3f4ef0031b
Introduce a peer-sync cache keyed by WireGuard pubkey that records the NetworkMap.Serial and meta hash the server last delivered to each peer. When a Sync request arrives from a non-Android peer whose cached serial matches the current account serial and whose meta hash matches the last delivery, short-circuit SyncAndMarkPeer and reply with a NetbirdConfig-only SyncResponse mirroring the shape TimeBasedAuthSecretsManager already pushes for TURN/Relay token rotation. The client keeps its existing network map state and refreshes only control-plane credentials. The fast path avoids GetAccountWithBackpressure, the full per-peer map assembly, posture-check recomputation and the large encrypted payload on every reconnect of a peer whose account is quiescent. Slow path remains the source of truth for any real state change; every full-map send (initial sync or streamed NetworkMap update) rewrites the cache, and every Login deletes it so a fresh map is guaranteed after SSH key rotation, approval changes or re-registration. Backend-only: no proto changes and no client changes. Compatibility is provided by the existing client handling of nil NetworkMap in handleSync (every version from v0.20.0 on). Android is gated out at the server because its readInitialSettings path calls GrpcClient.GetNetworkMap which errors on nil map. The cache is wired through BaseServer.CacheStore() so it shares the same Redis/in-memory backend as OneTimeTokenStore and PKCEVerifierStore. Test coverage lands in four layers: - Pure decision function (peer_serial_cache_decision_test.go) - Cache wrapper with TTL + concurrency (peer_serial_cache_test.go) - Response shape unit tests (sync_fast_path_response_test.go) - In-process gRPC behavioural tests covering first sync, reconnect skip, android never-skip, meta change, login invalidation, and serial advance (management/server/sync_fast_path_test.go) - Frozen SyncRequest wire-format fixtures for v0.20.0 / v0.40.0 / v0.60.0 / current / android replayed against the in-process server (management/server/sync_legacy_wire_test.go + testdata fixtures)
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New: NetBird terraform provider
NetBird combines a configuration-free peer-to-peer private network and a centralized access control system in a single platform, making it easy to create secure private networks for your organization or home.
Connect. NetBird creates a WireGuard-based overlay network that automatically connects your machines over an encrypted tunnel, leaving behind the hassle of opening ports, complex firewall rules, VPN gateways, and so forth.
Secure. NetBird enables secure remote access by applying granular access policies while allowing you to manage them intuitively from a single place. Works universally on any infrastructure.
Open Source Network Security in a Single Platform
https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/10cec749-bb56-4ab3-97af-4e38850108d2
Self-Host NetBird (Video)
Key features
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Quickstart with NetBird Cloud
- Download and install NetBird at https://app.netbird.io/install
- Follow the steps to sign-up with Google, Microsoft, GitHub or your email address.
- Check NetBird admin UI.
- Add more machines.
Quickstart with self-hosted NetBird
This is the quickest way to try self-hosted NetBird. It should take around 5 minutes to get started if you already have a public domain and a VM. Follow the Advanced guide with a custom identity provider for installations with different IDPs.
Infrastructure requirements:
- A Linux VM with at least 1CPU and 2GB of memory.
- The VM should be publicly accessible on TCP ports 80 and 443 and UDP port: 3478.
- Public domain name pointing to the VM.
Software requirements:
- Docker installed on the VM with the docker-compose plugin (Docker installation guide) or docker with docker-compose in version 2 or higher.
- jq installed. In most distributions
Usually available in the official repositories and can be installed with
sudo apt install jqorsudo yum install jq - curl installed.
Usually available in the official repositories and can be installed with
sudo apt install curlorsudo yum install curl
Steps
- Download and run the installation script:
export NETBIRD_DOMAIN=netbird.example.com; curl -fsSL https://github.com/netbirdio/netbird/releases/latest/download/getting-started.sh | bash
- Once finished, you can manage the resources via
docker-compose
A bit on NetBird internals
- Every machine in the network runs NetBird Agent (or Client) that manages WireGuard.
- Every agent connects to Management Service that holds network state, manages peer IPs, and distributes network updates to agents (peers).
- NetBird agent uses WebRTC ICE implemented in pion/ice library to discover connection candidates when establishing a peer-to-peer connection between machines.
- Connection candidates are discovered with the help of STUN servers.
- Agents negotiate a connection through Signal Service passing p2p encrypted messages with candidates.
- Sometimes the NAT traversal is unsuccessful due to strict NATs (e.g. mobile carrier-grade NAT) and a p2p connection isn't possible. When this occurs the system falls back to a relay server called TURN, and a secure WireGuard tunnel is established via the TURN server.
Coturn is the one that has been successfully used for STUN and TURN in NetBird setups.
See a complete architecture overview for details.
Community projects
- NetBird installer script
- NetBird ansible collection by Dominion Solutions
- netbird-tui — terminal UI for managing NetBird peers, routes, and settings
Note: The main branch may be in an unstable or even broken state during development.
For stable versions, see releases.
Support acknowledgement
In November 2022, NetBird joined the StartUpSecure program sponsored by The Federal Ministry of Education and Research of The Federal Republic of Germany. Together with CISPA Helmholtz Center for Information Security NetBird brings the security best practices and simplicity to private networking.
Testimonials
We use open-source technologies like WireGuard®, Pion ICE (WebRTC), Coturn, and Rosenpass. We very much appreciate the work these guys are doing and we'd greatly appreciate if you could support them in any way (e.g., by giving a star or a contribution).
Legal
This repository is licensed under BSD-3-Clause license that applies to all parts of the repository except for the directories management/, signal/ and relay/. Those directories are licensed under the GNU Affero General Public License version 3.0 (AGPLv3). See the respective LICENSE files inside each directory.
WireGuard and the WireGuard logo are registered trademarks of Jason A. Donenfeld.