# ddclient/ddclient

ddclient updates dynamic DNS entries for accounts on a wide range of dynamic DNS services.

Repository: https://github.com/ddclient/ddclient
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/ddclient
Homepage: https://ddclient.net
Language: Perl
License: GPL-2.0
License Family: copyleft
Topics: ddclient, dynamic-dns-services
Last push: 2026-06-22T05:47:09+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 62/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 88, release rhythm 8, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 5132, "days_push": 72, "days_rel": 591, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 1}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 3523, forks 398 (observed 2026-08-28T04:08:07.976072+00:00)

## What it is
ddclient is a Perl client that updates dynamic DNS entries for accounts on a wide range of dynamic DNS services such as Cloudflare, DuckDNS, and DynDNS. It runs as a daemon or via cron/systemd, detects your current IP address, and pushes DNS updates when it changes.

## Use cases
- keep a domain name pointing at a changing home IP address
- update Cloudflare DNS records when my IP changes
- run a dynamic DNS updater on a Raspberry Pi or home server
- update DuckDNS hostname automatically
- self-host services behind a dynamic IP
- update DNS via RFC 2136 nsupdate against BIND or Knot

## When to choose
- your dynamic DNS provider is among its 30+ supported protocols
- you want a mature, widely packaged Perl daemon with cache-based change detection
- you need flexible IP detection via web services or routers
- you want environment-variable support for keeping credentials out of config files

## When to avoid
- your provider is unsupported and you prefer a different tool like inadyn
- you need a GUI or web interface for managing DNS updates
- you only need static DNS records that never change

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: active
- function: networking, configuration-management, cli
- domain: networking, self-hosted, developer-tools
- platform: cli, self-hosted
- tags: dynamic-dns, ddns, perl, dns-updates, home-networking, daemon, automation, linux, macos

## Member repositories
- ddclient/ddclient (main) score 62

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:08:07.976072+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 2026-08-29T18:35:11.531108+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/ddclient/ddclient (fetched 2026-08-28T04:08:07.976072+00:00, sha 202e0221b537)
  - homepage: https://ddclient.net (fetched 2026-08-29T09:29:15.106555+00:00, sha 85815eb21239)
  - site_page: https://ddclient.net/FAQ.html (fetched 2026-08-29T09:29:15.115556+00:00, sha ccb55e4679e3)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.