Active forks as of Feb 2022

[bnhf]

If you're wondering which of the 220+ forks in this repository are worth looking at, here are the ones that have commits ahead of adamwalach/openvpn-web-ui. Also, if you're looking for a version that supports TAP -- that's what my fork is all about:

https://github.com/bnhf/openvpn-tap-external-web-ui

[bnhf]

Also, for my own purposes I bookmarked the repos that appear useful (some of which I've already incorporated into my code base. The name of the repo owner with their primary contribution in parentheses:

[cyberb]

Hi @bnhf do you maintain your fork of this project?
Did you remove any feature?
I would like to push back my LDAP authentication feature I made on my fork, it was done for Syncloud (https://github.com/syncloud/openvpn) and is still part of it.

The real reason I came back is I want to upgrade OpenVPN/EasyRSA and I think keys/vars has different format now and UI may not work with it (still trying to package it)

[bnhf]

@cyberb My fork of this project is designed to interface with PiVPN running on the host, rather than OpenVPN running in a container. The WebUI still runs in a container. PiVPN is up-to-date with the latest OpenVPN, and will install on Debian and Ubuntu in addition to Raspbian (now called the Raspberry Pi OS I believe).

Since this concept would never be merged into the master, I've created a separate repository for it at:

https://github.com/bnhf/pivpn-tap-web-ui

Everything has been brought up-to-date, and a number of features have been added -- mostly based on enhancements created by others that have forked this original project. I wanted to have both TUN and TAP OpenVPN servers, and you can't do that with OpenVPN running in a container.

[cyberb]

@bnhf Syncloud actually is not running OpenVPN in a container. I guess PiVPN is similar to Syncloud which is an app store for devices like RPi, it has many apps and supports many devices. Does your fork support latest EasyRSA (v3+)?

[cyberb]

You actually support easyrsa3 nice!
bnhf@1189f54

Would you accept LDAP authentication feature?

[bnhf]

@cyberb -- my apologies, I'm haven't had occasion to use either Syncloud or LDAP. I'm not opposed to adding LDAP, but I'd appreciate a quick education from you on what it's all about.

Also, to clarify, my fork of this project is not the most up-to-date version. I've moved to the standalone repo referenced below, as my version moved in a notably different direction from the original work. My fork of this project and the repo are very similar, however I have not been updating them both -- only the repo.

https://github.com/bnhf/pivpn-tap-web-ui

[cyberb]

Syncloud (https://www.syncloud.org) is an app store for non-tech users to convert their hardeare into a personal cloud. It supports multiple devices and multiple apps like openvpn or nextcloud. LDAP is one of the ways to allow single sign on or at least same credentials across all apps.

I think it would be practical for someone just maintain this openvpn webui without docker and produce binaries for all major architectures (super easy for golang) so later you or me can take the binaries and configure them for docker, snap (syncloud) or plain use.
That way there will be less forks and more up to date code with single place for PRs and issues.

[m4heshd]

Syncloud (https://www.syncloud.org) is an app store for non-tech users to convert their hardeare into a personal cloud.

So pretty similar to Tipi? 🤔

[d3vilh]

I see lot of the people used this great project as the base to go FWD and add a lot of new features on top.
Someone have to merge everything in one main stream, so everyone will have benefit of done job.
Here is my fork features so far:

• Added support for ARM32v7 and ARM64v8 architecture (Raspberry Pi)
• Added support for Docker Compose
• EasyRSA 3.x
• Added support for Admin user and password creation via Docker environment variables
• New feature for downloading generated clients certificate as .OVPN file via WEB UI
• New feature for Certificates revocation via WEB UI
• New feature for Back-End OpenVPN container restart via WEB UI
• New feature for Static IP configuration for the clients via WEB UI (work in progress)

[m4heshd]

@d3vilh Make the Issues section open for your fork. That would allow people to interact and communicate with you, which leads to improvements and possibly becoming a candidate as a replacement for the upstream. Having the issues section closed is a huge reason for forks with good potential to die. I'm telling you this because your fork has pretty much everything I wanted a few months back.

[bnhf]

@m4heshd

As somebody else that's invested a fair amount of time updating this project, I'm curious -- what project did you end up using a few months back?

It's interesting how little exposure GitHub forks get -- especially with Google. I was actually looking for somebody else's project fork having to do with apcupsd recently, and as far as Google was concerned it didn't exist. Yet, I could access this fork without issue using its URL.

This original project gets an impressive amount of exposure when people are searching for a way to administer an OpenVPN server through a web user interface. However, since this project hasn't had any attention since 2017, it would be amazing if people could more easily find their way to work done by @d3vilh or @bnhf .

I recognized this a year ago, and have moved my fork to its own repository, which has helped. However as huge fan of open source, I do wonder how best to get the word out when a project like this has new developers pushing it forward, yet Google search results continue to point to the past.

[m4heshd]

@bnhf I'm currently using ovpn-admin and wg-easy. Been using them for months without issues. Pretty straightforward and fairly up-to-date.

However as huge fan of open source, I do wonder how best to get the word out when a project like this has new developers pushing it forward

From my personal experience, if you're picking up a discontinued fork, go with new branding and import the repo instead of forking it.

The reason why Google usually doesn't pick forks up is because of the repetitiveness that metadata might present. So fresh branding helps.

For announcing, I'd always recommend Reddit. Just pick the correct subs and get your message out there. I had a few original projects of mine that went bonkers viral and all of them learned to walk on Reddit. Good luck. 🤞🏽

[bnhf]

@m4heshd

Thanks for the advice. I've been thinking along related lines, and although when I started this project upgrade it was mostly for my own purposes, it's become more than that. Mostly because it took more time than I thought to bring it up-to-date, and fix what was broken. :-) Anyway, I've just officially renamed the project to openvpn-admin-plus, which more accurately reflects it's current form. And, as you suggested I'll roll it out on Reddit. Too many people have expended effort making the same modifications on this project, so it's time to establish a new beachhead! Cheers.

[m4heshd]

I started this project upgrade it was mostly for my own purposes, it's become more than that.

Pretty much how every FOSS project ever came to life. 😋

openvpn-admin-plus

Thoughtful name. Make sure to link the new repo here too.

Forgot to mention something important. If your project ever reaches a point where you think it needs to be in people's hands, reach out to tech journalists. Pick some popular tech news/blog outlets, find some popular articles in there, look into the respective authors and their socials and DM them with the details. You'll get a response if they're interested. You wouldn't believe how many times that has worked for me. Two of my projects literally blew up once the articles were published. It was insane how much popularity being published can bring.