# Asuswrt-Merlin

Third party firmware for Asus routers (newer codebase)

Repository: https://github.com/RMerl/asuswrt-merlin.ng
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/asuswrt-merlin
Homepage: https://www.asuswrt-merlin.net/
Language: C
License: NOASSERTION
License Family: other
Topics: asuswrt-merlin, router, firmware, asus
Last push: 2026-08-26T14:39:12+00:00
Link (homepage): https://www.asuswrt-merlin.net/
Link (site_page): https://www.asuswrt-merlin.net/about
Link (site_page): https://www.asuswrt-merlin.net/features
Link (site_page): https://www.asuswrt-merlin.net/docs
Link (site_page): https://www.asuswrt-merlin.net/changelog

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 77/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 99, release rhythm 35, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 3284, "days_push": 7, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: no_releases, no_license
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 6166, forks 738 (observed 2026-08-28T04:09:36.808995+00:00)

## What it is
Asuswrt-Merlin is an enhanced third-party firmware for Asus routers, based on Asus's stock Asuswrt firmware, focusing on bug fixes, tweaks, and incremental enhancements rather than radical changes. This repository is the legacy 380.xx code branch, which is no longer actively developed; all current development has moved to the asuswrt-merlin.ng (New Generation) repository.

## Use cases
- flash custom firmware on my asus router
- fix bugs in stock asus router firmware
- run an openvpn server on my router
- set up split tunneling / selective routing for vpn clients
- install entware packages on my router
- force devices to use a filtering dns server
- improve ntfs usb drive sharing performance on my router

## When to choose
- you own an older Asus router (RT-N66U, RT-AC66U) only supported by this legacy branch
- you want to keep the stock Asus interface and features like AiProtection and AiMesh while gaining bug fixes and customization
- you want advanced OpenVPN client/server options and policy-based routing

## When to avoid
- you have a newer Asus router - use the asuswrt-merlin.ng branch instead
- you want a completely different firmware feature set like DD-WRT or Tomato
- you need support for a router model not on the supported devices list

## Facets
- artifact type: application
- maturity: maintenance
- function: networking, security, self-hosted, developer-tools
- domain: networking, security, embedded-systems, self-hosted, privacy
- platform: embedded, self-hosted
- tags: router-firmware, asus-routers, openwrt-alternative, vpn, openvpn, wireguard, entware, legacy-branch, linux

## Member repositories
- RMerl/asuswrt-merlin.ng (main) score 77
- RMerl/asuswrt-merlin (mirror) score 10

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:09:36.808995+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-29T17:42:34.123993+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/RMerl/asuswrt-merlin.ng (fetched 2026-08-28T04:09:36.808995+00:00, sha 0a38f67fef93)
  - homepage: https://www.asuswrt-merlin.net/ (fetched 2026-08-29T08:39:06.226024+00:00, sha 67fe2c842579)
  - site_page: https://www.asuswrt-merlin.net/about (fetched 2026-08-29T08:39:06.235624+00:00, sha a171f0d9a12a)
  - site_page: https://www.asuswrt-merlin.net/features (fetched 2026-08-29T08:39:06.237893+00:00, sha 76d0c2e4fef5)
  - site_page: https://www.asuswrt-merlin.net/docs (fetched 2026-08-29T08:39:06.239958+00:00, sha a59559403e4c)
  - site_page: https://www.asuswrt-merlin.net/changelog (fetched 2026-08-29T08:39:06.241838+00:00, sha 04b0c6660d05)
  - site_page: https://www.asuswrt-merlin.net/changelog-3006 (fetched 2026-08-29T08:39:06.246370+00:00, sha 657d78d7c3ae)
  - site_page: https://www.asuswrt-merlin.net/changelog-386 (fetched 2026-08-29T08:39:06.248882+00:00, sha dde851b6a2e5)
  - site_page: https://www.asuswrt-merlin.net/changelog-380 (fetched 2026-08-29T08:39:06.253093+00:00, sha 5cab849903c3)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.