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Self-hosted Cloudflare + VPN replacement! Pangolin Tutorial

Networking Security Self-Hosting

Self-hosted Cloudflare + VPN replacement! Pangolin Tutorial

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Video write-up

In this video, I show you how to set up Pangolin, a powerful open-source platform that combines a reverse proxy and VPN into a single ZTNA solution. We'll go through the complete installation process, connect a remote site, and securely publish both public and private services, creating a self-hosted alternative to Cloudflare and traditional VPNs.

Architecture Overview

Pangolin is composed of several key components that work together:

  • Pangolin Server: The central control plane with the web dashboard, API, and management system. It coordinates connections, manages access policies, and stores configurations.

  • Traefik: The underlying reverse proxy that handles HTTP/HTTPS routing, SSL termination, and Let’s Encrypt certificate management.

  • Badger: A required Traefik middleware plugin that intercepts requests and authenticates them with the Pangolin server before granting access.

  • Gerbil: Manages the WireGuard tunnels between your remote sites and the Pangolin server. This is optional and only required for tunneling features.

  • Newt: The lightweight software connector that runs on your remote networks (Sites). It establishes a WireGuard tunnel back to Gerbil to proxy local resources.

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