# martin-ger/esp_wifi_repeater

A full functional WiFi NAT Router (and now also a WiFi Repeater)

Repository: https://github.com/martin-ger/esp_wifi_repeater
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/esp_wifi_repeater
Language: C
License: MIT
License Family: permissive
Topics: esp8266, nat, router, range-extender, sniffer, wireshark, acls, firewall, l2-bridge, repeater
Last push: 2026-06-08T16:05:53+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 71/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-02T17:46:02.011165+00:00)
- activity 86, release rhythm 35, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 3547, "days_push": 86, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: no_releases
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 5242, forks 981 (observed 2026-08-28T04:09:13.579203+00:00)

## What it is
Firmware for the ESP8266/ESP8285 that turns the chip into a full WiFi NAT router and, in a separate edition, a true L2-bridge WiFi repeater. It includes a firewall with ACLs, port mapping, traffic shaping, remote monitoring/packet sniffing hooks, MQTT management, GPIO control, and an Automesh mode for multi-router coverage.

## Use cases
- extend the range of my home wifi network
- set up a guest wifi network with a different password
- create an isolated secure network for IoT devices
- convert a WPA2 Enterprise network to WPA-PSK
- monitor and sniff wifi traffic with wireshark
- build a battery-powered outdoor mesh network
- experiment with routes, ACLs and traffic shaping on a cheap device

## When to choose
- you have an ESP8266/ESP8285 board and need a low-cost NAT router or range extender
- you want firewall ACLs, port mapping, or traffic shaping on a tiny embedded router
- you need an IoT device network segment with MQTT-based management
- you want a WiFi probe/monitor for traffic analysis

## When to avoid
- you need high throughput beyond ~5 Mbps
- you have an ESP32 - use the esp32_nat_router project instead
- you want to integrate NAT into an Arduino sketch - use lwip_nat_arduino instead
- you need a modern maintained router platform rather than ESP8266-era hardware limits

## Facets
- artifact type: application
- maturity: active
- function: networking, security, monitoring, middleware
- domain: networking, iot, security, embedded-systems, self-hosted
- platform: embedded, iot, cross-platform
- tags: esp8266, wifi-repeater, nat-router, firewall, acls, mesh, mqtt, packet-sniffer, range-extender, l2-bridge

## Member repositories
- martin-ger/esp_wifi_repeater (main) score 71

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:09:13.579203+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 2026-08-29T17:59:36.739539+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/martin-ger/esp_wifi_repeater (fetched 2026-08-28T04:09:13.579203+00:00, sha 16259340ef2f)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.