# zerotier/ZeroTierOne

A Smart Ethernet Switch for Earth

Repository: https://github.com/zerotier/ZeroTierOne
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/zerotierone
Homepage: https://zerotier.com
Language: C++
License: NOASSERTION
License Family: other
Topics: decentralization, networking, peer-to-peer, sd-wan, sdn, virtual-network, vpn
Last push: 2026-08-03T17:28:38+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 84/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 95, release rhythm 62, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 4879, "days_push": 30, "days_rel": 97, "gap_med": 152.5, "n_releases_24m": 5}
- flags: no_license
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 17047, forks 1973 (observed 2026-08-28T04:11:17.623087+00:00)

## What it is
ZeroTier is a software-defined networking tool that creates secure virtual Ethernet networks spanning devices, VMs, containers, and clouds worldwide. It combines a cryptographically addressed peer-to-peer network with an Ethernet emulation layer, providing encrypted end-to-end connectivity with SDN-style access control.

## Use cases
- connect devices across the internet as if on the same LAN
- replace legacy VPN with a mesh overlay network
- link servers across multiple cloud providers
- give remote workers access to a home lab or self-hosted services
- network containers and VMs across hosts
- set up micro-segmented virtual networks with access control rules

## When to choose
- you need secure device-to-device connectivity without port forwarding or hardware
- you want peer-to-peer performance instead of a centralized VPN chokepoint
- you need to bridge cloud, data center, and edge environments
- you want fine-grained network access control with cryptographic identity

## When to avoid
- you need a fully open-source solution including the network controller (it is source-available, not free)
- you require simple site-to-site IPsec/WireGuard tunnels rather than L2 virtual networks
- you depend on vendor-managed infrastructure with strict compliance certifications in the free tier

## Facets
- artifact type: application
- maturity: stable
- function: networking, p2p, vpn, security, cryptography
- domain: networking, security, self-hosted, microservices
- platform: windows, cross-platform, cli
- tags: sd-wan, sdn, virtual-network, mesh-vpn, overlay-network, zero-trust, peer-to-peer, linux, macos, android, ios

## Member repositories
- zerotier/ZeroTierOne (main) score 84

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:11:17.623087+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 2026-08-29T17:03:30.989352+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/zerotier/ZeroTierOne (fetched 2026-08-28T04:11:17.623087+00:00, sha 311de1a96f88)
  - homepage: https://zerotier.com (fetched 2026-08-29T08:01:49.898542+00:00, sha 80288993d953)
  - site_page: https://docs.zerotier.com/ (fetched 2026-08-29T08:01:49.902374+00:00, sha 3d63f0e7f3f8)
  - site_page: https://www.zerotier.com/about (fetched 2026-08-29T08:01:49.904241+00:00, sha 412790c195e5)
  - site_page: https://docs.zerotier.com (fetched 2026-08-29T08:01:49.906079+00:00, sha 3d63f0e7f3f8)
  - site_page: https://docs.zerotier.com/quickstart (fetched 2026-08-29T08:01:49.909420+00:00, sha b978c428dfda)
  - site_page: https://docs.zerotier.com/faq (fetched 2026-08-29T08:01:49.911359+00:00, sha 02085d030737)
  - site_page: https://www.zerotier.com/platform (fetched 2026-08-29T08:01:49.907674+00:00, sha 52646e292bc4)
  - site_page: https://www.zerotier.com/pricing (fetched 2026-08-29T08:01:49.913256+00:00, sha 7ced4ec3e960)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.