Open-source alternatives to DnsServer

Hickory-DNS is a DNS implementation written in Rust that provides a full suite of DNS capabilities: a client library for querying and constructing DNS messages, a recursive resolver with caching, an authoritative DNS server, and support for DNSSEC validation and signing. It can operate as a DNS-over-TLS (DoT) and DNS-over-HTTPS (DoH) client, and includes a multicast DNS (mDNS) implementation for local network discovery without a central server. The project differentiates itself through its integrated DNSSEC pipeline, which validates signatures by chaining from a root trust anchor and can auto

CoreDNS is a modular domain name system server designed for cloud-native environments. It functions as a flexible DNS resolver and forwarder that manages network traffic by routing queries based on zone-based rules and authoritative data. The server is built to integrate with service discovery systems, enabling it to map service names to network addresses within containerized infrastructure. The project is defined by a plugin-based request pipeline that allows for the extension of server functionality through custom modules. These plugins can intercept, modify, or log network requests in real

Unbound is a DNS resolver that functions as a caching, recursive, and validating server. It translates domain names into IP addresses by performing independent lookups across the internet or by forwarding queries to external resolvers. The project distinguishes itself as a programmable DNS server, offering a Python scripting interface and dynamic shared-library loading to customize the resolution pipeline. It also serves as a DNS64 NAT64 gateway, synthesizing IPv6 addresses from IPv4 records to enable communication for IPv6-only clients. The system includes security frameworks for DNSSEC cry

BPB-Worker-Panel is a control panel designed for deploying and managing VLESS and Trojan proxies hosted on Cloudflare Workers. It functions as a proxy subscription generator and a manager for secure DNS over HTTPS servers and WireGuard configuration provisioning. The project distinguishes itself through network traffic obfuscation capabilities, utilizing packet fragmentation and SNI spoofing to evade detection. It provides specialized administration for Cloudflare Warp and Warp Pro connections, including the ability to optimize endpoints and export WireGuard configurations. The system covers

AdGuardHome is a network-wide software solution that provides centralized control over domain name resolution, content filtering, and local network management. It functions as a recursive DNS server and DHCP address server, intercepting network traffic to enforce security policies and block unwanted content across all connected devices. By acting as a central gateway, it ensures that every device on a home or office network benefits from consistent protection and private, authenticated name resolution. The software distinguishes itself through granular client management and robust security fe

SmartDNS is a local recursive DNS resolver and server that manages granular query rules, dual-stack networking, and encrypted gateway proxying. It functions as a DNS traffic filter and DNS64 translator, allowing IPv6-only clients to communicate with IPv4 servers. The project distinguishes itself through parallel upstream querying, which sends requests to multiple servers simultaneously to return the response with the lowest network latency. It supports DNS server virtualization, enabling the operation of multiple independent server instances on different ports, each with its own configuration

AdguardFilters is a collection of curated adblock filter lists, content blocking rulesets, and DNS blocklists. Its primary purpose is to provide the rules necessary to identify and remove advertisements, tracking scripts, and intrusive elements across web browsers and applications. The project includes specialized rules for cosmetic filtering to hide layout gaps and a malware domain database to block phishing and spyware destinations. It provides distinct filtering sets for different regions and purposes, such as social media blocking. The repository covers broad capability areas including m

NekoBoxForAndroid is a network utility for Android that functions as a system-wide VPN tunneling client. It leverages the Sing-Box engine to capture and redirect device traffic through a virtual network interface, providing a centralized platform for managing proxy connections and network routing. The application distinguishes itself through its advanced configuration management, allowing users to define granular traffic rules based on domains, IP addresses, or specific applications. It supports complex network requirements by enabling multi-hop proxy chaining, custom DNS resolution strategie

dnsguide is a software implementation of the DNS protocol designed to handle queries and responses between clients and nameservers. It functions as a recursive DNS server and network service tool for managing the resolution of domain names within local or wide area networks. The project provides a framework for building a custom DNS server, incorporating recursive resolution logic and stub resolver integration to translate hostnames into IP addresses. It is designed for implementing the DNS protocol from scratch to facilitate network protocol learning and custom name resolution. The implemen

Devilbox is a containerized development environment that provides a reproducible suite of web servers, databases, and language runtimes managed through a unified configuration. It functions as a Docker-based local development stack for LAMP and MEAN software stacks and as a manager for switching between different versions of these services to match specific project requirements. The system distinguishes itself by automating local network orchestration. It includes a Docker-based virtual host manager that automatically maps local directories to custom domains and a local DNS and SSL orchestrat

dnsproxy is an encrypted DNS proxy and traffic router that translates and forwards DNS requests between clients and upstream resolvers. It functions as a server for multiple secure protocols, including DNS-over-HTTPS, DNS-over-TLS, DNS-over-QUIC, and DNSCrypt, to protect queries from eavesdropping and tampering. The project differentiates itself through advanced routing and optimization capabilities. It utilizes a domain-based routing engine to direct queries to specific upstream servers via wildcard rules and employs parallel querying to return responses from the fastest responding network a

This repository is a technical documentation site and a collection of guides and references for implementing networking, security, and cloud infrastructure services. It functions as a static-site generated portal and a headless content platform, separating source files from the presentation layer to enable flexible rendering. The project utilizes markdown-based documentation stored in a version-controlled Git repository. It provides specialized technical content including an AI platform documentation for building agents and managing inference, a cloud infrastructure guide for DNS and CDN conf

mosdns is a DNS forwarding server and traffic filter that routes DNS queries to multiple upstream providers. It functions as a rule-based DNS router and a proxy for DNS-over-HTTPS and DNS-over-TLS to ensure secure DNS resolution. The system utilizes a pipeline-based request processing model and rule-based query routing to direct specific domain queries to different upstream servers. It implements pluggable transport layers and forwarding protocols, including HTTPS, TLS, and QUIC, to encrypt traffic and prevent eavesdropping. The project includes capabilities for upstream load balancing to di

This project is a dynamic DNS client and automation service designed to maintain consistent connectivity for web services by synchronizing domain name records with changing public network addresses. It operates as a persistent background daemon, periodically polling for IP address changes and automatically updating records across multiple DNS providers. The application distinguishes itself through an embedded web-based dashboard that allows users to manage domain settings, monitor update logs, and configure provider credentials without manual file editing. It utilizes a provider-agnostic adap

This project is a Go DNS library used for implementing DNS clients and servers. It provides a toolkit for packet exchange, record parsing, and the development of custom nameservers. The library includes a DNS server framework and a zone manager for parsing standard zone files and synchronizing data via zone transfers. It features a dedicated DNSSEC implementation library for generating cryptographic keys and validating signatures, as well as a TLS transport for encrypted connections between clients and servers. The system covers a broad range of capabilities including DNS resolver functional

Glider is a multi-protocol forward proxy, transparent proxy gateway, and network service provider. It functions as a DNS and DHCP server, a Linux IP set manager, and a network traffic load balancer. The project distinguishes itself through a protocol-translation bridge that translates traffic between different proxy schemes and a chain-based routing system that sequences multiple remote proxy servers. It supports transparent traffic interception at the system level and utilizes build-time protocol stripping to minimize the binary size of the executable. The system covers a broad range of net

NextDNS is a network DNS client and proxy that functions as a local resolver, forwarder, and DNS-over-HTTPS proxy. Its primary purpose is to route local name resolution requests to external providers using encrypted HTTPS traffic to improve privacy and bypass network restrictions. The service distinguishes itself by embedding client identity metadata—collected via mDNS or DHCP—into outgoing queries, allowing for per-device tracking and the application of unique filtering profiles. It features advanced routing logic, including split-horizon DNS for balancing public and private resolution, doma

This project provides a system-wide content filtering utility that controls network traffic by redirecting domain resolution requests to local null addresses. By mapping unwanted hostnames to these addresses at the operating system level, it effectively blocks connections to advertising, tracking, and malicious domains across all applications on a machine. The core of the system is a data-driven build pipeline that aggregates multiple curated source lists into a single, unified configuration file. This process is highly customizable, allowing users to employ declarative filtering logic throug

DNSControl is an infrastructure-as-code tool designed to manage DNS records and zones across multiple providers through a unified, programmable configuration language. By treating DNS as code, it enables teams to maintain consistent infrastructure state, automate record updates, and perform version-controlled management of network settings across diverse cloud, registrar, and network DNS services. The system functions as a multi-provider orchestrator that uses a declarative reconciliation engine to compare local configurations against live remote states. It employs a provider-agnostic abstrac

This project is a comprehensive repository of curated domain blocklists designed for network-wide DNS filtering. It functions as a DNS sinkhole feed, providing the necessary data to intercept and block unwanted network requests at the resolution layer before they reach their destination. By returning null or loopback addresses for identified domains, it prevents connections to malicious infrastructure, advertising servers, and tracking endpoints across all devices on a network. The repository distinguishes itself through a tiered categorization logic that allows users to select protection lev

fhs-install-v2ray is a shell script that automates the deployment of V2Ray, a network proxy tool, on Linux servers. It downloads precompiled binaries and geographic data from a release server, places them into standard Linux filesystem directories, and registers V2Ray as a persistent background service managed by systemd. The script is designed to be idempotent, meaning repeated runs do not overwrite custom configurations, and uninstallation removes all installed files and services completely. The tool distinguishes itself by enforcing a Filesystem Hierarchy Standard (FHS) layout, mapping bin

gost is a multi-protocol proxy tunnel and secure tunneling server designed to route network traffic through encrypted connections. It functions as a traffic obfuscation gateway and a transparent proxy server capable of intercepting TCP and UDP traffic at the IP level. The project also includes a virtual network interface manager for creating TUN and TAP devices to intercept operating system packets. The system distinguishes itself through a chain-based request routing model, allowing traffic to pass through an ordered sequence of proxy nodes. It provides extensive transport-layer encapsulatio

ExternalDNS is a controller that automatically synchronizes Kubernetes resource states with external DNS providers. It monitors cluster resources such as services, ingresses, and gateway APIs to dynamically create and update DNS records, enabling automated service discovery and external traffic management. The project features a provider-agnostic interface that supports a wide array of cloud-managed vendors and on-premises providers, as well as an extension system for custom providers via webhooks and sidecars. It implements a reconciliation loop that uses resource annotations and custom reso

Mail-in-a-Box is a self-hosted email server appliance that automates the deployment of SMTP, IMAP, and POP3 services on Linux. It functions as a complete suite including a DNS management server, a spam and abuse filter, and a web-based administrative control panel for managing users, aliases, and storage quotas. The project distinguishes itself through a high degree of automation for email security and authenticity. It automatically provisions and maintains SPF, DKIM, DMARC, and DNSSEC records to prevent domain spoofing, while managing the installation and rotation of TLS certificates and enf

Tenta DNS is a recursive and authoritative domain name server implementation written in Go. It provides secure network resolution services by translating human-readable domain names into machine addresses while enforcing cryptographic standards to ensure data privacy and authenticity. The software distinguishes itself through a focus on secure transport and integrity verification. It utilizes encrypted tunnels for upstream communication to prevent eavesdropping and incorporates a validation engine to verify digital signatures on resource records. To manage global traffic, the system supports

cf2dns is a tool for automating IP performance screening and DNS record updates. It functions as a DNS optimizer and IP filter that identifies high-performance Cloudflare IP addresses and updates DNS records via API to improve website loading speeds. The project provides a dynamic DNS route manager that maps optimized IP addresses to specific network carriers. This process includes regional connection defense to mitigate network interference and bypass connection blocks using curated IP pools. The system handles both IPv4 and IPv6 record management and includes scheduling mechanisms for regu

This project provides a collection of domain blocklists designed to prevent network requests from reaching specific destinations. These lists function as databases of problematic and corporate web addresses that can be imported into content filters, network security tools, and system-level hosts files. The lists focus on blocking known malicious domains and corporate web services to control network access. These curated sets are organized to filter harmful websites and company-owned domains across local devices or networks. The project manages these entries through flat-file storage and stat