# balena-os/wifi-connect

Easy WiFi setup for Linux devices from your mobile phone or laptop

Repository: https://github.com/balena-os/wifi-connect
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/wifi-connect
Language: Rust
License: Apache-2.0
License Family: permissive
Topics: wifi-hotspot, rpi, raspberrypi, resin-io, balena, wifi-ap, iot
Last push: 2026-08-25T10:20:20+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 79/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-02T17:46:02.011165+00:00)
- activity 99, release rhythm 40, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 4093, "days_push": 8, "days_rel": 407, "gap_med": 6.0, "n_releases_24m": 25}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1503, forks 401 (observed 2026-08-28T04:04:54.532355+00:00)

## What it is
WiFi Connect is a Rust utility that lets users configure WiFi credentials on Linux devices through a captive portal. The device creates a WiFi access point; connecting from a phone or laptop opens a portal where users pick a network and enter a passphrase.

## Use cases
- set up wifi on a headless raspberry pi without a keyboard
- configure wifi credentials on an iot device from my phone
- add a captive portal wifi onboarding flow to a linux device
- let end users connect my embedded device to their home wifi
- provision wifi on balenaOS or NetworkManager-based devices
- avoid hardcoding wifi credentials into device images

## When to choose
- your Linux device uses NetworkManager and needs easy wifi provisioning
- you run headless IoT devices like Raspberry Pis with no display or keyboard
- you want a phone-based captive portal setup experience out of the box

## When to avoid
- your host OS does not use NetworkManager as its network manager
- you need wifi setup on non-Linux platforms like macOS or Windows
- you need a full network configuration tool beyond wifi credentials

## Facets
- artifact type: application
- maturity: active
- function: networking, configuration-management, http-server, cli
- domain: iot, networking, embedded-systems, self-hosted
- platform: cli, embedded, iot
- tags: wifi-setup, captive-portal, wifi-hotspot, networkmanager, raspberry-pi, headless-devices, linux

## Member repositories
- balena-os/wifi-connect (main) score 79

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:54.532355+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 2026-08-30T04:32:47.778359+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/balena-os/wifi-connect (fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:54.532355+00:00, sha 1931f4872481)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.