Blocky

#dns #lang-go 

Blocky is a DNS proxy and ad-blocker for the local network written in Go.

Note

In this guide we use it to setup a our own DoH (DNS over HTTPS) server. It can also be configured as a standard DNS and DoT (DNS over TLS) server. But you won’t be able to run it on standard ports 53 and 853. We only cover DoH in this guide.

Note

For this guide you should be familiar with the basic concepts of

Installation

We create the working directory, download the latest version and extract the file.

[isabell@stardust ~]$ mkdir blocky
[isabell@stardust ~]$ cd blocky
[isabell@stardust blocky]$ wget https://github.com/0xERR0R/blocky/releases/download/v0.25/blocky_v0.25_Linux_x86_64.tar.gz
[isabell@stardust blocky]$ tar -xzf blocky_v0.25_Linux_x86_64.tar.gz
[isabell@stardust blocky]$ rm blocky_v0.25_Linux_x86_64.tar.gz
[isabell@stardust blocky]$

Configuration

To setup blocky you have to create a config.yml file with your favorite text editor.

upstreams:
  groups:
    default:
      - https://dns.quad9.net/dns-query
blocking:
  denylists:
    ads:
      - https://raw.githubusercontent.com/StevenBlack/hosts/master/hosts
  clientGroupsBlock:
    default:
      - ads
ports:
  dns:
  http: 4000

Service

Now you should set up a service that keeps blocky alive while you are gone. Create the file ~/etc/services.d/blocky.ini with the following content:

[program:blocky]
directory=%(ENV_HOME)s/blocky
command=%(ENV_HOME)s/blocky/blocky --config config.yml
autostart=yes
autorestart=yes
startsecs=30

After creating the configuration, tell supervisord to refresh its configuration and start the service:

[isabell@stardust ~]$ supervisorctl reread
SERVICE: available
[isabell@stardust ~]$ supervisorctl update
SERVICE: added process group
[isabell@stardust ~]$ supervisorctl status
SERVICE                            RUNNING   pid 26020, uptime 0:03:14
[isabell@stardust ~]$

Web Backend

Note

Blocky should now be running on port 4000.

To make the application accessible from the outside, configure a web backend:

[isabell@stardust ~]$ uberspace web backend set / --http --port <port>
Set backend for / to port <port>; please make sure something is listening!
You can always check the status of your backend using "uberspace web backend list".
[isabell@stardust ~]$

[isabell@stardust ~]$ uberspace web backend set /dns-query --http --port 4000
[isabell@stardust ~]$

Note

This configuration will expose Blocky only to DNS queries. If you wish to use the API or debug interface, set the path in the web backend to /.

Updates

Note

Check the update feed regularly to stay informed about the newest version.

Change the version and repeat the installation step.

Tested with Blocky 0.25, Uberspace 7.16.3

Written by: Thomas Johnson <https://johnson.tj/>