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wtf is zapret?

bol-van/zapret — explained in plain English

Analysis updated 2026-06-24

★ 15,243CAudience · ops devopsComplexity · 4/5Setup · hard

TL;DR

A multi-platform command-line tool written in C that bypasses Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) filtering to access blocked sites on Linux, macOS, BSD, and OpenWrt routers.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((zapret))
    Inputs
      Network traffic
      User filter rules
    Outputs
      Unblocked connections
      Modified packets
    Use Cases
      Bypass ISP blocks
      Access censored sites
      Run on home router
    Tech Stack
      C
      Linux netfilter
      OpenWrt
      BSD pf

Code map

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filefunction / class

Why would anyone build with this?

REASON 1

Install on a Linux box to access sites blocked by an ISP using DPI.

REASON 2

Flash onto an OpenWrt router so every device on the home network bypasses filtering.

REASON 3

Run on FreeBSD or OpenBSD as a packet-level circumvention layer.

What's in the stack?

CLinuxOpenWrtFreeBSDOpenBSDmacOS

How it stacks up

bol-van/zapretzephyrproject-rtos/zephyrgojue/ecapture
Stars15,24315,24215,163
LanguageCCC
Setup difficultyhardhardhard
Complexity4/55/54/5
Audienceops devopsdeveloperops devops

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you spin it up?

Difficulty · hard Time to first run · 1h+

Requires root, kernel firewall hooks (nftables/iptables/pf), and per-platform configuration of filter rules.

Wtf does this do

Based on the description and topics, this appears to be a multi-platform tool for bypassing DPI (Deep Packet Inspection), a technique used by internet service providers and governments to monitor or block specific types of internet traffic. The tool targets censorship circumvention and supports Linux, macOS, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, and OpenWrt (a common operating system for home routers). It is written in C and is tagged with topics including anti-dpi and russian, suggesting it is used in contexts where internet filtering is prevalent. The README does not provide further detail.

Yoink these prompts

Prompt 1
Walk me through installing zapret on Ubuntu and configuring it to bypass DPI for a specific blocked domain.
Prompt 2
How do I deploy zapret on an OpenWrt router so all devices on my LAN benefit from DPI circumvention?
Prompt 3
Compare zapret to GoodbyeDPI and explain when I would pick one over the other for Linux.
Prompt 4
Show me how to write custom hostlist and ipset rules for zapret to target only specific blocked services.
Prompt 5
Help me debug why zapret is not bypassing DPI on my FreeBSD box and what pf rules to check.

Frequently asked questions

wtf is zapret?

A multi-platform command-line tool written in C that bypasses Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) filtering to access blocked sites on Linux, macOS, BSD, and OpenWrt routers.

What language is zapret written in?

Mainly C. The stack also includes C, Linux, OpenWrt.

How hard is zapret to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated hard, with roughly 1h+ to a first successful run.

Who is zapret for?

Mainly ops devops.

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