MeshBerth

Cross-Platform Desktop GUI for ZeroTier

MeshBerth is a cross-platform desktop GUI for managing ZeroTier nodes without relying on the command line. It gives you a clean, practical interface for the local zerotier-cli workflow — view service status, inspect node identity and version, join and leave networks, review assigned addresses, and manage client-side options like managed routes and DNS behavior — without memorizing commands, switching terminals, or parsing raw output.

The goal is simple: everything available through the ZeroTier client CLI should be reachable through an intuitive graphical interface. Today MeshBerth covers node status, network membership, peer visibility, route inspection, moon configuration, and client-side settings, with deeper diagnostics on the way (see Features for what ships now versus what's planned).

MeshBerth does not replace ZeroTier Central or controller-side administration. It focuses on the local client experience: the ZeroTier service, the current node, and the networks that node belongs to.

_{The dashboard — node status, connectivity, peers, and service control. See the full visual tour →}

At a glance

• One-window control panel for the local ZeroTier service, plus a system tray icon showing connection state with quick per-network disconnect.
• Friction-free setup — a short first-run wizard detects ZeroTier, can start the service, and grants MeshBerth read access to the node, mostly automated with at most one elevated prompt per step.
• Direct to the service — talks to the local ZeroTier JSON API the same way zerotier-cli does; no output scraping.
• Lightweight — a Tauri 2 (Rust) backend with a Svelte 5 frontend; small binaries, low memory, native OS webview.

Features

Available now (v1.0):

• First-run setup wizard (detect ZeroTier, start the service, grant token access)
• Dashboard — node ID, online status, version, and service start / stop / restart
• Networks — join and leave, per-network detail (assigned addresses, managed routes, DNS), the four client-side toggles (allowManaged, allowGlobal, allowDefault, allowDNS), and an instant keyword filter, with optimistic UI updates so toggles settle immediately instead of waiting for the next poll
• Looking Glass — every managed route across all joined networks, split by IPv4/IPv6, with sortable columns and an instant keyword filter
• Advanced — node connectivity settings (primary/secondary ports, UPnP/NAT-PMP port mapping, TCP fallback relay, force TCP relay), applied via an elevated, merge-safe local.conf edit and service restart
• Peers — reachable nodes with role (planet/moon/leaf), latency, and direct/relayed paths, read-only, with an instant keyword filter
• Moons — list, orbit, and deorbit external ZeroTier roots via the local /moon API, no elevation required
• Light and dark theming, following the system by default with a manual override in Settings
• Settings — adaptive refresh intervals
• About — version, license, and a plain-language summary of what MeshBerth touches (and doesn't)
• System tray with connection state, quick disconnect, close-to-tray, and a status-aware icon (online/degraded/offline)
• Start on login, start hidden, and desktop notifications for node/network events — all off by default, configurable in Settings

Planned: debug dumps, a raw API inspector, Flatpak, and Windows / macOS installers. See doc/FEATURES.md for the full feature list, release phasing, and the zerotier-cli → MeshBerth parity map.

Status & platforms

MeshBerth 1.0 is Linux-first: the build targets are AppImage, .deb, and .rpm. Windows and macOS support is planned for a later release.

Prerequisite: MeshBerth manages the ZeroTier service and node but does not install ZeroTier itself. Install ZeroTier One first; the setup wizard handles the rest.

Installation

Install from the apt/dnf package repository (recommended — you get updates), or grab a standalone AppImage / .deb / .rpm attached to each Forgejo release and verify it against the release's SHA256SUMS/SHA512SUMS. You can also build from source (below). Full details in doc/INSTALLATION.md.

Building from source

MeshBerth uses a containerized build environment, so the whole toolchain lives in an image and nothing is installed on your host — you only need Podman (or Docker):

git clone https://git.jdneer.com/jd/meshberth.git
cd meshberth
scripts/in-container.sh bash -c 'npm ci && npm run tauri build -- --bundles deb'

Run the full local check battery (the same gates CI runs) with:

scripts/ci-local.sh          # prints "all gates green ✓" on success

See doc/BUILD.md for the complete build, test, and dev-run guide.

Documentation

Document	What's inside
Visual Tour	Screenshots of every screen
Features	Feature list, release phasing, zerotier-cli parity map
Installation	Installing MeshBerth (Linux packages, from source)
First-Run Setup	The setup wizard and how MeshBerth gains service access
ZeroTier Integration	Per-platform service start, token bootstrap, and elevation (polkit/D-Bus)
Privilege Elevation	The elevation mechanism itself: command shapes, polkit/D-Bus chain, injection safety, exit-code mapping
Configuration	Settings, adaptive polling, persistence
Troubleshooting	Connection states and common problems
Architecture	How the app is built: layers, modules, data flow
Tech Stack	Technology choices and rationale
ZeroTier Service API	The local ZeroTier API MeshBerth consumes
Theming	Design tokens, the light/dark switch, and the theme setting
Build	Building and running from source
Contributing	Development workflow, CI, conventions
Dev Guidelines	Coding standards: docs, linting, security, testing
Dependency Policy	Supply-chain and pinning policy
Release Process	How releases are cut
Roadmap	What might come next, and why

License

MIT — see LICENSE.