--- title: your home router STILL SUCKS!! (use OPNsense instead) description: A walkthrough replacing a consumer home router with a self-built OPNsense firewall running on a mini PC, covering hardware requirements, flashing the OPNsense... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/your-home-router-still-sucks-use-opnsense-instead--tbpyn4tcc twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: your home router STILL SUCKS!! (use OPNsense instead) | daily.dev og:description: A walkthrough replacing a consumer home router with a self-built OPNsense firewall running on a mini PC, covering hardware requirements, flashing the OPNsense... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/your-home-router-still-sucks-use-opnsense-instead--tbpyn4tcc og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/TBPYN4tcC.png og:image:alt: your home router STILL SUCKS!! (use OPNsense instead) og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # your home router STILL SUCKS!! (use OPNsense instead) **[NetworkChuck](https://daily.dev/sources/networkchuck)** · 23 min read · 4 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary A walkthrough replacing a consumer home router with a self-built OPNsense firewall running on a mini PC, covering hardware requirements, flashing the OPNsense installer, initial CLI interface configuration, setting up DNS over TLS and ad blocking via blocklists, and finally hooking up an AI agent (using Hermes) to perform configuration tasks like adding DNS servers, DHCP reservations, and geo-blocking an entire country's IP ranges. Frames consumer routers as insecure 'goblin gateways' and positions OPNsense as a free, open-source, fully controllable alternative to pfSense, which closed-sourced its best features in 2021. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### Why did this person choose OPNsense over pfSense for a home router firewall? OPNsense was chosen because it remains 100% open source, while pfSense closed-sourced its best version back in 2021 and put it behind a paywall. Both run on x86 hardware and support similar router/firewall functionality, but OPNsense keeps its full feature set free and open. _daily.dev surfaces comparisons like this for developers weighing open-source versus paywalled infrastructure tools._ ### What are the minimum hardware requirements to run OPNsense as a home router? OPNsense needs x86-based hardware with at least two Ethernet ports: one for the WAN connection to the internet and one for the LAN. If a device only has one port, a USB Ethernet adapter can provide the second. Hardware can be a mini PC, spare laptop, or virtual machine since OPNsense is just software. _Track practical hardware setup notes like this on daily.dev before building a self-hosted network._ ### What is the difference between double NAT and bridge mode when connecting a new router to an existing ISP router? In double NAT, the new firewall device plugs into an open port on the existing ISP router and receives a private IP address behind it, which works for most traffic but can cause issues with some applications. In bridge mode, the ISP router's routing function is disabled so it acts as a pass-through, letting the new firewall receive the public IP directly from the ISP. _Developers troubleshooting home network configs can keep guides like this handy on daily.dev._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [I switched from pfSense to OPNsense, and I'm happy with the upgrade](https://daily.dev/posts/i-switched-from-pfsense-to-opnsense-and-i-m-happy-with-the-upgrade-m6koeb6mw) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [DIY Router On X86 E-Waste: OpenWrt And OPNsense](https://daily.dev/posts/diy-router-on-x86-e-waste-openwrt-and-opnsense-18vpjkkyt) · Hackaday · 4 upvotes · 1 comments - [My DIY router has been my DNS, VPN, and ad-blocker for a year, and I'd never use an ISP router again](https://daily.dev/posts/my-diy-router-has-been-my-dns-vpn-and-ad-blocker-for-a-year-and-i-d-never-use-an-isp-router-again-5eaxecetr) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Home router recommendations](https://daily.dev/posts/home-router-recommendations-fiz92rk8j) · Lobsters · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Revisiting Making Your Own Internet Router In 2026](https://daily.dev/posts/revisiting-making-your-own-internet-router-in-2026-vxzjrpv0i) · Hackaday · 1 upvotes · 1 comments --- Tags: [#security](https://daily.dev/tags/security), [#firewall](https://daily.dev/tags/firewall) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/your-home-router-still-sucks-use-opnsense-instead--tbpyn4tcc) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"your home router STILL SUCKS!! 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