{"slug": "asterisk", "name": "Asterisk", "category": "selfhosted", "category_name": "Self-hosted and home server", "description": "", "recommenders": 6, "commenters": 11, "warners": 1, "score": 5.161, "rising": -1.96, "first": "2025-11-17", "latest": "2026-05-18", "why": "Software wise, if you have a PBX line (which the telco will change for) you can run Asterix", "why_is_quote": true, "has_verdict": false, "sentiment": {"recommend": 6, "neutral": 4, "compare": 1, "warn": 1}, "spark": [1, 2, 0, 0, 1, 1, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0], "listed": true, "loved": [], "caveat": "", "short_quote": "Software wise, if you have a PBX line (which the telco will change for) you can run Asterix", "kind": "", "icon": true, "domain": null, "github_repo": "github.com/ast/wjmasterisk", "official_url": "https://www.asterisk.org", "pricing": "", "aliases": ["Asterisk"], "verdict": null, "praise": [{"label": "", "summary": "", "quotes": [{"id": 770905904, "item_id": 48181619, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48181619", "by": "bobowzki", "date": "2026-05-18", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I just put together my own phone exchange at home using Asterisk.", "excerpt": "Fun! I just put together my own phone exchange at home using Asterisk. It can be challenging to configure but LLMs can help a lot with this in my experience. https://github.com/ast/wjmasterisk", "context": "", "use_case": "Home phone exchange (PBX)", "switched_from": "", "story": "VoIP Brings Back Old-Fashioned Pay Phones to Rural Vermont"}, {"id": 762035857, "item_id": 47627241, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47627241", "by": "vladsanchez", "date": "2026-04-03", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "if you're a real PBX nerd, check Asterisk.org", "excerpt": "* FreeSwitch Messaging API - https://signalwire.com/pricing/messaging Can/will do the trick for fractions of a penny... B) Check their UseCases... * https://signalwire.com/products/cloud-messaging#message-use-case Also, if you're a real PBX nerd, check Asterisk.org which pre-dates and may have sparked if/not powered early-Twilio.", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "I Built an SMS Gateway with a $20 Android Phone \u2013 Jonno.nz"}, {"id": 759764560, "item_id": 47485285, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47485285", "by": "0xbadcafebee", "date": "2026-03-22", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "connect it to a Raspberry Pi with Asterisk, and any VOIP provider, to make your own PBX", "excerpt": "For the nerdy who might want to set up their own similar system for their kids, and let their kids pick any landline phone they want, you can get an ATA (Analog Telephone Adapter) on eBay for cheap, then connect it to a Raspberry Pi with Asterisk, and any VOIP provider, to make your own PBX. (https://www.littlebytesofpi.com/raspberrypihomephone/)", "context": "", "use_case": "self-hosted PBX", "switched_from": "", "story": "The hottest new phone is Tin Can, a 'landline' for kids"}, {"id": 742104659, "item_id": 46381541, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46381541", "by": "kwindla", "date": "2025-12-24", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "this Asterisk project looks really great", "excerpt": "One easy way to build voice agents and connect them to Twilio is the Pipecat open source framework. Pipecat supports a wide variety of network transports, including the Twilio MediaStream WebSocket protocol so you don't have to bounce through a SIP server. Here's a getting started doc.[1] (If you do need SIP, this Asterisk project looks really great.) Pipecat has 90 or so integrations with all the models/services peo", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Asterisk AI Voice Agent"}, {"id": 740976192, "item_id": 46311012, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46311012", "by": "pjc50", "date": "2025-12-18", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Software wise, if you have a PBX line (which the telco will change for) you can run Asterix", "excerpt": "It used to be possible to do this with a faxmodem; these days telephony is over IP, so there might be telco APIs for it. But, because it's a telco, that will be annoying and hidden. UK: OFCOM are phasing out the fax support requirement https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-and-broadband/telecoms-infrastructure/farewell-to-the-fax-machine (I slightly balked at the $5 initial price, but then realized: this is a desperation f", "context": "", "use_case": "PBX / phone system", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: Those making $500/month on side projects in 2025 \u2013 Show and tell"}]}], "caveats": [{"label": "", "summary": "", "quotes": [{"id": 762101088, "item_id": 47631318, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47631318", "by": "RulerOf", "date": "2026-04-03", "version": null, "stance": "warn", "quote": "the only module for Asterisk isn't up to the challenge (last I checked five years ago)", "excerpt": "I've wondered for a while if it would be possible to do that with a USB FXS adapter[1], and something like a Pi, but you'd basically need a soft modem of some kind to make it work and the only module for Asterisk isn't up to the challenge (last I checked five years ago). However, to be frank, it'd make more sense to do PPP over null modem with a straight serial connection. [1]: https://www.amfeltec.com/usb-fxs-adapte", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Build your own Dial-up ISP with a Raspberry Pi"}]}], "who": [], "tags": [], "use_cases": ["home phone exchange (pbx)", "diy phone system", "self-hosted pbx", "telephony for podcast clone", "voice-controlled call routing", "pbx / phone system"], "compared": [{"slug": "helm", "name": "Helm", "co": 2, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}, {"slug": "freeswitch", "name": "FreeSWITCH", "co": 2, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}], "makers": [], "threads": [{"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47454647", "title": "The hottest new phone is Tin Can, a 'landline' for kids", "mentions": 3}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48172505", "title": "VoIP Brings Back Old-Fashioned Pay Phones to Rural Vermont", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47627527", "title": "Build your own Dial-up ISP with a Raspberry Pi", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47621825", "title": "I Built an SMS Gateway with a $20 Android Phone \u2013 Jonno.nz", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47303111", "title": "Ask HN: What Are You Working On? (March 2026)", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47219667", "title": "Ask HN: Who wants to be hired? (March 2026)", "mentions": 1}], "sentiment_by_month": {"2025-11": {"recommend": 1}, "2025-12": {"recommend": 2}, "2026-01": {}, "2026-02": {"neutral": 1}, "2026-03": {"neutral": 3, "recommend": 1, "compare": 1}, "2026-04": {"recommend": 1, "warn": 1}, "2026-05": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-06": {}, "2026-07": {}, "2026-08": {}, "2026-09": {}, "2026-10": {}}, "versions": [], "version_unnamed": 0, "family_ref": null, "runs_on": null, "lines": [], "quotes": [{"id": 770905904, "item_id": 48181619, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48181619", "by": "bobowzki", "date": "2026-05-18", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I just put together my own phone exchange at home using Asterisk.", "excerpt": "Fun! I just put together my own phone exchange at home using Asterisk. It can be challenging to configure but LLMs can help a lot with this in my experience. https://github.com/ast/wjmasterisk", "context": "", "use_case": "Home phone exchange (PBX)", "switched_from": "", "story": "VoIP Brings Back Old-Fashioned Pay Phones to Rural Vermont"}, {"id": 762101088, "item_id": 47631318, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47631318", "by": "RulerOf", "date": "2026-04-03", "version": null, "stance": "warn", "quote": "the only module for Asterisk isn't up to the challenge (last I checked five years ago)", "excerpt": "I've wondered for a while if it would be possible to do that with a USB FXS adapter[1], and something like a Pi, but you'd basically need a soft modem of some kind to make it work and the only module for Asterisk isn't up to the challenge (last I checked five years ago). However, to be frank, it'd make more sense to do PPP over null modem with a straight serial connection. [1]: https://www.amfeltec.com/usb-fxs-adapte", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Build your own Dial-up ISP with a Raspberry Pi"}, {"id": 762035857, "item_id": 47627241, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47627241", "by": "vladsanchez", "date": "2026-04-03", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "if you're a real PBX nerd, check Asterisk.org", "excerpt": "* FreeSwitch Messaging API - https://signalwire.com/pricing/messaging Can/will do the trick for fractions of a penny... B) Check their UseCases... * https://signalwire.com/products/cloud-messaging#message-use-case Also, if you're a real PBX nerd, check Asterisk.org which pre-dates and may have sparked if/not powered early-Twilio.", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "I Built an SMS Gateway with a $20 Android Phone \u2013 Jonno.nz"}, {"id": 759864864, "item_id": 47491554, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47491554", "by": "rotaryfan2024", "date": "2026-03-23", "version": null, "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I built a DIY system like this using Asterisk", "excerpt": "I built a DIY system like this using Asterisk, Raspberry Pi, and a Grandstream ATA: https://github.com/cancio/rotary I based it on the instructions provided by this Show HN post: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39801991", "context": "", "use_case": "DIY phone system", "switched_from": "", "story": "The hottest new phone is Tin Can, a 'landline' for kids"}, {"id": 759838114, "item_id": 47489882, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47489882", "by": "drewsonian", "date": "2026-03-23", "version": null, "stance": "compare", "quote": "I like them better than anything Asterisk based right now.", "excerpt": "Check out FusionPBX or FreeSWITCH. Great options, I like them better than anything Asterisk based right now.", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "The hottest new phone is Tin Can, a 'landline' for kids"}, {"id": 759764560, "item_id": 47485285, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47485285", "by": "0xbadcafebee", "date": "2026-03-22", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "connect it to a Raspberry Pi with Asterisk, and any VOIP provider, to make your own PBX", "excerpt": "For the nerdy who might want to set up their own similar system for their kids, and let their kids pick any landline phone they want, you can get an ATA (Analog Telephone Adapter) on eBay for cheap, then connect it to a Raspberry Pi with Asterisk, and any VOIP provider, to make your own PBX. (https://www.littlebytesofpi.com/raspberrypihomephone/)", "context": "", "use_case": "self-hosted PBX", "switched_from": "", "story": "The hottest new phone is Tin Can, a 'landline' for kids"}, {"id": 756855680, "item_id": 47303480, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47303480", "by": "tombert", "date": "2026-03-08", "version": null, "stance": "neutral", "quote": "an excuse to learn a bit more about Asterisk and telephony stuff", "excerpt": "A few things. I've been on/off working on a Forth compiler for the NES. It will be open source soon enough but I'm not happy with the code right now as it's extremely messy, repetitive, and buggy, but I think it's turning out ok. I am resisting the urge to use Claude to do all the work for me, since that's depressing. I've also been working on a clone of the old podcasting website TalkShoe. It's nothing too complicat", "context": "", "use_case": "telephony for podcast clone", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: What Are You Working On? (March 2026)"}, {"id": 755540385, "item_id": 47221274, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47221274", "by": "The_Fox", "date": "2026-03-02", "version": null, "stance": "neutral", "quote": "Created a system to control calls in Asterisk with AI-trained voice commands", "excerpt": "Location: Kelowna area, BC, Canada Remote: Yep Willing to relocate: Nope Technologies: Linux, Kubernetes, Helm, Docker, Terraform, SaltStack, PostgreSQL, Redis, MongoDB, Nginx, Python, Django, apt packaging, iptables, VPNs, TCP congestion control algorithms (more than I ever wanted to know) R\u00e9sum\u00e9/CV: https://www.linkedin.com/in/foxmatthew/ Email: matt@tansen.ca I seek contract platform engineering projects. I can he", "context": "", "use_case": "voice-controlled call routing", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: Who wants to be hired? (March 2026)"}, {"id": 749991452, "item_id": 46874465, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46874465", "by": "The_Fox", "date": "2026-02-03", "version": null, "stance": "neutral", "quote": "Created a system to control calls in Asterisk with AI-trained voice commands", "excerpt": "Location: Kelowna area, BC, Canada Remote: Yes Willing to relocate: Nope Technologies: Linux, Kubernetes, Helm, Docker, Terraform, SaltStack, PostgreSQL, Redis, MongoDB, Nginx, Python, Django, apt packaging, iptables, VPNs, TCP congestion control algorithms (more than I ever wanted to know) R\u00e9sum\u00e9/CV: https://www.linkedin.com/in/foxmatthew/ Email: matt@tansen.ca I seek contract platform engineering projects. I can he", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: Who wants to be hired? (February 2026)"}, {"id": 742104659, "item_id": 46381541, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46381541", "by": "kwindla", "date": "2025-12-24", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "this Asterisk project looks really great", "excerpt": "One easy way to build voice agents and connect them to Twilio is the Pipecat open source framework. Pipecat supports a wide variety of network transports, including the Twilio MediaStream WebSocket protocol so you don't have to bounce through a SIP server. Here's a getting started doc.[1] (If you do need SIP, this Asterisk project looks really great.) Pipecat has 90 or so integrations with all the models/services peo", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Asterisk AI Voice Agent"}, {"id": 740976192, "item_id": 46311012, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46311012", "by": "pjc50", "date": "2025-12-18", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Software wise, if you have a PBX line (which the telco will change for) you can run Asterix", "excerpt": "It used to be possible to do this with a faxmodem; these days telephony is over IP, so there might be telco APIs for it. But, because it's a telco, that will be annoying and hidden. UK: OFCOM are phasing out the fax support requirement https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-and-broadband/telecoms-infrastructure/farewell-to-the-fax-machine (I slightly balked at the $5 initial price, but then realized: this is a desperation f", "context": "", "use_case": "PBX / phone system", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: Those making $500/month on side projects in 2025 \u2013 Show and tell"}, {"id": 735299313, "item_id": 45956207, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45956207", "by": "viraptor", "date": "2025-11-17", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Or a full server like Asterisk if you want to tunnel the audio as well.", "excerpt": "SIP doesn't care about numbers/letters. The username is pretty much opaque. You don't need a bare SIP stack implementation to achieve what you want. A simple proxy like opensips https://opensips.org/ that redirects the invites to some POTS gateway will be enough. Or a full server like Asterisk if you want to tunnel the audio as well. You will still have to learn quite a bit about the protocol / how these things work.", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "C++ implementation of SIP, ICE, TURN and related protocols"}]}