https://github.com/mirage/charrua
A DHCP library in OCaml
https://github.com/mirage/charrua
dhcp-library dhcp-server mirage ocaml unikernel
Last synced: 4 months ago
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A DHCP library in OCaml
- Host: GitHub
- URL: https://github.com/mirage/charrua
- Owner: mirage
- License: isc
- Created: 2015-04-06T00:32:59.000Z (about 11 years ago)
- Default Branch: main
- Last Pushed: 2026-02-12T09:16:37.000Z (5 months ago)
- Last Synced: 2026-02-12T18:12:38.206Z (5 months ago)
- Topics: dhcp-library, dhcp-server, mirage, ocaml, unikernel
- Language: OCaml
- Homepage: http://mirage.github.io/charrua/
- Size: 1.89 MB
- Stars: 60
- Watchers: 22
- Forks: 19
- Open Issues: 4
-
Metadata Files:
- Readme: README.md
- Changelog: CHANGES.md
- License: LICENSE.md
Awesome Lists containing this project
README
## Charrua DHCP - a DHCP client, server and wire frame encoder and decoder
[](https://mirage.github.io/charrua/)
[charrua](http://www.github.com/mirage/charrua) is an
_ISC-licensed_ DHCP library implementation in OCaml.
It provides the following packages:
- charrua: a library that handles wire traffic parsing
- charrua-server: a DHCP server implementation
- charrua-client: a library for handling DHCP client state and messages
- charrua-unix: a Unix DHCP server implementation
### Charrua
The name `charrua` is a reference to the, now extinct, semi-nomadic people of
southern South America.
Charrua consists of the single module `Dhcp_wire` responsible for parsing and
constructing DHCP messages,
You can browse the API for [charrua](https://www.github.com/mirage/charrua) at
https://mirage.github.io/charrua/
#### Features
* `Dhcp_wire` provides marshalling and unmarshalling utilities for DHCP, it is the
base for `Dhcp_server`.
* Logic/sequencing is agnostic of IO and platform, so it can run on Unix as a
process, as a Mirage unikernel or anything else.
* All DHCP options are supported at the time of this writing.
* Code is purely applicative.
* It's in OCaml, so it's pretty cool.
### Charrua-server
The module `Dhcp_server` supports a stripped down ISC `dhcpd.conf`, so you can
probably just use your old `dhcpd.conf`. It also supports manual configuration
building in OCaml.
[dhcp](https://github.com/mirage/mirage-skeleton/tree/master/applications/dhcp)
is a [MirageOS](https://mirage.io) DHCP unikernel server based on charrua,
included as a part of the MirageOS unikernel example and starting-point
repository.
### Charrua-client
charrua-client is a DHCP client powered by [charrua](https://github.com/mirage/charrua).
The base library exposes a simple state machine in `Dhcp_client`
for use in acquiring a DHCP lease.
`charrua-client-lwt` extends `charrua-client` with a functor `Dhcp_client_lwt`,
using the provided modules for timing and networking logic,
for convenient use by a program which might wish to implement a full client.
`charrua-client-mirage` exposes an additional `Dhcp_client_mirage` for direct use
with the [MirageOS library operating system](https://github.com/mirage/mirage).
### Charrua-unix Server
charrua-unix is an _ISC-licensed_ Unix DHCP daemon based on
[charrua](http://www.github.com/mirage/charrua).
#### Features
* Supports a stripped down ISC dhcpd.conf. A configuration sample can be found
[here](https://github.com/mirage/charrua/blob/master/sample/dhcpd.conf)
* Privilege dropping: the daemon doesn't run as root.
* Almost purely-functional code.
* Support for multiple interfaces/subnets.
Try `charruad --help` for options.
This project became one of the [Mirage Pioneer](https://github.com/mirage/mirage-www/wiki/Pioneer-Projects)
projects.