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AdGuard Home DNS AdBlocking

AdGuard Home DNS & Blocklist Engine

AdGuard Home operates as a network-wide DNS resolver that blocks tracking scripts, telemetry endpoints, malware domains, and advertisements before they reach homelab devices.

DNS Resolution Pipeline

flowchart TD subgraph Clients [Network Devices] Mobile["Mobile Devices"] Desktop["Workstations"] IoT["Smart Home IoT"] end subgraph AdGuardEngine [AdGuard Home Engine] Port53["DNS Listener Port 53"] Filter["AdBlock Filter Engine"] Rewrite["Local DNS Rewrite Table"] Cache["DNS Response Cache"] end subgraph UpstreamProviders [Encrypted Upstream DNS] CF["Cloudflare DoH"] Quad9["Quad9 DoT"] end Mobile --> Port53 Desktop --> Port53 IoT --> Port53 Port53 --> Rewrite Rewrite --> Filter Filter --> Cache Cache --> CF Cache --> Quad9

Upstream DNS Configuration (AdGuardHome.yaml)

dns:
  bind_hosts:
    - 0.0.0.0
  port: 53
  upstream_dns:
    - https://dns.cloudflare.com/dns-query
    - tls://dns.quad9.net
    - https://dns.adguard.com/dns-query
  bootstrap_dns:
    - 1.1.1.1
    - 9.9.9.9
  cache_size: 4194304
  cache_ttl_min: 300
  cache_ttl_max: 86400
Filter Name Source URL Purpose
AdGuard Base Filter Standard List General ad blocking
StevenBlack Unified https://raw.githubusercontent.com/... Ads, malware, fake news
HaGeZi Multi PRO https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/... High-security aggressive tracker block
OISD Big https://big.oisd.nl Comprehensive telemetry blocking

Homelab Local DNS Rewrite Rules

Pattern IP Address Target Service
immich.lab 100.64.0.10 Immich Photo Storage
jellyfin.lab 100.64.0.10 Jellyfin Media Server
plex.lab 100.64.0.10 Plex Media Server
pve.lab 100.64.0.10 Proxmox VE Admin UI
grafana.lab 100.64.0.10 Grafana Monitoring