Open routing for white-label hardware

Ze creates minimal gokrazy appliances you install by ISO or PXE, or makes Linux speak BGP, IS-IS, and OSPF with one YANG configuration model, operator surfaces, telemetry, and plugins.

One model feeds every operator surface: CLI, SSH, web, REST/gRPC, MCP, completion, generated docs, audit, and diagnostics.

21,500+ unit tests

Wire encoding, parsing
Config, FSM, plugins
gomu mutates code to check assertions

1,500+ end to end tests

Peering, sessions, updates
Editor, commits, reloads

78 fuzz targets

Parsers, external inputs
Wire formats, config files

8 interop targets

FRR, BIRD, GoBGP
OpenBGPd, FreeRtr
RustyBGP, rustbgpd

Current status

Jump in early.

Ze has a modern routing core, BGP, OSPF, IS-IS, and MPLS, wrapped in a friendly network OS. The code is heavily tested, and the project is moving fast.

It is still young. Operational mileage is limited and configuration may change. Upgrade paths will be provided after the first release. Use it in labs, break it, read the code, and tell us what is wrong.

Ze is free software under the AGPLv3. See the roadmap for the path to a release, and the security policy to report an issue.

Full-featured BGP Sessions, capabilities, UPDATE handling, IPv4/IPv6 unicast, and growing FlowSpec family coverage.

Powerful tooling SSH CLI with diff and commit, web workbench, looking glass, telemetry, all from one config model.

Extensible by design RIB, route-server, graceful restart, RPKI, policy, persistence, and external process plugins.

Easy to explore Built-in doctor checks, readable state, MCP server for AI-assisted debugging, clear errors throughout.

Two ways to run Ze.

Same binary, same config, either way. Pick whichever fits how you already operate.

Daemon

Run as a daemon

Runs on any existing Linux distro, managed by systemd or your process manager of choice. The easier on-ramp if you're fitting Ze into infrastructure you already run.

Existing Linux systemd-ready

Quickstart daemon install

Appliance

Run as an appliance

A dedicated bootable image built with gokrazy for purpose-built hardware: read-only rootfs, no shell, no package manager, automatic process supervision.

gokrazy image Read-only rootfs

Install guide PXE, ISO, or Ventoy

Built for demanding operators.

Shipped and tested, or experimental and growing.

Ze owns its BGP engine, configuration model, plugin system, and operator surfaces, all designed together -- from the native BGP, OSPF, and IS-IS engines and SSH CLI to RPKI, looking glass, telemetry, firewall, VPN, MPLS, and appliance packaging.

Operate (6) Routing (9) Services (9) Automate (7) Observe (9) Secure (5) Platform (6)

Discover what makes Ze unique.

Ze is built around one management plane. Features, plugins, access control, APIs, docs, UI, and diagnostics are generated from the same system model.

Debug

Doctor health checks

ze doctor, health checks, warnings, errors, support bundles, crash capture, and built-in runtime probes give operators a first path from symptom to evidence.

AI friendly

AI via MCP

Ze publishes its command catalog through MCP. AI tools can discover commands, run the same CLI/API actions, inspect structured output, and debug routes, config, and health without wrappers.

Access

SSH into Ze

Ze terminates SSH inside the daemon. Operators authenticate as Ze users and reach the Ze CLI or config editor without a Unix shell account.

Appliance

As a secure appliance

Appliance runtime is only kernel, gokrazy init, and Ze. No package manager, no general shell, and no spare services to expose; install it by ISO or PXE.

quickstart.sh

# build from source
$ git clone https://github.com/ze-software/ze.git
$ cd ze && make build

# set up credentials and configure
$ bin/ze init
$ bin/ze config import router.conf

# start
$ bin/ze start

# from another terminal
$ bin/ze cli -c "show bgp peer list"
$ bin/ze cli -c "monitor event"

Good first paths

Start with a lab peer, a migrated ExaBGP config, or a looking-glass instance. The project needs feedback from people who know what real routing operations look like.

Unified Surfaces one registration path for CLI, web, API, MCP SSH and RBAC manage Ze without host shell accounts Diagnostics doctor, health, warnings, support bundles Appliance install ISO media, PXE provisioning, systemd install Labs real interop proof you can run yourself

FAQ answers before you commit time Project status what is ready and what is still young Ask on Discord talk to the project before a weekend build

Who should look now?

Ze is early enough that strong feedback can still shape the system. If you care about open routing software, now is the time to look.

Routing

BGP operators

People who understand peering, route servers, policy, RPKI, and the pain of debugging control-plane state.

Peering Policy RPKI

Builder

Network builders

People building Linux appliances, labs, automation systems, test harnesses, or routing experiments.

Appliances Labs Automation

Migration

ExaBGP users

People with existing ExaBGP workflows who want a path toward a fuller programmable network stack.

Programmable Migration

Open routing needs boring miles.

Ze has the shape of the system we want: open, modern, and programmable. It still needs users, hardware, failures, odd networks, and the slow confidence that comes from deployments.