Taper

Local network throttling daemon + Chrome extension remote

Taper is a small macOS-friendly daemon that lets you dial your network quality up or down, in real time. It exposes:

• A local HTTP proxy that applies throttling (latency + bandwidth shaping)
• A local REST API (http://127.0.0.1:5507) for controlling profiles
• A Chrome extension that acts as a remote control (slider, buttons, hotkeys)

Use it to simulate bad Wi-Fi on calls, test low-bandwidth UI behavior, debug video streaming, or reproduce connection-sensitive bugs.

Chrome extension

https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/taper-remote/panbpfkkildggnlenfdgopgblfhdcfof

Installation of daemon

Option 1: Homebrew (recommended)

brew tap harrylincoln/taper
brew install taper

Option 2: Manual binary

Download binaries from Releases or build locally:

go build -o taper ./cmd/taper

Option 3: Run directly from source

go run ./cmd/taper

---

Getting Started

Start the daemon:

taper

You'll see something like:

    Proxy listening on :8807
    API listening on :5507
    ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────
     Taper daemon is running.

     To route your Mac traffic through this proxy:

     1) Find your network service name (e.g. "Wi-Fi"):
          networksetup -listallnetworkservices

     2) Enable HTTP/HTTPS proxies for that service:
          networksetup -setwebproxy "Wi-Fi" 127.0.0.1 8807
          networksetup -setsecurewebproxy "Wi-Fi" 127.0.0.1 8807

        (Replace "Wi-Fi" if your service is named differently.)

     3) To turn proxies OFF later:
          networksetup -setwebproxystate "Wi-Fi" off
          networksetup -setsecurewebproxystate "Wi-Fi" off

     API for the Chrome extension: http://127.0.0.1:5507
    ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────

This daemon does **not modify** system settings automatically.\
You explicitly enable/disable the proxy using Apple's official
`networksetup` tool.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

macOS Proxy Setup (Manual)

Taper works by acting as a local proxy. To route traffic through it:

1. Discover your network service name

networksetup -listallnetworkservices

Most users will see:

Wi-Fi

2. Enable HTTP + HTTPS proxies

networksetup -setwebproxy "Wi-Fi" 127.0.0.1 8807
networksetup -setsecurewebproxy "Wi-Fi" 127.0.0.1 8807

3. Disable when done

networksetup -setwebproxystate "Wi-Fi" off
networksetup -setsecurewebproxystate "Wi-Fi" off

---

Chrome Extension Remote

The Chrome extension lets you control the daemon without touching a terminal.

What it provides:

• Slider to choose network quality level (1--10)
• Buttons: Better / Worse
• Keyboard shortcuts:
  • Ctrl+Shift+Up → increase level\
  • Ctrl+Shift+Down → decrease level
• Badge indicator reflects:
  • Current level (e.g. "7")
  • ❌ X if the daemon API cannot be reached

The extension communicates with:

http://127.0.0.1:5507/status
http://127.0.0.1:5507/level

You must have the daemon running for the remote to work.

---

Throttling Profiles

Profiles live in Go code (you can customize them):

Level Name Latency Download Upload

---

Level	Name	Latency	Download	Upload
10	Full	0 ms	unlimited	unlimited
8	Good	80 ms	2 Mbps	1 Mbps
5	OK	300 ms	300 kbps	150 kbps
3	Bad	800 ms	64 kbps	32 kbps
1	Terrible	2000 ms	16 kbps	8kbps

API level changes take effect immediately on all proxied connections.

---

Testing

Test the API

curl http://127.0.0.1:5507/status

Change throttle level

curl -X POST http://127.0.0.1:5507/level \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"level": 3}'

Test the proxy (without touching macOS settings)

Baseline:

time curl https://example.com -o /dev/null

Through proxy:

time curl -x http://127.0.0.1:8807 https://example.com -o /dev/null

Switch levels and observe performance changes.

License

MIT or similar.