# Vortix
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[](https://github.com/Harry-kp/vortix)
Terminal UI for WireGuard and OpenVPN with real-time telemetry and leak guarding.
## Why Vortix?
I wanted a single interface to:
- See connection status, throughput, and latency at a glance
- Detect IPv6/DNS leaks without running separate tools
- Switch between VPN profiles without remembering CLI flags
Existing options (`wg show`, NetworkManager, Tunnelblick) either lack real-time telemetry or require a GUI.
| Memory usage | ~15MB | 200-500MB | ~5MB |
| Startup time | <100ms | 2-5s | Instant |
| Real-time telemetry | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Leak detection | ✅ | Some | ❌ |
| Kill switch | ✅ | ✅ | Manual |
| Keyboard-driven | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ |
| Works over SSH | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ |
## Features
- **WireGuard & OpenVPN** — Auto-detects `.conf` and `.ovpn` files
- **Advanced Telemetry** — Real-time throughput, latency, **jitter**, and **packet loss**
- **Geo-Location** — Instant detection of your exit IP's city and country
- **Leak detection** — Monitors for IPv6 leaks and DNS leaks in real-time
- **Kill Switch** — Built-in firewall management for maximum security
- **Interactive Import** — Easily add new profiles directly within the TUI
- **Config Viewer** — Inspect profile configurations directly within the TUI
- **Keyboard-driven** — No mouse required
## Requirements
### macOS
- macOS 12+ (uses `ifconfig`, `netstat`, `wg`, `ps`, `pfctl`)
- Rust 1.75+ (for building from source)
- WireGuard: `brew install wireguard-tools`
- OpenVPN: `brew install openvpn`
### Linux
- Linux kernel 3.10+ (kernel 5.6+ recommended for native WireGuard; older kernels require `wireguard-tools`)
- `iproute2` (for `ip addr` interface detection; pre-installed on most distros)
- `iptables` or `nftables` (for kill switch; prefers iptables when both are available)
- Rust 1.75+ (for building from source)
**Ubuntu/Debian:**
```bash
sudo apt install wireguard-tools openvpn iptables iproute2
```
**Fedora/RHEL:**
```bash
sudo dnf install wireguard-tools openvpn iptables iproute
```
**Arch Linux:**
```bash
sudo pacman -S wireguard-tools openvpn iptables iproute2
```
> **DNS detection** uses `resolvectl` (systemd-resolved) as the primary method, with `nmcli` (NetworkManager) and `/etc/resolv.conf` as fallbacks. Non-systemd distros (Alpine, Void, Gentoo OpenRC) will use the `/etc/resolv.conf` fallback automatically.
## Installation
**From crates.io (Recommended):**
```bash
cargo install vortix
```
**Quick install (Binary):**
```bash
**Static binary (Linux - works on any distro):**
Download the `x86_64-unknown-linux-musl` release from the [releases page](https://github.com/Harry-kp/vortix/releases). This is a fully static binary with no runtime dependencies.
**From source:**
```bash
git clone https://github.com/Harry-kp/vortix.git
cd vortix
cargo install --path .
```
Profiles are stored in `~/.config/vortix/profiles/` with `chmod 600`.
### Keybindings
| `Tab` | Cycle Focus (All Panels) |
| `1-9` | Connect to Quick-Slot 1-9 |
| `Enter` | Connect / Toggle Profile |
| `d` | Disconnect Active Session |
| `r` | Reconnect Active Session |
| `i` | Import Profile (Direct) |
| `v` | View Profile Configuration |
| `y` | Copy Public IP to Clipboard |
| `K` | Toggle Kill Switch (Shift+K) |
| `z` | Toggle Zoom View (Panel) |
| `x` | Open Action Menu (Contextual) |
| `b` | Open Bulk Menu |
| `Del` | Delete Profile (Sidebar) |
| `q` | Quit Application |
## How It Works
**Telemetry:** A background thread polls system network stats every second for throughput (macOS: `netstat -ib`, Linux: `/proc/net/dev`). Network quality (latency, jitter, loss) is calculated using multi-packet ICMP probes. Public IP, ISP, and Geo-location data are fetched via `ipinfo.io/json`.
**Security (Kill Switch & Leak Detection):**
- **Kill Switch:** Platform-native firewall integration. macOS uses PF (Packet Filter) via `pfctl`. Linux supports both `iptables` (with a dedicated `VORTIX_KILLSWITCH` chain) and `nftables` (with an atomic `vortix_killswitch` table) for clean teardown. Automatically blocks all non-VPN traffic when connection drops.
- **IPv6 Leak:** Active monitoring via `api6.ipify.org`. Any IPv6 traffic detected while VPN is active triggers a leak warning.
- **DNS Leak:** Monitors DNS configuration to ensure nameservers align with the secure tunnel (macOS: `scutil --dns` / `networksetup`, Linux: `resolvectl` / `nmcli` / `/etc/resolv.conf`).
**WireGuard Integration:** macOS resolves interface names via `/var/run/wireguard/*.name`. Linux uses kernel WireGuard interfaces directly (`wg0`, `wg1`, etc.). Both platforms parse `wg show` for handshake timing, transfer stats, and endpoint metadata.
**OpenVPN Integration:** Tracks session uptime and connection status via `ps` proc parsing. Interface detection uses `ifconfig` on macOS and `ip addr` on Linux.
### Platform Notes
| Kill switch | `pfctl` (PF) | `iptables` or `nftables` |
| Network stats | `netstat -ib` | `/proc/net/dev` |
| Interface detection | `ifconfig` + `/var/run/wireguard/` | `ip addr` + `wg show` |
| DNS detection | `scutil --dns`, `networksetup` | `resolvectl`, `nmcli`, `/etc/resolv.conf` |
| Default VPN iface | `utun0` | `wg0` |
| Tested distros | macOS 12+ | Ubuntu, Fedora, Arch |
## Development
```bash
cargo build # Build binary
cargo test # Run unit/integration tests
cargo clippy # Enforce code quality (Fail-fast via pre-commit)
```
## Featured In
- [Terminal Trove](https://terminaltrove.com/vortix/) — The $HOME of all things in the terminal
## Star History
[](https://star-history.com/#Harry-kp/vortix&Date)