dnsmasq

A lightweight DNS forwarder, DHCP server, and TFTP server.

dnsmasq is a lightweight DNS forwarder, DHCP server, and TFTP server. It forwards DNS queries to upstream resolvers while caching results locally, serves authoritative answers for a handful of local hostnames, hands out DHCP leases to LAN clients, and can serve PXE boot images via TFTP. All of this fits in a single small binary.

Simon Kelley started dnsmasq in 1999 for use on home gateways. The codebase has been kept small and focused: thousands of lines rather than tens of thousands, easy to audit, easy to embed in firmware. dnsmasq is the default DNS/DHCP stack on home routers (most consumer-grade router firmware uses it), hotspot configurations, libvirt networks, and Android tethering.

dnsmasq pairs well with PiHole-like ad-blocking setups (PiHole itself uses dnsmasq under the hood) and is the typical choice for small-network DNS where a full BIND or Unbound deployment would be overkill. Its simplicity is the durable selling point.

License: GPL-2.0-only OR GPL-3.0-only

Category: Networking

Website: https://thekelleys.org.uk/dnsmasq/doc.html

Install

Debian/Ubuntu: sudo apt install dnsmasq
Fedora/RHEL:   sudo dnf install dnsmasq
Arch:          sudo pacman -S dnsmasq
macOS:         brew install dnsmasq

Authors

Simon Kelley (creator)

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