Ask HN: Do you route only certain websites through a VPN?

2 points by dennysora-main 30 days ago | 4 comments

I often need a particular exit IP to access certain websites. Switching my VPN back and forth gets annoying, and finding separate proxies isn't much fun either. I also wanted one place to see how much traffic I'm using and whether the connection is actually working.

So I built a small tool for myself: a Chrome extension and a local dashboard, with a proxy connected to its own WireGuard tunnel. I choose the website domains that should use it, while my other apps keep their normal connection. It uses Mullvad at the moment, and I can set it up with my Mullvad account number. The dashboard handles the connection and shows traffic over time, domain stats, and errors.

There's also an "Add page" button that finds domains the page requests, including things like images, scripts, and APIs, and adds them to the proxy rules. It's still domain-based routing, so the same domains in another tab follow those rules too. It isn't a separate VPN for each tab.

I'm curious if anyone else needs something like this, or how you're handling it now. I haven't cleaned up the project for release yet, and I'm trying to decide whether it's worth spending the time to open-source it.

Honestly, I've been less motivated to open-source my personal tools lately. I build them with AI, and part of me thinks anyone who needs one could just build their own version. Cleaning things up takes time too. I used to work in security, so I'd want to go through it carefully before publishing anything.

Then there's maintenance. I know I don't have to take every feature request, but I'd probably feel some responsibility once people started using it. A small tool that does exactly what I need can slowly turn into a much bigger project that I never needed in the first place.

Lately I've been pretty happy just making things for myself and using them. Anyone else finding themselves doing that more? I'd be interested to hear how you decide which personal tools are worth sharing.

Screenshots use demo data rather than my real account or traffic.

Extension: https://postimg.cc/sM4QzNPM

Dashboard: https://postimg.cc/CRsB0QCz

kay_o 30 days ago |

What about this can't be resolved by a PAC-file?

dennysora-main 30 days ago | |

some of the functionality does overlap. But when I originally built it, I wanted the extension and the backend to work together, without needing to handle them separately. Both the extension and the backend can provide more fine-grained control, and it can automatically detect the multiple requests made by the current page and automatically add them to the proxy, so I don't have to configure them one by one.

Of course, right now I'm trying to keep as much of the system running locally as possible, and that also makes it easier for me to modify the system myself to match my personal needs.

That's why I asked whether anyone else has this kind of need and wanted to hear what people think.

I mainly wanted to discuss it with everyone. I built something that I personally think is quite useful, and originally I was thinking about cleaning it up and open-sourcing it, but is that really necessary?

lobito25 30 days ago |

smokevpn.com solves this problems.

dennysora-main 30 days ago | |

I mainly want the entire system to run locally, and to be able to switch between different VPNs locally and manage them in a more fine-grained way.