install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%

brew install tuntox

local Homebrew formula metadata

Linux

Nixverified · 92%

nix profile install nixpkgs#tuntox

nixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/tu/tuntox/package.nix · source: api.github.com

Arch Linux pacmanverified · 92%

sudo pacman -S tuntox

Arch Linux sync databases · tuntox · source: geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com

overview

Package summary

Tunnel TCP connections over the Tox protocol

Project links

Commands and aliases

tuntox

history

Project history and usage

tuntox is a small command-line networking tool for forwarding TCP connections over the Tox peer-to-peer protocol, aimed at reaching machines behind NAT or dynamic addresses without router port forwarding.

Project history

The project appeared publicly in December 2014 in the official GitHub repository. Its README framed it as early work in progress and described a single binary that can run in either server or client mode, with the server publishing a Tox ID and the client forwarding local ports to services behind that Tox identity.

The early releases developed the core tunneling workflow and added shared-secret authentication by version 0.0.4. Later official releases continued into 2021, while the README and FAQ kept the focus on practical NAT traversal, SSH-style local forwarding, and operational cautions around Tox connectivity and security.

Adoption history

tuntox stayed niche but was packaged beyond Homebrew. The supplied package metadata lists Homebrew, Nix, and Arch pacman entries, and the official FAQ lists additional distribution packaging such as Arch, Homebrew, NixOS, Pentoo, Void, and work-in-progress Debian packaging.

How it is used

A typical use is to run `tuntox` on a remote laptop, home machine, or Raspberry Pi behind NAT, save its Tox identity under `/etc/tuntox/` or a `-C` directory, and connect from another machine with an SSH-like `-L` forwarding rule.

Package-manager users mostly encounter it as a tiny tunnel binary: install it, run the server without root, then use local port forwarding or SSH `ProxyCommand` mode to reach a private service over the Tox overlay.

Why package nerds care

For package nerds, tuntox is interesting less as a mainstream remote-access product and more as a packaged example of the Tox ecosystem being used as infrastructure: a peer-to-peer overlay repurposed for TCP forwarding, NAT traversal, and occasional Tor/proxy-aware experiments.

Timeline

2014: GitHub repository created and 0.0.1 initial release published.
2015: 0.0.4 release introduced the shared-secret security mode documented in the README.
2018: FAQ documented relay-versus-UDP behavior and distro packaging status.
2021: 0.0.10 release published.

Related projects

Tox
c-toxcore
uTox
OpenSSH local port forwarding

Sources

GitHub API for gjedeer/tuntox: repository created 2014-12-11 and releases 0.0.1 through 0.0.10.
https://github.com/gjedeer/tuntox README: TCP forwarding over Tox, NAT-traversal use case, server/client mode, `/etc/tuntox/`, `-C`, `-L`, ProxyCommand, and security notes.
https://github.com/gjedeer/tuntox/blob/master/FAQ.md FAQ: Tox relay behavior, proxy/Tor support, Docker notes, and distribution package list.
source_facts.package-manager: Homebrew, Nix, and pacman package-manager presence.

security posture

Risk level: green

narrow executable package without higher-risk signals.

Risk classifier

green risk · low confidence · appliance

Why

narrow executable package without higher-risk signals

Signals

metadata:no-higher-risk-signals

Install behavior

No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 13 platform targets.
Installs with 1 runtime dependencies.
Build metadata lists 2 build dependencies.

Recommended review

Before unattended agent use, check whether the tool reads plaintext credentials, writes remote state, publishes artifacts, or shells out to plugins.

local files

Configuration and credential file locations

These source-backed paths show where this package keeps local settings or durable credentials. Automic Vault can use them as review targets for secret scanning, migration, and command approval.

Credential files

Credential-bearing paths to review before unattended agent runs.

Unix: /etc/tuntox/directory passed with -C

executables

Installed executables

Command	Kind	Exposure	Note
`tuntox`	cli	global executable

freshness

Version and freshness

These signals separate page generation age, package-manager activity, and upstream release comparison. Version lag is warned only when an evidence URL and comparable versions are present.

page generated2026-07-08

manager version0.0.10.1

manager updated

local dataok

upstreamnot checked

latest detectednot detected

https://github.com/gjedeer/tuntox

infoNo package-manager update timestamp was available.low confidence
infoNo cached GitHub release or tag data was available.https://github.com/gjedeer/tuntoxnone confidence

install metadata

Package metadata

Package key	brew:tuntox
Version	0.0.10.1
Package manager	Homebrew
Package manager page	https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/tuntox
Homepage	https://gdr.name/tuntox/
Repository	https://github.com/gjedeer/tuntox
Upstream docs	https://github.com/gjedeer/tuntox
License	GPL-3.0-only
Source archive	https://github.com/gjedeer/tuntox/archive/refs/tags/0.0.10.1.tar.gz
Dependencies	toxcore
Build dependencies	cscope, pkgconf
Bottle	available (on arm64_big_sur, arm64_linux, arm64_monterey, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, arm64_ventura, big_sur, catalina, monterey, sonoma, ventura, x86_64_linux)
Homebrew post-install	not defined
Service	none declared

registry facts

Source database details

Source Database	Homebrew formula API
Tap	homebrew/core
Full Name	tuntox
Version Scheme	0
Revision	0
Head Version	HEAD
Bottle Stable Root URL	https://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core
Deprecated	no
Disabled	no
Keg Only	no
URL Keys	head stable

source database matches

Other package-manager records

Matches are pulled from external package-manager indexes and kept separate from local Automic Vault package links.

Nix95%

tuntox

nix profile install nixpkgs#tuntox

normalized package name match
Matched by: Tuntox

nixpkgs package indexes · api.github.com · nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/tu/tuntox/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1

pacman95%

tuntox 0.0.10.1-2

Tunnel TCP connections over the Tox protocol

https://github.com/gjedeer/tuntox

sudo pacman -S tuntox

License: GPL3
Architecture: x86_64
1 dependencies
normalized package name match
Matched by: Tuntox

Arch Linux sync databases · geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com · Arch Linux sync databases: tuntox from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz

package graph

Links come from deterministic package relationships, av.db category and tag curation, ecosystem matches, and package hub membership.

source trail

Generated from repository data

This page is generated by av-web from the private package SQLite artifact built by scripts/generate-pkg-sqlite.py.

Combined YAML source

View the package source record on GitHub.

combined/tuntox.yml

Used sources

Geiger risk classifier
Nucleus package database
av.db category and tag curation
cross-ecosystem install command graph
curated configuration and credential file locations
curated package history
external package-manager database matches
package relationship graph
package version freshness
package-page enrichment

Install tuntox with Homebrew, Nix, pacman