What is OpenWrt used for?

OpenWrt is a Linux operating system for embedded devices such as routers, with a writable filesystem and package management. It is a good fit for replacing vendor router firmware and building custom firmware for embedded hardware.

Is OpenWrt open source?

Yes. OpenWrt is open source under a custom licence. Its source code is on GitHub at openwrt/openwrt and is written mainly in C.

Yes. OpenWrt is open source, so the software itself is free to use under the terms of its own licence.

Can I self-host OpenWrt?

Yes. OpenWrt can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure; there is no official hosted version.

What is OpenWrt an alternative to?

OpenWrt is an open-source alternative to Cisco Meraki. Other open-source alternatives to Cisco Meraki include OPNsense and pfSense.

Is OpenWrt actively maintained?

Yes. The most recent commit to OpenWrt was on 2 October 2026, and the latest release is v25.12.5, published on 1 July 2026. The project has 29k stars on GitHub.

OpenWrt: open-source alternative to Cisco Meraki

About OpenWrt

OpenWrt is a Linux operating system targeting embedded devices, most often home routers. Rather than shipping one static firmware image, it provides a fully writable filesystem with package management. That frees you from the applications and configuration chosen by the device vendor, so you can customize the device with packages for almost any purpose. The code is written in C.

For developers, OpenWrt is a framework for building an application without creating a complete firmware around it. Prebuilt firmware images are published for numerous CPU architectures, each with a package set that suits a WiFi home router. The Firmware Selector helps you find a factory image for moving from vendor firmware, and the wiki has further downloads such as toolchains and SDKs. Building your own firmware needs GNU/Linux, BSD or macOS with a case-sensitive filesystem, and a feeds script pulls in package definitions. This GitHub repository is a mirror of the project's main git server and still accepts pull requests.

Key features

Linux firmware for routers and embedded devices
Writable filesystem with package management
Prebuilt images for many architectures
Firmware Selector for supported devices
Build system with feeds for package definitions
Toolchain and SDK downloads

Good fit for

→Replacing vendor router firmware
→Building custom firmware for embedded hardware

Built with: C
Tags: router; firmware; embedded; linux; networking; wifi; package-manager; openwrt

OpenWrt: questions and answers

What is OpenWrt used for?: OpenWrt is a Linux operating system for embedded devices such as routers, with a writable filesystem and package management. It is a good fit for replacing vendor router firmware and building custom firmware for embedded hardware.
Is OpenWrt open source?: Yes. OpenWrt is open source under a custom licence. Its source code is on GitHub at openwrt/openwrt and is written mainly in C.
Is OpenWrt free?: Yes. OpenWrt is open source, so the software itself is free to use under the terms of its own licence.
Can I self-host OpenWrt?: Yes. OpenWrt can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure; there is no official hosted version.
What is OpenWrt an alternative to?: OpenWrt is an open-source alternative to Cisco Meraki. Other open-source alternatives to Cisco Meraki include OPNsense and pfSense.
Is OpenWrt actively maintained?: Yes. The most recent commit to OpenWrt was on 2 October 2026, and the latest release is v25.12.5, published on 1 July 2026. The project has 29k stars on GitHub.