OSS TanbouOn this page
Overview
strongSwan implements IKEv2 and IPsec to encrypt host and site traffic. It combines certificate or shared-key authentication with swanctl connection configuration.
Features and best fit
Based on official documentation; not hands-on tested · Content checked:
Key features
Best fit
Before adoption
Validate privileges, routes, and peers in deployment
A real tunnel needs kernel IPsec support, network configuration, and usually administrative privileges. Certificate inspection does not prove connectivity, routing, or firewall passage. The repository is GPLv2 with some separately licensed code.
Official sources
- [1]strongSwan 6.1.0 README(2026-10-05)
- [2]strongSwan 6.1.0 release(2026-10-05)
- [3]swanctl.conf reference(2026-10-05)
- [4]pki --gen manual(2026-10-05)
- [5]pki --self manual(2026-10-05)
- [6]pki --issue manual(2026-10-05)
- [7]pki --print manual(2026-10-05)
- [8]strongSwan licensing(2026-10-05)
- [9]strongSwan GitHub metadata(2026-10-05)
Supplemental curator note
strongSwan fits teams that need certificate-based IPsec VPN configurations. Validate PKI artifacts in isolation, then confirm peers, routes, and privileges before touching a real network.
Try it in 3 steps
- 1
Verify the fixed release and pki
Requires Git and strongSwan pki. No VPN or firewall state is changed.
git clone --depth 1 --branch 6.1.0 https://github.com/strongswan/strongswan.git && cd strongswan && test -f src/pki/man/pki---gen.1.in && test -f src/pki/man/pki---issue.1.in && command -v pki >/dev/null - 2
Create an isolated demonstration CA
Generate an RSA key and self-signed CA in an owner-only temporary directory.
pki_demo_dir=$(mktemp -d "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/strongswan-pki.XXXXXX") && chmod 700 "$pki_demo_dir" && cd "$pki_demo_dir" && umask 077 && pki --gen --type rsa --size 3072 --outform pem > ca-key.pem && pki --self --ca --lifetime 3650 --in ca-key.pem --type rsa --dn "CN=OSS Tanbou Demo CA" --outform pem > ca-cert.pem - 3
Issue and inspect a host certificate
Create a 30-day host certificate and inspect subject and issuer. No tunnel is started.
pki --gen --type rsa --size 3072 --outform pem > host-key.pem && pki --req --in host-key.pem --type rsa --dn "CN=host.example.test" --san host.example.test --outform pem > host-req.pem && pki --issue --cacert ca-cert.pem --cakey ca-key.pem --type pkcs10 --in host-req.pem --lifetime 30 --flag serverAuth --outform pem > host-cert.pem && pki --print --in host-cert.pem | grep -F "CN=host.example.test" && pki --print --in host-cert.pem | grep -F "CN=OSS Tanbou Demo CA"
Growth
Growth trends · Last 30 days
2,997 Stars
Trend data is still being collected.
Development activity
Last 90 days · weekly
- Commits (last 30 days)
- 32
- Open PRs
- 69
Development activity is still being collected.
Built with
Categories and tags
Categories
GitHub data
GitHub dataView detailed GitHub data
GitHub Topics
- vpn
- strongswan
- ipsec
- ikev2
- vpn-client
- vpn-server
- Stars
- 2,997
- Forks
- 942
- Watchers
- 108
- Open issues
- 107
- Contributors
- 119
- Owner type
- Organization
- Primary language
- C
- License
- Not determined
- Repository last updated
- Oct 2, 2026
Related information
Write a related articleShare a guide or use case for this OSS in Markdown. Articles are published after administrator approval.
Explore next
- mitmproxy45,261 Stars
1 shared tag(s) · 2 shared category(s)
inspect HTTP, HTTP/2, WebSocket, and TLS traffic interactively and transform flows with scripts
Python - openssl30,891 Stars
1 shared tag(s) · 1 shared category(s) · Same language
Support TLS communication and cryptographic operations with libraries and commands
C - Semgrep16,884 Stars
1 shared tag(s) · 1 shared category(s) · Same language
Find bugs and policy violations across languages with code-like patterns
C - libsodium13,972 Stars
1 shared tag(s) · 1 shared category(s) · Same language
A portable cryptography library for encryption, signatures, and password hashing through approachable APIs
C - ClamAV7,322 Stars
1 shared tag(s) · 1 shared category(s) · Same language
scan files, archives, and mail with signature databases to detect viruses, trojans, malware, and other malicious content
C - RIOT5,807 Stars
1 shared tag(s) · 1 shared category(s) · Same language
Run soft real-time IoT workloads across many microcontrollers and network stacks
C
Report incorrect information
Tell us if any listing information is incorrect or outdated.