docker Gluetun Companion: self-hosted dashboard for Gluetun/AirVPN server benchmarking and switching

[Aerya 1]

Hello everyone,

I built Gluetun Companion, a self-hosted web dashboard for people running VPN through Gluetun in Docker/homelab setups (UNRAiD friendly), with dedicated AirVPN options.

Its purpose is to make choosing and maintaining VPN servers less manual. It benchmarks configured servers through the VPN tunnel, keeps a history of throughput, latency, jitter, packet loss and DNS latency, then helps select or rotate to the most suitable server.

It also includes:
- AirVPN server catalogue and live load information,
- WireGuard and OpenVPN profile support,
- server exclusions, including country exclusions,
- automatic switching and rotation pools,
- port-forward inventory and optional qBittorrent / rTorrent port synchronization,
- tracker reachability checks through the VPN,
- Prometheus metrics, Grafana dashboard, and Discord/Apprise notifications.

It is still beta software. I use and test it primarily with AirVPN over WireGuard, so feedbacks would be very welcome.

Project and installation instructions: https://github.com/Aerya/Gluetun-Companion
UNRAiD template: https://ca.unraid.net/apps/gluetun-companion-0uhgrhz0byhtpv

A few screenshots are attached below.

Thanks!
A.

[mith_y2k 7]

This looks cool. I'm thinking of installing it on a Synology, I quickly read through your setup guide. Any tips? I don't know when I'll try this, so please don't hold your breath

[Aerya 1]

It should work fine on Synology with Container Manager. The main thing is to use the compose setup from the guide and replace the example paths with Synology paths like /volume1/docker/....

Also, check the folder permissions if Companion can’t create or update files, well know problem on DSM.
 

I mostly test it with AirVPN and WG, so I’d be interested to hear how it goes on Synology whenever you get around to trying it. No rush! I won’t hold my breath 😄

[mith_y2k 7]

8 hours ago, Aerya said:

I mostly test it with AirVPN and WG, so I’d be interested to hear how it goes on Synology whenever you get around to trying it. No rush! I won’t hold my breath 😄

I will also be testing with AirVPN and WG

[mith_y2k 7]

Installation went fairly smoothly, I had to create the directories in my Synology, but then ran.

Overall I found the basic installation simple to follow, but once the web app is running I was thrown into 100 different parameters. All good to have, but as a first setup it was overwhelming. I am not sure if I configured the web app correctly, the gluetun tunnel is running, but all the tests for other servers are consistently failing. I have also not found any logs anywhere to try understanding why. I can see in the AirVPN Sessions page that the sidecar sessions are starting, but they are not sending or receiving much data (just a few bytes) and then failing.

Separately I saw there's a link to download grafana information, but I thought I could see data about the tunnel IN the web app, is that not right?

[Aerya 1]

Thanks for the feedback @mith_y2k

I agree that the WebUI has become quite feature-rich, perhaps a little too much for a first setup. There's already a three-step setup wizard (accessible again via the ? button) but your feedback makes me think I should simplify things further, with basic and advanced settings separated more clearly. i'll work on it.
 

Regarding the benchmarks, the fact that your main Gluetun tunnel works but all sidecar tests fail suggests a configuration or connectivity issue specific to the sidecar.

I've fixed several sidecar-related issues recently, including host addressing and port mapping, so I'd like to rule those out first.

Could you please check a few things?

• Are you running the latest Companion and Sidecar images?

• What is the exact error displayed when a benchmark fails

• Could you share your Companion logs? docker logs --tail 200 gluetun-companion.

• If possible, could you also share your Compose configuration and the sidecar-related settings? with credentials and private keys removed

That should help me identify what's going wrong.
 

As for Grafana, the downloadable dashboard currently focuses on benchmark results (download/upload speeds, latency, stability, errors, etc.), rather than monitoring the actual live traffic passing through your VPN tunnel. The WebUI already displays connection information and benchmark history but I agree that having live VPN traffic statistics directly in Companion would be useful. I'll keep that in mind for a future PR.