Install fastd with Homebrew, apk, apt, dnf, Nix, pacman

Project links

• Homepage
• Upstream docs
• Package manager page

Commands and aliases

• fastd

Project history

The upstream README and documentation describe fastd as the Fast and Secure Tunneling Daemon, supporting 1:1, 1:n, and meshed network topologies. It runs on Linux, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, and macOS, with Android code present but not actively maintained.

The stable documentation tracks releases from v15 through v23. v15 introduced Sphinx-based documentation, macOS support, UMAC authentication, status sockets, and OpenWrt integration improvements. Later releases added and refined L2TP offloading, security mitigations, build-system updates, and operational fixes.

fastd's cryptographic documentation emphasizes composable methods, with `salsa2012+umac` recommended for authenticated encryption and `null+salsa2012+umac` for authenticated-only operation. This shows the project's focus on fast software cryptography rather than simply wrapping generic TLS or IPsec stacks.

Adoption history

The official README says binary packages are provided by many major Linux distributions. The package-manager metadata for this Homebrew formula also shows availability across Alpine, Debian, Fedora, Nix, Arch, Ubuntu, and Homebrew, which fits fastd's role as a deployable networking daemon rather than an application framework.

fastd is particularly associated with community mesh and VPN deployments where simple UDP traversal, peer configuration, and distribution packaging matter. The v23 release notes explicitly discuss common Gluon wireless mesh firmware deployments when explaining which configurations were unaffected by a fast-reconnect amplification issue.

How it is used

A typical fastd deployment defines a daemon configuration with bind addresses, methods, secret keys, peers or peer directories, MTU settings, and hook scripts. Peers can be included from directories and reloaded on SIGHUP, which suits mesh-style deployments with many peer definitions.

Operators use fastd when they want a lightweight userspace VPN over UDP with configurable cryptographic methods and TUN/TAP behavior. The daemon can be run as part of routers, Linux servers, BSD hosts, or macOS test environments, with distribution packages handling service integration.

Why package nerds care

fastd is interesting to package maintainers because it lives at the boundary of networking, crypto libraries, init/service integration, capabilities, and platform-specific TUN/TAP behavior. Small changes in dependencies or build options affect what ciphers, MACs, status sockets, and offload paths are available.

It is also a reminder that not every VPN package wants the same abstraction. fastd's packaging matters to mesh-network communities because it is small, scriptable, and available in many distro repositories.

Timeline

• v15: Added Sphinx documentation, macOS support, UMAC methods, and status sockets.
• v20: Continued release series documented under stable fastd docs.
• v22: Added L2TP-style work later referenced by v23 security notes.
• v23: Mitigated CVE-2025-24356 fast-reconnect amplification behavior.

Related projects

• Gluon is referenced by fastd's release notes as a common wireless mesh firmware deployment context.
• TUN/TAP drivers and libraries such as libsodium, NaCl, OpenSSL, json-c, and libmnl appear in fastd's platform and feature surface.

Sources

• https://github.com/neocturne/fastd
• https://fastd.readthedocs.io/en/stable/
• https://fastd.readthedocs.io/en/stable/manual/config.html
• https://fastd.readthedocs.io/en/stable/manual/methods.html
• https://fastd.readthedocs.io/en/stable/releases/v15.html
• https://fastd.readthedocs.io/en/stable/releases/v23.html