Jack Carter 47f7ab7b33 docs: rework Site-to-VPN SNAT guidance, verified end-to-end (#758)
* docs: rewrite Site-to-VPN SNAT requirement to always be manual

The dashboard Masquerade flag does not cover the Site-to-VPN direction on
any route — the marking rules NetBird installs are only wired up when a
policy targets the resource, and the documented flow uses a peer-to-peer
policy. The old guidance ("on Linux kernel mode, no manual SNAT needed")
was wrong, so manual SNAT is now framed as required on every routing peer
regardless of OS or WireGuard mode.

Also adds an nftables example alongside the iptables one, drops the
"(If applicable)" qualifier from the Step 3 heading, fixes the four
in-page anchor links that were already 404ing against the old heading,
and reframes the Step 4 masquerade-flag note plus the Outbound SNAT
requirement and Troubleshooting sections to match.

Verified end-to-end in a kernel-mode Linux lab: with the documented setup
(masquerade=true, peer-to-peer policy only, no manual SNAT) curl from a
clientless device to the overlay peer's NetBird IP times out; adding
either the iptables or the nftables rule from the new Step 3 makes it
return HTTP 200.

* docs: make Step 3 SNAT examples persistent

The previous version showed runtime iptables/nft commands with
persistence as a trailing comment. Replace with two equivalent
fully-persistent options: iptables-persistent (recommended) and a
dedicated systemd-unit + /etc/nftables.d/ file for nftables-native
setups.

Explicitly call out why /etc/nftables.conf is not the right persistence
target — its default starts with "flush ruleset", which wipes the
iptables-nft chains NetBird installs.

Both options verified end-to-end in a lab: rule applied, curl succeeds;
rule removed (simulating reboot), curl fails; reload via
netfilter-persistent / systemctl restart, curl succeeds again.

* docs: drop nftables-only option from Step 3

iptables-persistent works on every Linux NetBird supports — whether the
underlying backend is iptables-legacy or iptables-nft — so a separate
nftables variant with its own systemd unit was strictly more complexity
for the same outcome. Keep the iptables-persistent block as the single
Linux instruction.

* docs: drop UFW/firewalld FORWARD caveat from Step 3

The note was scoped to a minority of routing peers (those running UFW or
firewalld with default-DROP on FORWARD), and the persistence guidance
was too vague to be actionable. The symptom — packets reaching the
routing peer but not the target — is already covered by the
Troubleshooting section, which is enough of a lead for affected users.

* docs: drop standalone Outbound SNAT requirement section

The section's three takeaways — ACL ipset rejects routed-CIDR sources,
SNAT rewrites the source to a known NetBird IP, dashboard Masquerade
flag doesn't cover this direction — are already covered inline in Step
3 and the Step 4 masquerade note. Fold the one unique bit (the ipset
mechanic) into Step 3's opening sentence and drop the standalone
section plus the three "see Outbound SNAT requirement" backreferences
that pointed at it.

* docs: use ss -tan in Test Connectivity verification

The previous command (ss -tnp | grep :8080) filters by process and
misses TIME-WAIT sockets, which are kernel-owned. After a fast curl the
TCP connection closes before ss runs, so the user only ever sees the
LISTEN socket — no indication of the source IP. ss -tan lists all
states, so the TIME-WAIT entry showing the routing peer's NetBird IP as
the remote address is reliably visible for ~60 s.

Verified end-to-end in a kernel-mode Linux lab.

* docs: make Linux static route in Step 6 persistent

Replace the runtime "ip route add" + persistence-as-a-comment with two
fully-persistent options: a netplan drop-in (Ubuntu Server default) and
an nmcli equivalent (RHEL / Fedora / desktop). The netplan YAML was
validated against netplan generate. Also annotate the Windows command
to highlight that "-p" is what makes it persistent.

* docs: drop unverified pfSense/OPNsense and MikroTik examples

Neither platform ships a first-class NetBird routing-peer setup, and we
have no way to verify the SNAT commands in those sections work as
written. Replace with a single "Other platforms" paragraph that points
back to the general principle (any SNAT that rewrites the site-CIDR
source on egress from wt0 is sufficient) without claiming to give
verified instructions. Also tighten the Prerequisites line that
referenced "per-platform SNAT syntax" that no longer exists.

* docs: rewrite DNS NXDOMAIN troubleshooting entry

The previous entry referenced a "127.0.0.1-co-located NetBird resolver"
that doesn't exist — the doc's own DNS section explicitly notes that
the NetBird daemon binds its resolver on the peer's own NetBird IP,
not on 127.0.0.1. The "binding loopback causes it to refuse forwarding"
explanation was therefore exactly backwards.

Replace with a dig-based isolation flow that distinguishes the three
real failure modes (timeout = dnsmasq not reachable on the site IP;
SERVFAIL = forward to NetBird resolver failed; NXDOMAIN = wrong FQDN).
Diagnostic flow verified end-to-end in a lab — valid hostnames return
NOERROR with an answer record, unknown ones return status: NXDOMAIN as
described.
2026-05-18 14:40:53 +02:00
2026-01-14 18:11:42 +01:00
2024-03-08 16:27:55 +01:00
2026-05-15 12:47:38 +02:00
2023-05-25 11:32:38 +02:00
2026-02-02 17:33:09 +01:00
2025-11-21 11:24:17 +01:00
2026-01-12 23:01:42 +01:00

The NetBird documentation

This repository contains assets required to build the documentation website for NetBird. It is built using Next.js with MDX support, a modern React framework for building static and dynamic websites.

We're glad that you want to contribute!

Requirements

  • node 16
  • npm 8+

Installation

$ npm install

Local Development

$ npm run dev

This command starts a local development server and opens up a browser window. Most changes are reflected live without having to restart the server.

Contributing to the docs

You can click the Fork button in the upper-right area of the screen to create a copy of this repository in your GitHub account. This copy is called a fork. Make any changes you want in your fork, and when you are ready to send those changes to us, go to your fork and create a new pull request to let us know about it.

Once your pull request is created, a NetBird reviewer will take responsibility for providing clear, actionable feedback. As the owner of the pull request, it is your responsibility to modify your pull request to address the feedback that has been provided to you by the NetBird reviewer.

Also, note that you may end up having more than one NetBird reviewer provide you feedback or you may end up getting feedback from a NetBird reviewer that is different than the one initially assigned to provide you feedback.

Furthermore, in some cases, one of your reviewers might ask for a technical review from a NetBird author when needed. Reviewers will do their best to provide feedback in a timely fashion but response time can vary based on circumstances.

Code of conduct

Participation in the NetBird community is governed by the NetBirds' Code of Conduct.

Components and Use

This documentation uses several custom MDX components. Here's a guide to the most commonly used components:

Alert Components

Use these components to highlight important information:

Note

Displays informational content with an orange theme:

import {Note} from "@/components/mdx"

<Note>
    NetBird is an **[open-source](https://github.com/netbirdio/netbird)** project and can be self-hosted.
    See a comparison between the self-hosted and cloud-hosted versions [here](/selfhosted/self-hosted-vs-cloud-netbird).
</Note>

Warning

Displays warning content with a red theme:

import {Warning} from "@/components/mdx"

<Warning>
    The API is still in Beta state so some errors might not be handled properly yet.
</Warning>

Success

Displays success messages with a green theme:

import {Success} from "@/components/mdx"

<Success>
    Your configuration has been successfully applied.
</Success>

Tiles Component

Displays a grid of clickable cards with hover effects. Perfect for listing related resources or guides:

import {Tiles} from "@/components/Tiles"

<Tiles 
  title="About NetBird" 
  id="about-netbird" 
  items={[
    {
      href: '/about-netbird/how-netbird-works',
      name: 'How NetBird Works',
      description: 'Learn about NetBird concepts, architecture, protocols, and how it creates secure networks.',
    },
    {
      href: '/about-netbird/netbird-vs-traditional-vpn',
      name: 'NetBird vs. Traditional VPN',
      description: 'Discover how NetBird compares to traditional VPNs and understand the advantages of Zero Trust networking.',
    },
  ]} 
/>

Props:

  • title (string, required): The heading title for the tiles section
  • id (string, optional): Optional id for the heading anchor
  • items (array, required): Array of objects with href, name, and description
  • buttonText (string, optional): Button text (defaults to "Read more" - currently unused as cards are fully clickable)

YouTube Component

Embeds YouTube videos with customizable parameters:

import {YouTube} from "@/components/YouTube"

<YouTube videoId="CFa7SY4Up9k" />

// With custom parameters
<YouTube 
  videoId="CFa7SY4Up9k" 
  title="Video Title"
  start={175}
  color="white"
  modestbranding={1}
  rel={1}
/>

// Or use a URL instead of videoId
<YouTube url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFa7SY4Up9k" />

Props:

  • videoId (string): YouTube video ID
  • url (string): YouTube URL (alternative to videoId)
  • title (string, optional): Video title
  • start (number, optional): Start time in seconds
  • color (string, optional): Progress bar color - 'white' or 'red' (default: 'white')
  • modestbranding (number, optional): Reduces YouTube branding - 0 or 1 (default: 1)
  • controls (number, optional): Show/hide controls - 0, 1, or 2 (default: 1)
  • rel (number, optional): Show related videos - 0 or 1 (default: 1)

Button Component

Creates styled buttons with multiple variants:

import {Button} from "@/components/Button"

// Primary button (default)
<Button href="https://app.netbird.io/install" arrow="right">
  Get started
</Button>

// Secondary button
<Button href="/path" variant="secondary">
  Learn more
</Button>

// Outline button
<Button href="/path" variant="outline">
  Explore
</Button>

// Text button
<Button href="/path" variant="text" arrow="right">
  Read more
</Button>

// With left arrow
<Button href="/path" arrow="left">
  Back
</Button>

Props:

  • variant (string, optional): Button style - 'primary', 'secondary', 'filled', 'outline', or 'text' (default: 'primary')
  • href (string, optional): Link URL (creates a link if provided, otherwise renders as button)
  • arrow (string, optional): Arrow icon - 'left' or 'right'
  • children (required): Button text content

Other Common Components

Row and Col

Create two-column layouts:

import {Row, Col} from "@/components/mdx"

<Row>
  <Col>
    Left column content
  </Col>
  <Col sticky>
    Right column content (sticky on scroll)
  </Col>
</Row>

Properties and Property

Define API properties or configuration options:

import {Properties, Property} from "@/components/mdx"

<Properties>
  <Property name="apiKey" type="string" required>
    Your API key for authentication.
  </Property>
  <Property name="timeout" type="number" min={0} max={300}>
    Request timeout in seconds (default: 30).
  </Property>
</Properties>

Badge

Displays small status badges:

import {Badge} from "@/components/mdx"

<Badge>New</Badge>
<Badge variant="secondary">Beta</Badge>

Code Blocks

Code syntax highlighting (automatically available):

\`\`\`bash
npm install
npm run dev
\`\`\`

// Or use code groups for multiple languages
<CodeGroup>
  ```bash title="Installation"
  npm install
yarn install
```

Thank you

NetBird thrives on community participation, and we appreciate your contributions to our website and our documentation!

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