@serve.zone/dcrouter
dcrouter is a TypeScript control plane for running a serious multi-protocol edge or datacenter gateway from one process. It wires together SmartProxy for HTTP/HTTPS/TCP routing, smartmta for email, smartdns for authoritative DNS and DNS-over-HTTPS, smartradius, smartvpn, remote ingress tunnels, a TypedRequest API, and the Ops dashboard.
Use it when you want one place to define routes, manage domains and certificates, protect internal services, automate changes over an API, and operate the whole stack from a browser.
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Why It Works
- 🌐 One runtime for HTTP/HTTPS/TCP, SMTP, authoritative DNS + DoH, RADIUS, VPN, and remote ingress.
- 🧠 Constructor config becomes system-managed routes, while API-created routes stay editable and clearly separated.
- 🔐 Certificates, DNS providers, domains, records, API tokens, access profiles, and protected routes live in one management plane.
- 🖥️ The OpsServer UI and TypedRequest API are first-class parts of the package, not an afterthought.
- ⚡ Qualifying HTTPS forward routes on port
443get HTTP/3 augmentation by default unless you opt out.
What You Get
| Area | What dcrouter does |
|---|---|
| HTTP / HTTPS / TCP | SmartProxy-based reverse proxying, TLS termination or passthrough, path/domain/port matching, TCP/SNI forwarding |
SMTP ingress and delivery via UnifiedEmailServer, route-based mail actions, email-domain management, queue and resend operations |
|
| DNS | Authoritative zones, nameserver bootstrap records, DNS-over-HTTPS routes on /dns-query and /resolve, provider-backed domain management |
| Access and Edge | VPN-gated routes, RADIUS auth/accounting, remote ingress edge registrations and tunnel hub support |
| Operations | Browser dashboard, TypedRequest API, route management, tokens, certificates, logs, metrics, and health views |
Installation
pnpm add @serve.zone/dcrouter
Quick Start
This example stays on unprivileged ports so you can run it locally without root.
import { DcRouter } from '@serve.zone/dcrouter';
const router = new DcRouter({
smartProxyConfig: {
routes: [
{
name: 'local-app',
match: {
domains: ['localhost'],
ports: [18080],
},
action: {
type: 'forward',
targets: [{ host: '127.0.0.1', port: 3001 }],
},
},
],
},
dbConfig: {
enabled: true,
},
opsServerPort: 3000,
});
await router.start();
After startup:
- open the dashboard at
http://localhost:3000 - log in with the current built-in credentials
admin/admin - send proxied traffic to
http://localhost:18080 - stop gracefully with
await router.stop()
Route Ownership Model
dcrouter keeps route ownership explicit so automation does not accidentally stomp on system-generated traffic.
| Route origin | Where it comes from | What you can do |
|---|---|---|
config |
Constructor smartProxyConfig.routes and related seed config |
View and toggle |
email |
Email listener and mail-routing derived routes | View and toggle |
dns |
Generated DoH and DNS-related routes | View and toggle |
api |
Created through the Ops UI or API client | Full CRUD |
Important details:
- system routes are persisted with stable
systemKeyvalues - DNS-over-HTTPS routes are persisted and then hydrated with live socket handlers at runtime
- editing and deletion are reserved for
apiroutes; system routes are toggle-only by design
Configuration Cheat Sheet
The main entrypoint is IDcRouterOptions.
| Option | Purpose |
|---|---|
smartProxyConfig |
Main HTTP/HTTPS and TCP/SNI routing config |
emailConfig |
Email hostname, ports, domains, and mail routing rules |
emailPortConfig |
External-to-internal email port remapping and received-email storage path |
tls |
ACME contact and static certificate paths |
dnsNsDomains |
Nameserver hostnames used for NS bootstrap and DoH route generation |
dnsScopes |
Domains served authoritatively by the embedded DNS server |
dnsRecords |
Static constructor-defined DNS records |
publicIp / proxyIps |
How A records are exposed for nameserver and service records |
dbConfig |
Embedded LocalSmartDb or external MongoDB-backed persistence |
radiusConfig |
RADIUS auth, VLAN assignment, and accounting |
remoteIngressConfig |
Remote ingress hub and edge tunnel setup |
vpnConfig |
VPN server and client definitions for protected route access |
http3 |
Global HTTP/3 behavior for qualifying HTTPS routes |
opsServerPort |
Ops dashboard and TypedRequest API port |
Important Behavior
dbConfig.enableddefaults totrue. If you do not providemongoDbUrl, dcrouter starts an embedded local database automatically.- If you disable the DB, constructor-driven traffic can still run, but DB-backed features such as persistent routes, tokens, ACME config, and managed domains do not start.
- Qualifying HTTPS forward routes on port
443get HTTP/3 by default unlesshttp3.enabled === falseor the route opts out. - DNS-over-HTTPS endpoints are generated on the first entry of
dnsNsDomainsat/dns-queryand/resolve. - Email listener ports are internally remapped by default, so common external ports such as
25,587, and465end up on internal ports like10025,10587, and10465. - Provider-backed domains can be managed in the Ops plane without being served by the embedded authoritative DNS server.
Bigger Example
import { DcRouter } from '@serve.zone/dcrouter';
const router = new DcRouter({
smartProxyConfig: {
routes: [
{
name: 'web-app',
match: {
domains: ['app.example.com'],
ports: [443],
},
action: {
type: 'forward',
targets: [{ host: '127.0.0.1', port: 8080 }],
tls: { mode: 'terminate', certificate: 'auto' },
},
},
{
name: 'internal-admin',
match: {
domains: ['internal.example.com'],
ports: [443],
},
action: {
type: 'forward',
targets: [{ host: '127.0.0.1', port: 9090 }],
tls: { mode: 'terminate', certificate: 'auto' },
},
vpnOnly: true,
},
],
},
emailConfig: {
hostname: 'mail.example.com',
ports: [25, 587, 465],
domains: [
{
domain: 'example.com',
dnsMode: 'internal-dns',
},
],
routes: [
{
name: 'inbound-mail',
match: { recipients: '*@example.com' },
action: {
type: 'forward',
forward: { host: 'mail-backend.example.com', port: 25 },
},
},
],
},
dnsNsDomains: ['ns1.example.com', 'ns2.example.com'],
dnsScopes: ['example.com'],
publicIp: '203.0.113.10',
vpnConfig: {
enabled: true,
serverEndpoint: 'vpn.example.com',
clients: [
{
clientId: 'ops-laptop',
description: 'Operations laptop',
},
],
},
dbConfig: {
enabled: true,
},
opsServerPort: 3000,
});
await router.start();
Automation
dcrouter gives you three good integration layers:
- the browser dashboard served by
OpsServer - raw TypedRequest contracts via
@serve.zone/dcrouter/interfaces - a higher-level OO API client via
@serve.zone/dcrouter/apiclientor@serve.zone/dcrouter-apiclient
OO API Client Example
pnpm add @serve.zone/dcrouter-apiclient
import { DcRouterApiClient } from '@serve.zone/dcrouter-apiclient';
const client = new DcRouterApiClient({
baseUrl: 'https://dcrouter.example.com',
});
await client.login('admin', 'admin');
const { routes } = await client.routes.list();
await client.routes.build()
.setName('api-gateway')
.setMatch({ ports: 443, domains: ['api.example.com'] })
.setAction({ type: 'forward', targets: [{ host: '127.0.0.1', port: 8081 }] })
.save();
if (routes[0] && routes[0].origin !== 'api') {
await routes[0].toggle(false);
}
See ./ts_apiclient/readme.md for the dedicated client package and ./ts_interfaces/readme.md for the raw contracts.
OCI / Container Bootstrap
The package also includes an environment-driven bootstrap used by runCli() when DCROUTER_MODE=OCI_CONTAINER.
import { runCli } from '@serve.zone/dcrouter';
await runCli();
Useful environment variables include:
DCROUTER_CONFIG_PATHDCROUTER_BASE_DIRDCROUTER_TLS_EMAILDCROUTER_TLS_DOMAINDCROUTER_PUBLIC_IPDCROUTER_PROXY_IPSDCROUTER_DNS_NS_DOMAINSDCROUTER_DNS_SCOPESDCROUTER_EMAIL_HOSTNAMEDCROUTER_EMAIL_PORTS
Published Modules
This repository ships several module boundaries from one codebase.
| Module | Purpose | Docs |
|---|---|---|
@serve.zone/dcrouter |
Main runtime and orchestrator | ./readme.md |
@serve.zone/dcrouter/interfaces |
Shared request and data contracts as a subpath export | ./ts_interfaces/readme.md |
@serve.zone/dcrouter/apiclient |
OO API client as a subpath export | ./ts_apiclient/readme.md |
@serve.zone/dcrouter-interfaces |
Standalone interfaces package | ./ts_interfaces/readme.md |
@serve.zone/dcrouter-apiclient |
Standalone OO API client package | ./ts_apiclient/readme.md |
@serve.zone/dcrouter-migrations |
Standalone migration runner package | ./ts_migrations/readme.md |
@serve.zone/dcrouter-web |
Standalone web dashboard package boundary | ./ts_web/readme.md |
Development
pnpm run build
pnpm test
Target a single test while working on one area:
tstest test/test.apiclient.ts --verbose
License and Legal Information
This repository contains open-source code licensed under the MIT License. A copy of the license can be found in the LICENSE file.
Please note: The MIT License does not grant permission to use the trade names, trademarks, service marks, or product names of the project, except as required for reasonable and customary use in describing the origin of the work and reproducing the content of the NOTICE file.
Trademarks
This project is owned and maintained by Task Venture Capital GmbH. The names and logos associated with Task Venture Capital GmbH and any related products or services are trademarks of Task Venture Capital GmbH or third parties, and are not included within the scope of the MIT license granted herein.
Use of these trademarks must comply with Task Venture Capital GmbH's Trademark Guidelines or the guidelines of the respective third-party owners, and any usage must be approved in writing. Third-party trademarks used herein are the property of their respective owners and used only in a descriptive manner, e.g. for an implementation of an API or similar.
Company Information
Task Venture Capital GmbH
Registered at District Court Bremen HRB 35230 HB, Germany
For any legal inquiries or further information, please contact us via email at hello@task.vc.
By using this repository, you acknowledge that you have read this section, agree to comply with its terms, and understand that the licensing of the code does not imply endorsement by Task Venture Capital GmbH of any derivative works.
