luci-app-kixdns

LuCI support for KixDNS, a high-performance DNS forwarding server written in Rust.

Targets OpenWrt 24.10 and 25.12 with JavaScript LuCI and firewall4/nftables.

Features

• Service control and LAN DNS hijacking for UDP/TCP port 53.
• Optional GeoIP download before startup. An empty URL disables it.
• Local-first pipeline configuration with atomic saves, backups, and manual remote updates.
• Responsive visual editor with structured controls, editable JSON, flowcharts, dark mode, and section navigation.
• Dedicated log viewer with filters, highlighting, auto-refresh, and newest entries first.
• Bundled OpenWrt package for building the KixDNS core from source.

Packages

kixdns/            KixDNS core package
luci-app-kixdns/   LuCI application

Install

One-click install on OpenWrt 24.10 or 25.12 (x86_64, aarch64_generic, or aarch64_cortex-a53):

wget -O - https://raw.githubusercontent.com/JohnsonRan/luci-app-kixdns/main/install.sh | sh

The installer interactively offers two release channels:

1. stable (default) — packages from the latest published release.
2. rolling — packages built from the latest successfully built main branch.

For unattended installation, select the channel with KIXDNS_RELEASE_TAG:

# Stable
wget -O - https://raw.githubusercontent.com/JohnsonRan/luci-app-kixdns/main/install.sh | KIXDNS_RELEASE_TAG=latest sh

# Rolling
wget -O - https://raw.githubusercontent.com/JohnsonRan/luci-app-kixdns/main/install.sh | KIXDNS_RELEASE_TAG=rolling sh

The script detects the OpenWrt release and architecture, then installs the .ipk with opkg on OpenWrt 24.10 or the .apk with apk on OpenWrt 25.12. If no interactive terminal is available and KIXDNS_RELEASE_TAG is unset, it defaults to stable. For other releases or targets, build from source below.

Building

Place this repository under the OpenWrt package/ tree, for example package/kixdns-feed, or add it as a custom feed.

Build both packages:

make package/kixdns/compile package/luci-app-kixdns/compile V=s

The core package requires the Rust host toolchain from feeds/packages/lang/rust.

Local core builds with Zig

For a faster local cross-compilation workflow, the root Justfile can fetch the exact KixDNS revision pinned by kixdns/Makefile and build static musl binaries with cargo-zigbuild:

# Install cargo-zigbuild and its bundled Zig toolchain, then verify the setup.
just setup
just doctor

# Build one target or both binary architectures used by this repository.
just core-build x86_64
just core-build aarch64
just core-build-all

Generated binaries are written to dist/core/, while source and compiler caches stay under .cache/kixdns-core/.

These commands are optional and are not part of a normal OpenWrt buildroot build. When this repository is included as a package or feed, use the standard OpenWrt make commands shown above; without a CI-provided prebuilt binary, the package automatically compiles the pinned source through rust-package.mk.

The release workflow uses the same approach: it compiles one x86_64 and one generic ARM64 static musl binary, verifies that they have no ELF interpreter or dynamic dependencies, and passes them to both OpenWrt SDK builds. The same ARM64 binary is wrapped separately as aarch64_generic and aarch64_cortex-a53 so the package metadata matches each OpenWrt target. The SDK therefore only packages the core and builds the LuCI files; it no longer compiles Rust once for every OpenWrt release. Keeping the final packaging in the SDK also guarantees native OpenWrt ipk metadata and the APK v3 format required by OpenWrt 25.12.

Paths

• Pipeline configuration: /etc/kixdns/pipeline.json
• GeoIP database: /etc/kixdns/geoip.dat
• Service log: /tmp/kixdns.log