// the find
nadoo/glider
glider is a forward proxy with multiple protocols support, and also a dns/dhcp server with ipset management features(like dnsmasq).
glider is a single-binary forward proxy that can speak and chain a large number of protocols (SOCKS5, HTTP, SS, Trojan, VLESS, VMess, KCP, WebSocket, and more) on both the listen and forward sides. It also bundles a DNS forwarder with caching and ipset integration, plus a DHCP server. The target user is someone running a Linux router or gateway who needs flexible proxy chaining and DNS-based routing without standing up multiple tools.
The protocol matrix is genuinely impressive — you can chain tls+ws+vmess in a single -forward flag, and the same binary handles both ends of most tunnels. The rule-based forwarder selection (route specific domains or CIDRs through different upstreams) combined with DNS-resolved ipset population is a real workflow that would otherwise require dnsmasq + iptables + a separate proxy. Load balancing with latency-aware failover (lha mode) is a nice operational feature that most single-binary proxies skip. The build is modular via feature.go tag comments, so you can strip unused protocols for a smaller binary.
Last commit was February 2025 and the project feels in maintenance mode — VMess and SSR are client-only, which limits what you can actually replace with glider on the server side. No TLS termination with ACME/Let's Encrypt means you're managing certificates manually, which is a real gap if you're running a public-facing Trojan or WebSocket server. The DNS server is functional but primitive: no DNSSEC, no DoH/DoT listener, and the ipset integration is Linux-only with no equivalent for nftables (which is replacing ipset on modern kernels). Windows and macOS users lose a large chunk of the value proposition — redir, tproxy, ipset, and DHCP all fall away.