How onion addresses work
An onion address is a 56-character string ending in .onion. It is not a domain name pointing at a server; it is derived from the service's cryptographic key. That is why you cannot guess or shorten it, and why a single wrong character lands you somewhere else entirely.
How your client finds the service
- Your Tor client looks up a small signed service descriptor in a distributed directory.
- The descriptor lists introduction points where the service can be reached.
- Client and service meet at a rendezvous point, and a connection is built without either side learning the other's location.
Why the first connection can be slow
All of that happens before the page loads. If the directory is busy, that first descriptor fetch is slow, which you experience as a pause on your very first attempt. Once fetched, it is cached, so retries are quick. A slow first load followed by a fast retry is normal, not a fault.
Takeaway
Because the address is a key, copy it, never type it — and verify it. See phishing defence.Last reviewed 2026-07-12.