AdGuard Home

AdGuard Home at a glance

AdGuard Home is a popular open-source network-wide ad and tracker blocker that acts as a DNS server, an alternative to Pi-hole common in homelabs. AdGuard Home ships regular releases plus security fixes; as a DNS server the whole network relies on, keeping it current and access-controlled matters.

For admins updates run through the built-in updater or by swapping the binary/container — back up the configuration first. The admin web interface must not be exposed to the internet — keep it on the internal network behind authentication. Because AdGuard Home sits in the DNS path for every device, an outage or compromise affects everything — treat it as infrastructure, keep a fallback resolver, and back up settings and filter lists. It supports encrypted DNS (DoH/DoT), a privacy plus worth configuring. After updating, verify that DNS resolution and blocking still work. Track releases; patchletter surfaces new AdGuard Home versions.