib.AuthMethodNoAcceptable})
+		return fmt.Errorf("client does not support NoAuth method")
+	}
+
+	// Respond: NoAuth selected
+	_, err = conn.Write([]byte{0x05, socks5Lib.AuthMethodNoAuth})
+	return err
+}
+
 func (c *Client) serve() error {
 	defer close(c.connsCh)
 

socks5/server.go

@@ -55,6 +55,11 @@ func (s *Server) ServeStreamConn(stream network.Stream) error {
 	return s.socks.ServeConn(conn)
 }
 
+func (s *Server) ServeStreamConnNoAuth(stream network.Stream) error {
+	conn := StreamConnWrapper{Stream: stream}
+	return s.socks.ServeConnNoAuth(conn)
+}
+
 // ServeConn is only used in tests. TODO: refactor tests
 func (s *Server) ServeConn(ioConn io.ReadWriteCloser) error {
 	conn := ReadWriterConnWrapper{ReadWriteCloser: ioConn}