Open-source alternatives to Openthread

Reticulum is a decentralized networking stack that enables encrypted, peer-to-peer communication over diverse physical mediums without relying on central infrastructure or IP protocols. It uses self-sovereign cryptographic identities for routing and authentication, replacing traditional IP addresses with collision-free globally unique addresses that require no central coordination. Every packet is encrypted by default using ephemeral key exchanges with forward secrecy, and unencrypted traffic is dropped as invalid. The stack unifies heterogeneous transport mediums—including LoRa radio, packet

ZMK is a modular firmware framework built on the Zephyr RTOS for wireless keyboards. It functions as a programmable system for defining custom keymaps, layers, and input behaviors, acting as an HID device emulator for keyboard and mouse input on computers and mobile devices. It specifically provides a controller solution for synchronizing two separate keyboard halves over wireless or wired links. The project is distinguished by its focus on Bluetooth Low Energy connectivity, featuring multi-device pairing and the ability to switch between several saved host profiles. It includes advanced powe

Ziti is a zero-trust network overlay and identity-based mesh network. It provides a software-defined perimeter that replaces traditional IP-based routing and VPNs by mapping network services to cryptographically verified identities, effectively cloaking applications from the public internet. The project distinguishes itself through an outbound-only connection model that eliminates open listening ports and a Zero Trust SDK that allows developers to embed encryption and identity-based access control directly into application source code. It also provides transparent tunneling proxies to extend

Contiki is an operating system designed for resource-constrained embedded devices and the Internet of Things. It provides a lightweight, event-driven kernel that enables multitasking and low-power wireless network connectivity on hardware with extremely limited memory and processing power. The system distinguishes itself through a stackless threading model that allows for a blocking-style programming interface while maintaining a minimal memory footprint. It supports dynamic module and firmware management, enabling the loading and linking of relocatable binary code at runtime to update applic

EasyTier is a decentralized peer-to-peer virtual private network and mesh networking tool. It functions as a layer 3 network overlay that establishes secure tunnels between devices without requiring a centralized server or coordinator. It also serves as a WireGuard-compatible VPN, capable of acting as a server for standard WireGuard clients. The project distinguishes itself through multipath latency-based routing and the use of KCP or QUIC proxies to mitigate packet loss and stabilize connections in high-loss environments. It provides a virtual networking manager featuring a web management co

This project is an embedded operating system for creating decentralized peer-to-peer communication networks using long-range radio hardware. It provides an off-grid messaging protocol for transmitting text and GPS coordinates without relying on cellular or internet infrastructure. The firmware implements a secure communication framework using shared keys and high-grade encryption to protect data transmitted over the air. It includes a LoRaWAN hardware interface to manage radio parameters and an MQTT radio gateway to bridge local mesh traffic to external networks. The system covers a broad ra

CJDNS is a peer-to-peer VPN and cryptographic network overlay that implements an encrypted IPv6 mesh network. It functions as a distributed hash table router, utilizing a non-hierarchical XOR metric to route traffic across nodes without relying on a central authority or registry. The project distinguishes itself by tying network identity to cryptographic ownership, deriving unique IPv6 addresses from public keys. It ensures secure peer connectivity across NAT boundaries using public-key authentication, end-to-end packet encryption, and a handshake protocol that provides perfect forward secrec

tun2socks is a connectivity utility that functions as a transparent proxy client and Layer 3 network gateway. It routes system network traffic through a SOCKS5 proxy using a virtual tunnel interface and provides the ability to tunnel IPv4 traffic over IPv6 or vice versa. The project implements a userspace TCP/IP stack to intercept raw IP packets and translate them for transmission to remote proxy servers. It supports multiple proxy protocols, including HTTP, SOCKS4, SOCKS5, and Shadowsocks, allowing application traffic to be redirected without per-app configuration. The software includes cap

NetBird is a zero-trust networking platform that builds secure, encrypted peer-to-peer overlay networks using the WireGuard protocol. It functions as a software-defined perimeter, connecting distributed infrastructure across cloud environments and physical locations while hiding network resources from the public internet. By integrating with external identity providers, the platform enforces granular access control and identity-based segmentation for every user and device. The platform distinguishes itself through extensive automation and programmatic management capabilities. It provides a ce

n2n is a peer-to-peer VPN that creates an encrypted mesh network by establishing layer 2 overlay networks. It uses UDP tunneling to connect remote computers into a shared virtual local area network, allowing devices to communicate as if they were on the same physical Ethernet switch. The system utilizes a centralized signaling registry and federated coordination nodes to facilitate peer discovery and node registration. It implements NAT traversal through UDP hole punching and UPnP port mapping, while using supernode relay routing to ensure connectivity when symmetric NATs prevent direct peer-

sshx is a collaborative remote shell tool that enables multiple users to view and control a terminal session through a secure web browser. It provides a web-based terminal sharing platform featuring end-to-end encryption and real-time multi-user cursor tracking. The project utilizes a distributed mesh proxy to route traffic globally and minimize latency. It incorporates predictive echo to mask network delays and provides a multi-terminal canvas layout for managing and resizing multiple shell instances simultaneously. The system supports secure remote access via invitation links and includes

smoltcp is a standalone TCP/IP network stack written in Rust, designed specifically for bare-metal and embedded systems. It provides a memory-safe implementation of the internet protocol suite that operates without requiring dynamic heap allocation. The project is distinguished by its heap-less memory management, using fixed-size buffers and manually allocated memory to ensure deterministic performance. It employs zero-copy packet processing and an interface-based hardware abstraction to decouple the network stack from physical hardware. The stack covers a broad range of networking capabilit

TCP-IP-NetworkNote is a comprehensive technical reference and guide for implementing network communication using TCP and UDP sockets in C and C++. It provides a detailed manual for using the POSIX socket API and covers the implementation of network protocols, synchronous and asynchronous I/O patterns, and concurrent programming models. The project is distinguished by its focus on cross-platform networking, offering a detailed comparison of socket implementation details and adaptation utilities between Linux and Windows Winsock environments. It specifically addresses the differences in header

3proxy is a multi-protocol proxy server and network access control gateway. It functions as a network traffic forwarder capable of routing TCP and UDP traffic across HTTP, SOCKS, and various email and file protocols. The project provides specialized capabilities for secure traffic inspection, including the decryption and analysis of HTTPS and TLS streams through certificate spoofing and mutual authentication. It further supports client identity anonymization by routing outbound traffic through recursive upstream proxy chains. The software covers a broad range of network management functions,

This project is the core management framework for a security appliance, providing the primary infrastructure for firewall management, network intrusion prevention, and high-availability networking. It serves as the centralized system for controlling network security policies, filtering traffic, and administering a security appliance dashboard. The system is distinguished by its high-availability capabilities, which include synchronizing configurations and connection state tables across redundant nodes to enable automatic hardware failover. It also features a modular plugin architecture for ex

Bazzite is an immutable, atomic-image-based operating system designed for gaming performance and handheld hardware. It utilizes a read-only root filesystem and versioned images to provide atomic updates and instant system rollbacks, ensuring a stable core environment. The system is distinguished by its deep optimization for portable gaming devices, featuring dedicated handheld hardware management for CPU undervolting, fan control, and display refresh rate overclocking. It includes a specialized gaming mode that boots directly into a console-like interface with integrated input mapping and a t

This project is a comprehensive computer networking textbook and instructional resource. It serves as a technical guide for the design and implementation of network layers, protocols, and hardware architecture, covering the spectrum from physical links to application-layer protocols. The content provides a detailed study of standards for congestion control, reliable data delivery, and internetwork routing. It includes specialized technical material on network security, public-key infrastructure, and the operation of modern cloud infrastructure and data centers. The material covers a broad ra

FRRouting is an internet routing suite comprising a collection of daemons that implement standard IPv4 and IPv6 routing protocols. It provides a protocol engine for BGP, an EVPN network virtualizer, and an MPLS label manager, alongside a gRPC routing interface for programmatic configuration and data retrieval using YANG models. The suite is distinguished by its extensibility through a Lua scripting framework that executes custom scripts at internal hooks to modify routing behavior. It also features a transactional configuration model that uses separate candidate and running databases to ensur

This project is a high-performance implementation of the QUIC transport protocol, providing a library for establishing multiplexed, low-latency network connections over UDP. It serves as a foundational networking stack for building modern web servers and clients, with native support for HTTP/3 and WebTransport standards. The library distinguishes itself through advanced connection management, including the ability to maintain stable sessions across changing network paths or IP addresses using connection identifiers. It optimizes data throughput by employing packet batching to reduce kernel ov

This project is an Android password manager application that provides an end-to-end encrypted vault for storing and synchronizing login credentials, secure notes, and identities. It functions as a secure storage system using zero-knowledge encryption to ensure that only the user can decrypt their stored data. The application integrates directly with the Android system to provide an autofill service that populates usernames and passwords into mobile apps and browser login fields. It also serves as a passkey management wallet for FIDO2 cryptographic passkeys and a time-based one-time password a

zrok is a zero trust networking service that provides a secure overlay mesh to expose local services and files through firewalls and NAT without the need for manual port forwarding. It functions as a zero trust network manager, orchestrating identities, policies, and routers to establish secure connectivity between applications and users. The project distinguishes itself through the use of identity-based routing and hardened HTTP frontends that integrate with external identity providers. These capabilities allow for the creation of identity-aware proxies and secure reverse proxies that authen

Grin is a protocol implementation and blockchain node that provides a confidential transaction system. It uses Pedersen Commitments and homomorphic encryption to verify value integrity and ensure a consistent money supply without revealing specific transaction amounts or participant identities. The project distinguishes itself through an interactive transaction exchange model, where wallets coordinate multi-round data exchanges to build signed transactions. To maintain anonymity, the system supports onion-routed transaction delivery and masks originating IP addresses through specialized relay

Ockam is an end-to-end encryption framework and distributed identity provider designed to establish secure communication between applications and devices. It provides a secure network overlay that utilizes cryptographic identities and attribute-based access control to implement zero trust network access. The project distinguishes itself through metadata-driven multi-hop routing and a pluggable transport layer, allowing encrypted traffic to move across diverse network topologies without requiring virtual IP overlays. It specifically enables secure tunneling for legacy applications by wrapping

libhv is a high-performance C/C++ network library and event-driven I/O framework used to build TCP, UDP, SSL, HTTP, WebSocket, and MQTT clients and servers. It provides a non-blocking event loop for managing network sockets, timers, and system signals across multiple threads. The project is distinguished by its integrated support for specialized network roles, including a full HTTP web server with RESTful routing and middleware, an MQTT messaging client for IoT communication, and the ability to implement SOCKS5 and HTTP proxies. It also features a reliable UDP implementation to ensure ordered

Karing is a multi-protocol proxy client and network traffic router designed to manage and direct internet traffic through various proxy protocols. It functions as a proxy subscription manager that imports and converts server lists from multiple external formats and providers into a unified configuration. The project features a cross-device synchronization system that keeps network routing settings and server lists consistent across multiple devices via cloud or local sharing. It includes a latency-based server selector that measures real-time response times to automatically connect to the fas

This project provides a comprehensive implementation of the AT Protocol, serving as a framework for building decentralized social networking applications. It enables the creation of distributed data repositories where users maintain cryptographic ownership of their identity and content, allowing for portable accounts that can be migrated between independent servers without central authority intervention. The platform distinguishes itself by decoupling content hosting from discovery through modular algorithmic curation. Users can select third-party services to filter and organize their feeds,

Impacket is a Python network protocol library and low-level implementation foundation. It provides a collection of classes for implementing and manipulating network protocols such as SMB, TCP, and UDP. The project serves as a network authentication framework for verifying user identities using passwords, hashes, and security tickets. It also functions as a network packet manipulation toolkit and security research tool for analyzing protocol behaviors and identifying vulnerabilities. The library covers the creation, parsing, and modification of raw network data to analyze communication stacks