Iroh
Open-source Rust library for direct, encrypted peer-to-peer QUIC connections with NAT hole punching.
Liked as a Rust library that gets devices behind NAT talking directly over encrypted peer-to-peer connections123, with a simple API that commenters have built side projects and production systems on.456 The most common caveats are that connectivity can still be unreliable in practice78 and that it is unclear how it differs from Tailscale.910
Why people recommend it
NAT traversal · 3
Connects machines behind NAT without port forwarding or a public IP.
“I'm most excited about https over iroh.”
“Now we can push directly to a shared repo running on an old computer behind NAT. All for free.”
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“I've also been using Iroh lately, it's pretty neat.”
Enables projects · 3
Many commenters credit it as the foundation for their own tools and apps.
“without iroh this project would have not been possible!”
“I love what people are building on iroh wow!”
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“It’s all Rust, on QUIC via iroh. All the tech we love and trust.”
Simple API · 3
The library is described as easy to use and quick to build reliable systems on.
“The API is simple and easy to use. It took no time to write a reliable system on top of Iroh.”
“Wiring up the iroh half went smoothly, very much enjoying working with the library.”
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Embeddable Tailscale · 3
Seen as Tailscale-style hole punching packaged as a library you build into apps.
“We use Iroh in production at work, and I'm absolutely in love with it.”
“we use the latter in production at work.”
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“powered by Iroh[2] which will replace the need for Tailscale”
Production use · 2
Some commenters run it in production at work and are very happy with it.
“We use Iroh in production at work, and I'm absolutely in love with it.”
“we use the latter in production at work.”
Caveats and dissent
Unreliable connectivity · 2
Stress testing found it only somewhat worked, and one user called its networking a constant pain.
“Cool stuff, we stress tested it a while ago and it somewhat worked.”
“the networking bit (using iroh, which is implemented in Rust) has been a constant pain that I have to keep returning to”
Unclear positioning · 2
Some found the marketing vague about what it does and how it differs from Tailscale.
“This just tells me that the marketing site doesn't explain what Iroh actually does.”
“This doesn't really make a lot of sense. Assuming this is true, its equally likely to be my gateway, or BGP peer IP that breaks.”
Transport limits · 2
LoRa is blocked by its datagram limit, custom transports are unfinished, and kernel WireGuard is faster for bulk throughput.
“I have been building few things on top of iroh past few weeks and I love it”
“But I might check this out for the transports part in particular.”
Python via FFI · 1
Python support goes through FFI, which did not fit one user's portable executable build.
“I am planning add Iroh into my daily used https P2P tool”
Relies on relays · 2
It depends on relay servers, which you can self-host, and one critic sees it as a workaround for NAT.
“Cool stuff, we stress tested it a while ago and it somewhat worked.”
“it's just a hack to get around problems that NAT has caused”
Often compared with
Who recommends it in their own words
From the makers not counted in the ranking
“We are able to saturate a 1 GiB link from a normal desktop PC or good phone”
“We wrote a small demo app called sendme to show off iroh.”
“That is also why we are relatively confident regarding encryption security. It is just TLS.”
“Iroh is a library that is made to embed into your application”
“If you work on native mobile apps or embedded devices, iroh will be better since it is pretty frugal.”
Threads where it came up
- Iroh 1.0 26 mentions
- Show HN: Flipflop – Iroh-powered persistent tunnels for filesharing 3 mentions
- Rayfish, Peer-to-peer mesh VPN with no server to trust 3 mentions
- If IPv4 were land 1 mention
- Disney Raising Prices Days After Confirming Ads Will Now Show Up on Every Tier 1 mention
- Show HN: deCDN – a peer-to-peer CDN where every piece is BLAKE3-verified 1 mention
Also written as iroh. Data: iroh.json. Quotes are verbatim; the verdict and theme labels are written by a model from these comments, and every clause links to its sources.
All comments 31
“it's just a hack to get around problems that NAT has caused”
“Not to mention Iroh is in the mix now too.”
“I've also been using Iroh lately, it's pretty neat.”
“I have been building few things on top of iroh past few weeks and I love it”
“It’s all Rust, on QUIC via iroh. All the tech we love and trust.”
“Cool stuff, we stress tested it a while ago and it somewhat worked.”
“I'm most excited about https over iroh.”
“the networking bit (using iroh, which is implemented in Rust) has been a constant pain that I have to keep returning to”
“iroh gives IPs under public key to who access your hosted session.”
“So this is somewhat similar to Iroh?”
“I really wish Moonlight would use Iroh.”
“I love what people are building on iroh wow!”
“powered by Iroh[2] which will replace the need for Tailscale”
“After the release of iroh v1 I decided to try out claude”
“without iroh this project would have not been possible!”
“Interesting to see this built on Iroh.”
“This just tells me that the marketing site doesn't explain what Iroh actually does.”
“Now we can push directly to a shared repo running on an old computer behind NAT. All for free.”
“The API is simple and easy to use. It took no time to write a reliable system on top of Iroh.”
“Wiring up the iroh half went smoothly, very much enjoying working with the library.”
“I've been drawing a lot of inspiration from Iroh”
“I am planning add Iroh into my daily used https P2P tool”
“This doesn't really make a lot of sense. Assuming this is true, its equally likely to be my gateway, or BGP peer IP that breaks.”
“I made this a while back because I want an easy way to throw together games for family game nights.”
“It's a great library.”
“I think this tech (modern p2p) represents what agent-to-agent (a2a) should be built on.”
“We use Iroh in production at work, and I'm absolutely in love with it.”
“we use the latter in production at work.”
“But I might check this out for the transports part in particular.”
“they use iroh which is an open source secure peer to peer relay service”
“Iroh is so sane, it can run directly on top of ipv4 itself and talk directly if possible but it can even break through nats”