iroh
Rust library that connects devices by public key over QUIC
Rust / Networking · Apache-2.0 · 12.8k
Reviewed 2026-10-17 · last push 2026-10-17 · repo checked 2026-10-19
What's Good
MIT OR Apache-2.0 (n0-computer/iroh), stable 1.x line with v1.3.0 released 2026-09-28. You get authenticated encryption, multiple streams with priorities and datagrams from QUIC. Ready-made protocols sit on top: iroh-blobs (BLAKE3 content-addressed transfer from kilobytes to terabytes), iroh-gossip (pub-sub overlays light enough for phones) and iroh-docs (an eventually consistent key-value store). The relay server and the DNS/Pkarr lookup server are in the same repo, so you can host the whole stack yourself. cargo add iroh to start. ★~12.7k.
The Catch
Rust first: other languages go through the separate iroh-ffi bindings, which trail the core (iroh-ffi v1.1.0, July 2026). The free public relays run by n0 are rate-limited, shared by everyone and come with no uptime guarantee — the project itself says they are for development and testing. For production you either run your own relay or pay for n0's hosted relays (Pro from $19/month, dedicated relays from $199/month per region). It is a connection library, not a VPN: if you just want your machines on one private network, Tailscale or NetBird is the simpler tool.
Verdict
The building block for local-first or P2P features in a Rust app — plan your own relay before you ship.
Embed
Maintainer? Add the badge to your README. It is free, links to this review, and there is no paid version.
Markdown
[](https://stackgems.com/gems/iroh)
HTML
<a href="https://stackgems.com/gems/iroh"><img src="https://stackgems.com/badge/iroh.svg" alt="iroh reviewed on Stack Gems" height="20"></a>