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Wirt update round 1

A lot has happened in the past months. Loads of negative news for sure, but also some positive ones. I have managed to find a job for example, which was the reason I did not commit much into the Wirt repository.

But after my first 2 weeks on the job I cleared the last weekend to push out a feature that I had a good discussion about with github user grollum. What is this feature? DNS in the network, no more remembering of IP addresses, confusing everyone who is inside the network and not used to seeing them.

But that is not the only thing. Here is a complete list, feel free to skip to the parts you care about:

Completely automated WirtBot server setup

Typing make setup-wirtbot is all you need, besides a servers/vps, to install a complete WirtBot server. This is done using ansible and you can find all the files in the ansible directory.

DNS inside the Cluster

You can now reach all your devices by their name, followed by wirt.internal, so for example nextcloud.wirt.internal. The wirt.internal part can be customized via the Dashboard, using the new network widget at the top.

In addition to this the tools that WireGuard provide for the clients all support the DNS configuration, so this will work out of the box by simply downloading the config files to your devices again (you might need to change an IP to get the configurations to rebuild first).

But there is something to mention here. Using this DNS feature will set the DNS as the only one for that device, meaning that any previous DNS servers are disabled while the connection to the network is active. Because of this the automated WirtBot server setup includes CoreDNS settings to forward all queries that are not meant to reach a device in the network to be forwarded to the Cloudflare DNS servers 1.0.0.1 and 1.1.1.1 using DNS over TLS to keep your traffic secure and private.

Start developing with a single command

Want to get started on development in the Wirt system? Run make dev and get going! Both the WirtUI and WirtBot will be compiled, started and connected.

Focus on designing the system as a whole to ensure the best UX

Wirt provides you with a secure network with great UX such as the added DNS. All this dependes on the moving parts being configured correctly to be able to work together efficiently and safely.

While its origins are in being a WireGuard configuration generator its focus is now the extension of your home network over the whole world, while making it seem like you are at home.

You can surely use all the components differently if you build your own system out of them, but the main use case is my focus, and issues on GitHub will be worked on accordingly.

While some people might not like this, all other users should be able to enjoy an elegant system.

WirtBot trademark

Thats right, I dabbled in legal stuff and got me a trademark for the WirtBot.

Its valid in europe, so you could use the name in other parts of the world.

This means that you can use it for commercial purposes etc. as long as you are not based in europe, or offer the service here.

Got a great business idea, the technical know-how and the energy to use Wirt and make money with it? Great! I wish you all the best, and would appreciate a donation in case it works out.

Updating to the new version

If you have never used Wirt, just follow these instructions to get started. In case you have existing configurations do the following:

  • visit https://wirtbot.com/dashboard
  • Click on Update the UI in the Settings section
  • Click Edit and then Save on a device config (triggers the config rebuilding)
  • Reload the page

Thats it with my update. To all the people using Wirt, I hope you like what is added. Otherwise let me know in the comments or Github issues!

Cover Photo by Joshua Rawson-Harris on Unsplash

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