# pfsense/pfsense

Main repository for pfSense

Repository: https://github.com/pfsense/pfsense
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/pfsense
Homepage: http://www.pfsense.org
Language: PHP
License: Apache-2.0
License Family: permissive
Topics: pfsense, firewall, freebsd
Last push: 2026-03-31T18:28:13+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 66/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 75, release rhythm 35, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 5592, "days_push": 155, "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 5721, forks 1599 (observed 2026-08-28T04:09:28.260950+00:00)

## What it is
pfSense is a free, open-source network firewall and router distribution based on FreeBSD with a custom kernel, managed entirely through a web interface. It provides commercial-grade firewall functionality with a package system for extensibility, and can replace commercial firewalls from vendors like Cisco, Juniper, and Check Point.

## Use cases
- set up a home or office firewall and router
- replace a commercial firewall like Cisco ASA or Sonicwall
- build a VPN gateway for remote access
- manage network security through a web interface without UNIX knowledge
- deploy a firewall appliance on custom hardware
- segment and protect a small business network
- run a firewall in the cloud on AWS or Azure

## When to choose
- you need full-featured firewall, routing, and VPN functionality without license costs
- you want a web-managed firewall that doesn't require command-line or manual rule editing
- you want to choose your own hardware instead of being locked to a vendor appliance
- you need to replace an aging commercial firewall with an open-source alternative

## When to avoid
- you need a purely software library to embed firewall rules in your own application
- you require a Linux-based firewall stack rather than FreeBSD
- you want a lightweight containerized firewall for Kubernetes environments
- you need vendor-certified compliance support that only commercial firewalls provide

## Facets
- artifact type: application
- maturity: stable
- function: security, networking, vpn, proxy, self-hosted
- domain: security, networking, self-hosted, operating-systems
- platform: bsd, self-hosted
- tags: firewall, router, freebsd-distribution, web-interface, network-security, vpn-router, traffic-shaping, web-server

## Member repositories
- pfsense/pfsense (main) score 66

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:09:28.260950+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 2026-08-29T17:53:27.954298+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/pfsense/pfsense (fetched 2026-08-28T04:09:28.260950+00:00, sha dfe0ba2f78cb)
  - homepage: http://www.pfsense.org (fetched 2026-08-29T08:49:02.552733+00:00, sha 186077930ce1)
  - site_page: https://www.pfsense.org/getting-started (fetched 2026-08-29T08:49:02.560363+00:00, sha 49118c99349c)
  - site_page: https://www.pfsense.org/about-pfsense (fetched 2026-08-29T08:49:02.562304+00:00, sha ff43dc91d5fb)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.