Gerbil is a simple WireGuard interface management server written in Go. Gerbil makes it easy to create WireGuard interfaces as well as add and remove peers with an HTTP API.

Gerbil works with Pangolin, Newt, and Olm as part of the larger system. See documentation below:

• Full Documentation

A WireGuard interface will be created and configured on the local Linux machine or in the Docker container according to the values given in either a JSON config file or via the remote server. If the interface already exists, it will be reconfigured.

Gerbil will create the peers defined in the config on the WireGuard interface. The HTTP API can be used to remove, create, and update peers on the interface dynamically.

Bytes transmitted in and out of each peer are collected every 10 seconds, and incremental usage is reported via the "reportBandwidthTo" endpoint. This can be used to track data usage of each peer on the remote server.

Gerbil listens on port 21820 for incoming UDP hole punch packets to orchestrate NAT hole punching between olm and newt clients. Additionally, it handles relaying data through the gerbil server down to the newt. This is accomplished by scanning each packet for headers and handling them appropriately.

• reachableAt: How should the remote server reach Gerbil's API?
• generateAndSaveKeyTo: Where to save the generated WireGuard private key to persist across restarts.
• remoteConfig (optional): Remote config location to HTTP get the JSON based config from. See example_config.json
• config (optional): Local JSON file path to load config. Used if remote config is not supplied. See example_config.json

Note: You must use either config or remoteConfig to configure WireGuard.

• reportBandwidthTo (optional): DEPRECATED - Use remoteConfig instead. Remote HTTP endpoint to send peer bandwidth data
• interface (optional): Name of the WireGuard interface created by Gerbil. Default: wg0
• listen (optional): Port to listen on for HTTP server. Default: :3003
• log-level (optional): The log level to use (DEBUG, INFO, WARN, ERROR, FATAL). Default: INFO
• mtu (optional): MTU of the WireGuard interface. Default: 1280
• notify (optional): URL to notify on peer changes

All CLI arguments can also be provided via environment variables:

• INTERFACE: Name of the WireGuard interface
• CONFIG: Path to local configuration file
• REMOTE_CONFIG: URL of the remote config server
• LISTEN: Address to listen on for HTTP server
• GENERATE_AND_SAVE_KEY_TO: Path to save generated private key
• REACHABLE_AT: Endpoint of the HTTP server to tell remote config about
• LOG_LEVEL: Log level (DEBUG, INFO, WARN, ERROR, FATAL)
• MTU: MTU of the WireGuard interface
• NOTIFY_URL: URL to notify on peer changes

Example:

./gerbil \
--reachableAt=http://gerbil:3003 \
--generateAndSaveKeyTo=/var/config/key \
--remoteConfig=http://pangolin:3001/api/v1/gerbil/get-config \
--reportBandwidthTo=http://pangolin:3001/api/v1/gerbil/receive-bandwidth

services:
  gerbil:
    image: fosrl/gerbil
    container_name: gerbil
    restart: unless-stopped
    command:
      - --reachableAt=http://gerbil:3003
      - --generateAndSaveKeyTo=/var/config/key
      - --remoteConfig=http://pangolin:3001/api/v1/gerbil/get-config
      - --reportBandwidthTo=http://pangolin:3001/api/v1/gerbil/receive-bandwidth
    volumes:
      - ./config/:/var/config
    cap_add:
      - NET_ADMIN
      - SYS_MODULE
    ports:
      - 51820:51820/udp
      - 21820:21820/udp

Ensure Docker is installed.

make

Make sure to have Go 1.23.1 installed.

make local

Gerbil is dual licensed under the AGPLv3 and the Fossorial Commercial license. For inquiries about commercial licensing, please contact us.

Please see CONTRIBUTIONS in the repository for guidelines and best practices.