Blocky: DNS proxy and ad-blocker for local networks
Blocky is a self-hosted dns and ad block tool. DNS proxy and ad-blocker for local networks.
Why self-host Blocky
Self-hosting Blocky removes the dependency on a third-party service. For anyone who values data ownership, that matters more than convenience in the long run.
What it does
Blocky falls into the DNS, Ad Block category of self-hosted software. It is designed to be deployed on your own infrastructure, whether that is a home server, a VPS, or a local machine running Docker.
Community traction
The project has 4k stars on GitHub, which is a reasonable proxy for how widely it is used. Active repositories tend to ship bug fixes faster and have better documentation than projects that stall after the initial release.
Deployment
Like most modern self-hosted apps, Blocky supports Docker. A single compose file handles the deployment in most cases.
Maturity
The current version is 0.24, which means the project is still pre-1.0. That is not a disqualifier, but it is worth checking the changelog before upgrading in a setup where stability matters.
License
It is licensed under Apache-2.0, making it freely available for personal and commercial use.
Links
Blocky is worth a look if you are building out a homelab or trying to reduce your dependence on hosted services. The setup cost is usually low and the upside is real data ownership.