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Unbound

Unbound is a validating, recursive, and caching DNS resolver that you can self-host to run your own DNS server at home.

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Unbound is a validating, recursive, and caching DNS resolver that you can self-host to run your own DNS server at home. Use it as the upstream resolver for Pi-hole or AdGuard Home, or to create custom DNS records for your local network.

Platform availability

Available on 3 of 9 platforms

  • Unraid
  • TrueNAS (not listed)
  • Umbrel (not listed)
  • ZimaOS (not listed)
  • Proxmox
  • Helm
  • Mac (not listed)
  • Windows (not listed)
  • Linux (not listed)

Health score?A 0-100 score computed nightly from four factors: maintained (40%: recent commits and steady activity), popular (25%: GitHub stars, log scale), easy to install (20%: platforms, install notes, setup guides, Docker image) and light to run (15%: minimum RAM, ARM support). When the source code has been checked, a fifth factor, security check (20%: automated scan for committed secrets, unsafe desktop-app settings, known-vulnerable dependencies and project hygiene; any serious finding caps it at 20), is added. Factors without data are left out and the rest are rescaled.

19/100 Low

Maintained
0last commit 1907 days ago
Popular
198 GitHub stars
Easy to install
553 install platforms, install notes, Docker image
Light to run
No data

Based on 3 of 4 factors.

Availability: platform listings confirmed today, links checked 6 days ago

GitHub stars
8
Open issues
0
Last commit
2021-07-26
License
MIT
Activity
stale

Checked 6 days ago - source: GitHub (kutzilla/unbound-docker)

Resources & Compatibility

ARM (e.g. Raspberry Pi) is not supported.

Checked 16 days ago - source: Docker Hub image tags and published docs

First-install notes

  • Let other devices reach Unbound on port 53 Publish both 53 TCP and 53 UDP ports from the container, because DNS answers can use either. Without them, other computers on your network cannot ask Unbound to resolve names. source
  • Save your DNS settings in a folder you keep Put unbound.conf and any extra zone files in a host directory and mount it into the container. If the container is removed or rebuilt, those files are what keep your custom DNS records and settings safe. source
  • Check the config after changing it Run unbound-checkconf from inside the container after editing your configuration files. It catches spelling or syntax errors before they silently break name lookups. source

Fetched 16 days ago - each note links to its source

Alternatives (5)

  • BIND - BIND is by far the most widely used DNS software on the Internet.
  • BuckDNS - A self-hosted DNS server for Linux and Windows with recursive resolution, encrypted forwarding, network-wide blocking and multi-server repl…
  • coredns - CoreDNS is a flexible, plugin-based DNS server and forwarder that chains plugins for service discovery, metrics, query rewriting, and zone…
  • dnsmasq - Dnsmasq is a lightweight Domain Name System (DNS) forwarder and Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server designed for small to med…
  • powerdns - PowerDNS is an open-source DNS server for operators hosting authoritative zones, resolving domain names to IP addresses using pluggable bac…

Checked 13 days ago - source: AlternativeTo

Common questions

Which ports should be published when running Unbound in Docker?

Publish both 53 TCP and 53 UDP from the container. DNS answers can use either protocol, and without them other devices cannot ask Unbound to resolve names.

How can I add custom local DNS records?

Use an a-records.conf or srv-records.conf file with local-data or local-data-ptr entries and mount it into the container's Unbound configuration directory. This supports resolving custom names on a small private LAN.

How should I keep Unbound settings safe for rebuilds?

Store unbound.conf and any extra zone files in a host directory and mount that directory into the container. Those files preserve your custom DNS records and settings if the container is removed or rebuilt.

How do I check for configuration errors after changing Unbound settings?

Run unbound-checkconf from inside the container after editing your configuration files. It catches spelling or syntax errors before they can silently break name lookups.

What security issues does Unbound 1.26.1 address?

Unbound 1.26.1 addresses several security issues, including one critical vulnerability and high, medium, and low severity issues.

Answers sourced from context7.com, github.com, github.com, nlnetlabs.nl

Community

Collected 16 days ago - public community threads