{"id":20259429,"url":"https://github.com/defguard/docs","last_synced_at":"2026-03-09T04:07:07.691Z","repository":{"id":65039771,"uuid":"496931532","full_name":"DefGuard/docs","owner":"DefGuard","description":null,"archived":false,"fork":false,"pushed_at":"2026-02-27T12:33:49.000Z","size":98800,"stargazers_count":5,"open_issues_count":8,"forks_count":8,"subscribers_count":2,"default_branch":"docs","last_synced_at":"2026-02-27T14:06:32.182Z","etag":null,"topics":[],"latest_commit_sha":null,"homepage":null,"language":null,"has_issues":true,"has_wiki":null,"has_pages":null,"mirror_url":null,"source_name":null,"license":null,"status":null,"scm":"git","pull_requests_enabled":true,"icon_url":"https://github.com/DefGuard.png","metadata":{"files":{"readme":"README.md","changelog":null,"contributing":null,"funding":null,"license":null,"code_of_conduct":null,"threat_model":null,"audit":null,"citation":null,"codeowners":null,"security":null,"support":"support.md","governance":null,"roadmap":null,"authors":null,"dei":null,"publiccode":null,"codemeta":null,"zenodo":null,"notice":null,"maintainers":null,"copyright":null,"agents":null,"dco":null,"cla":null}},"created_at":"2022-05-27T09:10:33.000Z","updated_at":"2025-10-17T09:33:13.000Z","dependencies_parsed_at":"2023-02-17T22:30:33.941Z","dependency_job_id":"f659b91c-8dd5-4bce-84e8-3ed38e82e5db","html_url":"https://github.com/DefGuard/docs","commit_stats":null,"previous_names":[],"tags_count":0,"template":false,"template_full_name":null,"purl":"pkg:github/DefGuard/docs","repository_url":"https://repos.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/hosts/GitHub/repositories/DefGuard%2Fdocs","tags_url":"https://repos.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/hosts/GitHub/repositories/DefGuard%2Fdocs/tags","releases_url":"https://repos.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/hosts/GitHub/repositories/DefGuard%2Fdocs/releases","manifests_url":"https://repos.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/hosts/GitHub/repositories/DefGuard%2Fdocs/manifests","owner_url":"https://repos.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/hosts/GitHub/owners/DefGuard","download_url":"https://codeload.github.com/DefGuard/docs/tar.gz/refs/heads/docs","sbom_url":"https://repos.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/hosts/GitHub/repositories/DefGuard%2Fdocs/sbom","scorecard":null,"host":{"name":"GitHub","url":"https://github.com","kind":"github","repositories_count":286080680,"owners_count":30282715,"icon_url":"https://github.com/github.png","version":null,"created_at":"2022-05-30T11:31:42.601Z","updated_at":"2026-03-09T02:57:19.223Z","status":"ssl_error","status_checked_at":"2026-03-09T02:56:26.373Z","response_time":61,"last_error":"SSL_read: unexpected eof while reading","robots_txt_status":"success","robots_txt_updated_at":"2025-07-24T06:49:26.215Z","robots_txt_url":"https://github.com/robots.txt","online":false,"can_crawl_api":true,"host_url":"https://repos.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/hosts/GitHub","repositories_url":"https://repos.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/hosts/GitHub/repositories","repository_names_url":"https://repos.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/hosts/GitHub/repository_names","owners_url":"https://repos.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/hosts/GitHub/owners"}},"keywords":[],"created_at":"2024-11-14T11:14:39.397Z","updated_at":"2026-03-09T04:07:06.306Z","avatar_url":"https://github.com/DefGuard.png","language":null,"funding_links":[],"categories":[],"sub_categories":[],"readme":"---\nicon: hand-wave\n---\n\n# Introduction\n\n{% embed url=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PF7edMGBwk\" %}\n\n## What is Defguard?\n\nDefguard is a **comprehensive Remote Access Management solution** incorporating in one solution:\n\n* True Zero-Trust [WireGuard® VPN with 2FA/Multi-Factor Authentication](admin-and-features/features-and-configuration/wireguard/),\n* Identity Management with [SSO based on OpenID Identity Provider](admin-and-features/features-and-configuration/openid-connect/),\n* Account Lifecycle management with [secure remote account onboarding](help/enrollment/).\n\n***\n\n\u003cmark style=\"color:purple;\"\u003e**Our primary focus at defguard is on prioritizing security. Then, we aim to make this challenging topic both useful and as easy to navigate as possible.**\u003c/mark\u003e\n\n***\n\nDefguard is a true Zero-Trust [WireGuard® VPN with 2FA/Multi-Factor Authentication](admin-and-features/features-and-configuration/wireguard/), as each connection requires MFA (and not only when logging in into the client application like other solutions):\n\n\u003cfigure\u003e\u003cimg src=\".gitbook/assets/zero-trust.png\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003cfigcaption\u003e\u003c/figcaption\u003e\u003c/figure\u003e\n\nHaving said that, this security platform is for building **secure** and **privacy-aware organizations,** as we put great effort not only on functionality but first and foremost on secure code, architecture and testing (application and security).\n\n### Basic security concept\n\nThe main architecture concept is that **all critical data should be in the internal (Intranet) network and not exposed in the public Internet** (contrary to typical and common cloud approach) and only services that need to be exposed to the Internet - should be exposed in a controled (DMZ) network segments:\n\n\u003cfigure\u003e\u003cimg src=\".gitbook/assets/security-basic.png\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003cfigcaption\u003e\u003cp\u003eInternet, DMZ \u0026#x26; Internal network segments\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/figcaption\u003e\u003c/figure\u003e\n\nThis approach is **vastly different from most (if not all) VPN/IdP solutions**, which are a simple or monolithic applications focus on functionalities and most of the time is publicly available in the Internet for any attacker to exploit.\n\nOf course you can deploy defguard in a typical scenario (all services on one server and even all publicly available) - but that should be **for you to decide!**\n\n### Incorporating IdP and VPN in one solution\n\nIncorporating IDM, ALM, VPN has also other advantages:\n\n1. Internal IdP with 2FA/MFA enables us to provide [**real VPN 2FA/MFA**](admin-and-features/features-and-configuration/wireguard/multi-factor-authentication-mfa-2fa/architecture.md) - and not like most applications just 2FA when opening the app (and not during the connection process). Even if you use [external OIDC](enterprise/all-enteprise-features/external-openid-providers/) (Google/Microsoft/Custom - which defguard supports), we still use our internal IdP for 2FA/MFA.\n2. Your organization may use just **one account** (login) for access control to all your applications as well as VPN.\n3. It simplifies deployment, maintenance, audits.\n\nMore about [defguard's architecture and security can be found here](in-depth/architecture/).\n\n## Features\n\n### Remote Access with WireGuard® VPN 2FA/MFA:\n\n* [**Multi-Factor Authentication**](admin-and-features/features-and-configuration/wireguard/multi-factor-authentication-mfa-2fa/) using our [desktop client](https://defguard.net/client)\n* **multiple VPN Locations** (networks/sites) - with defined access (all users or only Admin group)\n* multiple [Gateways](https://github.com/DefGuard/gateway) for each VPN Location ([**high availability/failove**](admin-and-features/setting-up-your-instance/high-availability-and-failover.md)**r**) - supported on a cluster of routers/firewalls for Linux, FreeBSD/PFSense/OPNSense\n* import your current WireGuard server configuration (with a wizard!)\n* _easy_ device setup by users themselves (self-service)\n* automatic IP allocation\n* kernel (Linux, FreeBSD/OPNSense/PFSense) \u0026 userspace WireGuard support\n* dashboard and statistics overview of connected users/devices for admins\n\n_defguard is not an official WireGuard project, and WireGuard is a registered trademark of Jason A. Donenfeld._\n\n### Identity Management:\n\n* #### [OpenID Connect](https://openid.net/developers/how-connect-works/) based SSO\n* External [OpenID providers for login/account creation (Google/Microsoft/Custom)](enterprise/all-enteprise-features/external-openid-providers/)\n* LDAP (tested on [OpenLDAP](https://www.openldap.org/)) synchronization\n* nice UI to manage users\n* Users **self-service** (besides typical data management, users can revoke access to granted apps, MFA, Wireguard, etc.)\n\n#### [Multi-Factor/2FA](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multi-factor_authentication) Authentication\n\n* [Time-based One-Time Password Algorithm](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time-based_one-time_password) (TOTP - e.g. Google Authenticator)\n* WebAuthn / FIDO2 - for hardware key authentication support (eg. YubiKey, FaceID, TouchID, ...)\n* Email tokens\n\n### Account Lifecycle Management:\n\n* Secure remote (over the internet) [user enrollment](https://defguard.gitbook.io/defguard/help/remote-user-enrollment)\n* User [onboarding after enrollment](https://defguard.gitbook.io/defguard/help/remote-user-enrollment/user-onboarding-after-enrollment)\n* Self-service for password reset\n\n### Yubikey Provisioning\n\n[Yubikey hardware keys](https://www.yubico.com/) provisioning for users with _one click_\n\n### Integrations\n\nWebhooks \u0026 REST API\n\nBuild with [Rust](https://www.rust-lang.org/) for portability, security, and speed\n\n### Pentested!\n\n**Checked by professional security researchers** (see [comprehensive security report](https://defguard.net/pdf/isec-defguard.pdf))\n\n## Guides: Jump right in\n\nFollow our handy guides to get started on the basics as quickly as possible:\n\n{% content-ref url=\"features/setting-up-your-instance/\" %}\n[setting-up-your-instance](features/setting-up-your-instance/)\n{% endcontent-ref %}\n\n{% content-ref url=\"admin-and-features/features-and-configuration/wireguard/create-your-vpn-network.md\" %}\n[create-your-vpn-network.md](admin-and-features/features-and-configuration/wireguard/create-your-vpn-network.md)\n{% endcontent-ref %}\n\n{% content-ref url=\"admin-and-features/features-and-configuration/ldap-synchronization-setup/\" %}\n[ldap-synchronization-setup](admin-and-features/features-and-configuration/ldap-synchronization-setup/)\n{% endcontent-ref %}\n\n{% content-ref url=\"admin-and-features/features-and-configuration/webhooks.md\" %}\n[webhooks.md](admin-and-features/features-and-configuration/webhooks.md)\n{% endcontent-ref %}\n\n{% content-ref url=\"help/desktop-client.md\" %}\n[desktop-client.md](help/desktop-client.md)\n{% endcontent-ref %}\n\n## Fundamentals: Dive a little deeper\n\nLearn the fundamentals of Defguard to get a deeper understanding of our main features:\n\n{% content-ref url=\"in-depth/architecture/\" %}\n[architecture](in-depth/architecture/)\n{% endcontent-ref %}\n","project_url":"https://awesome.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/projects/github.com%2Fdefguard%2Fdocs","html_url":"https://awesome.ecosyste.ms/projects/github.com%2Fdefguard%2Fdocs","lists_url":"https://awesome.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/projects/github.com%2Fdefguard%2Fdocs/lists"}