# hackerschoice/gsocket

Connect like there is no firewall. Securely.

Repository: https://github.com/hackerschoice/gsocket
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/gsocket
Homepage: https://www.gsocket.io
Language: C
License: BSD-2-Clause
License Family: permissive
Topics: networking, firewall, security, hacking
Last push: 2026-08-19T12:29:36+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 67/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-02T17:46:02.011165+00:00)
- activity 98, release rhythm 8, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 2175, "days_push": 14, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1918, forks 198 (observed 2026-08-28T04:05:54.019918+00:00)

## What it is
Global Socket (gsocket) is a C-based toolkit that lets two machines behind NAT or firewalls establish secure, end-to-end encrypted TCP connections through the Global Socket Relay Network, without needing IP addresses, port forwarding, or a PKI. It includes tools like gs-netcat for reverse shells and file transfer, with AES-256 encryption, perfect forward secrecy, and optional TOR support.

## Use cases
- access a firewalled machine's SSH from anywhere without port forwarding
- connect two computers behind NAT
- establish a reverse shell through firewalls
- transfer files between machines that cannot directly connect
- tunnel TCP services through restrictive networks
- securely connect endpoints without setting up a VPN

## When to choose
- you need to reach a machine behind NAT/firewall with no port forwarding
- you want end-to-end encrypted tunnels without PKI or VPN setup
- you need a lightweight C tool for reverse connectivity or file transfer

## When to avoid
- you need a general-purpose VPN for full network-level access
- you require a GUI-managed tunneling solution
- your environment prohibits relay-based or penetration-testing tooling

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: active
- function: networking, security, cryptography, proxy
- domain: networking, security, privacy, censorship-circumvention, developer-tools
- platform: windows, bsd, cli
- tags: nat-traversal, firewall-bypass, relay-network, reverse-shell, end-to-end-encryption, tor, p2p-tunneling, linux, macos

## Member repositories
- hackerschoice/gsocket (main) score 67

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:05:54.019918+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 2026-08-30T03:10:07.008147+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/hackerschoice/gsocket (fetched 2026-08-28T04:05:54.019918+00:00, sha 970ebd3c1b49)
  - homepage: https://www.gsocket.io (fetched 2026-08-29T10:49:19.540906+00:00, sha 621b70c9be7b)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.