AdGuard Home is a production-grade, self-hosted network-wide ad/tracker blocking DNS server. In operation it listens for DNS queries, applies filtering via blocklists, custom rules, parental control, safe search, and DNS rewrites, forwards remaining queries to upstream resolvers over plain DNS, DoT, DoH, or DoQ, and records query logs and statistics. It also includes a DHCP server for IPv4/IPv6, client identification through ARP/WHOIS/rDNS/DHCP/hosts files, TLS/encryption management, and a REST API documented in the openapi directory. The Go backend is a modular monolith organized into domain packages such as dnsforward, filtering, querylog, stats, dhcpd/dhcpsvc, home, and the new next/websvc, with heavy use of interfaces and OS-specific build tags for Linux, macOS, Windows, FreeBSD, and OpenBSD. The repository ships two frontends in parallel: a legacy React/Redux application under client/ and a newer SolidJS application under client_v2/, both built with webpack and backed by the same HTTP control API. Entry points include main.go for the stable product and main_next.go for an ongoing architectural rewrite. Configuration is stored in YAML and migrated through 34 schema versions using a dedicated migration framework. The codebase is extensively tested at both unit and end-to-end levels, and release packaging scripts cover many OS/arch targets. The presence of JSON tracker metadata and safe-search rule lists is operational data, not research artifacts; this is not a data pipeline or analytics repository. Primary data flows: DNS request -> dnsforward request handler -> client identity lookup -> filtering engine (urlfilter, custom rules, hosts) -> safe-search/rewrite handling -> upstream forwarding -> response; each query is written to a binary query log and aggregated into statistics. DHCP leases persist through JSON databases, and embedded datasets such as whotracksme metadata and blocked-services definitions support UI and filtering behavior. The largest current risk is the dual-frontend and dual-backend transition, which creates duplication and increases maintenance burden, but the core DNS/DHCP/filtering paths remain coherent and well-tested.
Pi-hole is a network-wide ad blocking application that operates as a DNS sinkhole. The repository contains the core shell scripts for installation, configuration, and management of the Pi-hole system. The primary entry points are the `pihole` CLI command and `gravity.sh`, which downloads and compiles blocklists into a SQLite database. The architecture is a collection of bash scripts that orchestrate the FTLDNS daemon (a separate binary) and provide a command-line interface for allow/deny lists, querying, debugging, and updates. The code is well-structured with modular functions, error handling, and extensive test coverage across multiple Linux distributions. It is a mature, actively maintained project with a large community.
Technitium DNS Server is a full-featured, cross-platform DNS server written in C# (.NET). It serves both authoritative and recursive DNS with support for DNSSEC, DNS-over-TLS/HTTPS/QUIC, EDNS Client Subnet, caching, blocking, and a built-in DHCP server. The server includes a web-based management console with REST API, a Windows system tray app, and a plugin system that allows extending functionality via DNS apps (e.g., geo-location, failover, query logging to SQL databases, block pages). The architecture uses a custom domain tree data structure for efficient lookups, a zone management hierarchy (primary, secondary, stub, forwarder, catalog), and a channel-based producer-consumer pattern for logging and statistics. The codebase is actively maintained with frequent releases and security fixes. While the overall design is solid and modular, some files are large and there is reliance on binary serialization with versioning that adds complexity.