Syntax of the configuration file

Squid's configuration file can normally be found at /etc/squid/squid.conf, /usr/local/squid/etc/squid.conf, or ${prefix}/etc/squid.conf where ${prefix} is the value passed to the --prefix option, which is passed to the configure command before compiling Squid.

In the newer versions of Squid, a documented version of squid.conf, known as squid.conf.documented, can be found along side squid.conf. In this chapter, we'll cover some of the import directives available in the configuration file. For a detailed description of all the directives used in the configuration file, please check http://www.squid-cache.org/Doc/config/.

The syntax for Squid's documented configuration file is similar to many other programs for Linux/Unix. Generally, there are a few lines of comments containing useful related documentation before every directive used in the configuration file. This makes it easier to understand and configure directives, even for people who are not familiar with...