# mokeyish/smartdns-rs

A cross platform local DNS server (Dnsmasq like) written in rust to obtain the fastest website IP for the best Internet experience, supports DoT, DoQ, DoH, DoH3.

Repository: https://github.com/mokeyish/smartdns-rs
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/smartdns-rs
Language: Rust
License: GPL-3.0
License Family: copyleft
Topics: dns, dns-over-https, dns-over-tls, dnsmasq, doh, dot, smartdns, smartdns-rs, windows, dns-server, linux, macos, rust, trustdns, trust-dns, pi-hole, dns-over-quic, dns-over-h3
Last push: 2026-07-11T12:09:11+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 89/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-02T17:46:02.011165+00:00)
- activity 92, release rhythm 78, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 1403, "days_push": 53, "days_rel": 67, "gap_med": 64, "n_releases_24m": 10}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1001, forks 70 (observed 2026-08-28T04:03:10.861486+00:00)

## What it is
SmartDNS-rs is a cross-platform local DNS server written in Rust, inspired by the C SmartDNS project. It queries multiple upstream DNS servers concurrently (supporting UDP, TCP, DoT, DoQ, DoH, and DoH3) and returns the fastest IP to clients, helping avoid DNS pollution and improve access speed, with ad filtering and caching.

## Use cases
- speed up dns resolution by picking the fastest ip
- run a local dns server on windows macos or linux
- bypass dns pollution with dns over https or tls
- filter ads at the dns level
- replace dnsmasq with a rust dns server
- use encrypted dns like doq and doh3 locally
- set up dns caching with prefetching on a router or desktop

## When to choose
- you need a dnsmasq-like local DNS server on Windows or macOS where the C SmartDNS only runs on Linux
- you want encrypted upstream DNS (DoT, DoQ, DoH, DoH3) with proxy support to avoid DNS pollution
- you want fastest-IP selection, caching, and prefetching for lower latency
- you need ad blocking via DNS with ipset/nftables integration

## When to avoid
- you need the full mature feature set of the original C SmartDNS, which is more complete
- you want a full pi-hole-style UI with dashboards rather than a DNS server
- you need an authoritative DNS server for hosting your own domains
- you require a GUI-managed solution

## Facets
- artifact type: application
- maturity: active
- function: networking, caching, proxy, security
- domain: networking, privacy, self-hosted, developer-tools
- platform: windows, cross-platform, rust, cli
- tags: dns-server, dns-over-https, dns-over-tls, dns-over-quic, dnsmasq-alternative, ad-filtering, smartdns, pi-hole, linux, macos

## Member repositories
- mokeyish/smartdns-rs (main) score 89

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:03:10.861486+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 2026-08-30T07:16:07.260778+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/mokeyish/smartdns-rs (fetched 2026-08-28T04:03:10.861486+00:00, sha 186a69f8e373)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.