NetBird - FOSS noconf Mesh VPN using Wireguard, alternative to ZeroTier, Tailscale, OmniEdge, Netmaker etc

[timconsidine]

Great work @marcusquinn

Will try to test it out, been wanting NetBird, currently running it on a separate VPS

I ran into similar issues about routing of traffic when I was packaging Agate+. But I don’t recall the solution (and may not be a solution) - will try to check it out.

[marcusquinn]

Related: https://forum.cloudron.io/topic/15109/tls-passthrough-option-for-apps-requiring-end-to-end-tls

[timconsidine]

Testing on a real Cloudron instance (I haven't done this yet -- the packaging is based on docs and the combined container architecture)

I don't know how this is possible - I always need to do multiple builds to get a working package.

I started building from @marcusquinn repo.
I needed to make some changes. Currently app builds and installs but have hit a circular dependency ("Catch-22") regarding authentication.

The Goal: Configure NetBird to use Cloudron's OIDC service as its Identity Provider.

The Problem:

1. Configuration requires Login: To add Cloudron OIDC as an IdP, I need to log in to the NetBird dashboard (or use the API, which requires a token).
2. Initial Login requires Embedded Dex: Since Cloudron OIDC isn't configured yet, I must use the embedded Dex IdP for the first login.
3. Embedded Dex Fails: The embedded IdP is configured strictly according to the "combined server" docs (v0.36+). The dashboard loads, redirects to the embedded auth flow, but fails at the final step:
   • POST /oauth2/token returns 401 Unauthorized .
   • Browser console shows: storage[oidc.login.default] is empty and Token request failed .
   • Logs show no specific server-side error, just the 401.

The Catch-22: I cannot log in (via embedded Dex) to configure the external IdP (Cloudron OIDC). I cannot configure the external IdP via files/env vars to bypass the broken embedded login.

I will try a hack to get past this.

[timconsidine]

Starting again, fresh start.
Will update.

[timconsidine]

Parking this for now - can't get past auth errors, even stripping out any OIDC and just using the embedded Dex user management.
Will resume at some point because Netbird is very cool, works well for me via separately-hosted docker compose, and would be good to have on Cloudron.
But other priorities push Netbird down the list.

[marcusquinn]

@timconsidine thanks for testing. Refactored so OICD is an optional extra, plus other changes to the whole approach. README should explain.

[timconsidine]

@marcusquinn I tried similar approach - simplify to just Netbird and embedded Dex. But that wasn't enough.
Will try again shortly with fresh brain.

[marcusquinn]

Added as a community app here:

• https://ca.cloudron.io/app/netbird

[sponch]

very cool. Just installed but do not get to the initial admin dashboard to make the admin account (neither with the installed URL Netbird.xyz.com nor with Netbird.xyz.coom/peers.
instead I get an error (There was an error logging you in.
Error: Unauthenticated).

[sponch]

@marcusquinn just saw that the stun port is already reserved an so not being used by netbird. Changing the port number doesn't help as the app doesn't keep it and deactivates it again after restarting the container.

(is there a way to find out which app uses that port in Cloudron? couldn't find it)

[marcusquinn]

@sponch Can you post issues to the github repo and any relevant info, please? My systems will pick them up, review, and patch. Sorry, I can maintain it, but rely on other user feedback in case there's things my setup solved but don't work yet for others.

If I can recommend a look, too, at my main ai harness invention: https://aidevops.sh, because it's really good at diagnosing issues and logging them to the git repo for then solving.