LANtern Control is an open-source SelfishNet, EvilLimiter, and NetCut alternative for Windows and Linux. It is a router-independent desktop application for discovering, monitoring, and controlling devices on a local IPv4 network. It combines live per-device bandwidth monitoring, download and upload limits, internet pause controls, visited-domain metadata, and per-device domain rules without requiring access to the router's administration dashboard.
If you are looking for a maintained SelfishNet, EvilLimiter, or NetCut alternative with a modern desktop interface, LANtern Control is built for that use case.
Important
Windows v0.1.3 is the stable release. Linux v0.1.0 is available as a
public beta AppImage. macOS remains a work in progress (WIP).
- Discover devices connected to the same Ethernet or Wi-Fi network.
- Resolve device names using DHCP, reverse DNS, NetBIOS, and mDNS information.
- Remember device names, aliases, and rules between application launches.
- Display live per-device download and upload speeds.
- Keep a ten-minute network activity chart with 2.5-second samples.
- Apply independent download and upload limits in
KB/s. - Pause and restore a device's IPv4 internet connection.
- Observe domains through DNS queries, TLS server names, and plain HTTP host headers without decrypting private HTTPS content.
- Block domains for individual devices, including presets for common services.
- Restore normal client and router ARP mappings when control stops.
- Check GitHub Releases for platform-specific optional updates.
- Install Windows through an MSI or portable ZIP, or run Linux through an AppImage with a one-time graphical privilege setup.
The screenshots below use synthetic demo data and do not contain information from a real network.
- Windows 10 or Windows 11, x64.
- Administrator access.
- Npcap installed on the controller computer. WinPcap API-compatible mode is recommended for compatibility.
LANtern Control does not include or redistribute Npcap. Install Npcap separately from its official website, then restart LANtern Control.
- A 64-bit x86 Linux desktop. Linux Mint and Ubuntu are the primary tested distributions; other modern distributions may work.
- Polkit with
pkexecfor the one-time graphical administrator prompt. - An AppImage-compatible environment. A FUSE-free launch fallback is included.
The Linux AppImage bundles the .NET runtime, Avalonia graphics libraries, and
libpcap. On first launch, it installs a protected payload under
/opt/lantern-control/0.1.0 and grants only CAP_NET_RAW and CAP_NET_ADMIN.
The desktop interface continues to run as the normal user.
- The controller computer and target devices must be on the same IPv4 broadcast network.
- A stable connection is required. Ethernet is recommended. If Wi-Fi is used, keep the controller near the router and prefer 5 GHz when possible.
Download the latest version from GitHub Releases.
- Download
LANtern-Control-Setup-v0.1.3.msi. - Run the setup program.
- Choose the installation folder and whether to create Start Menu or desktop shortcuts.
- Launch LANtern Control and accept the Administrator prompt.
- Download
LANtern-Control-v0.1.3-win-x64.zip. - Extract the complete archive to a folder where it can remain.
- Run
LANtern Control.exeas Administrator from that folder. Keep the extracted files together; no application installation is required.
-
Download
LANtern-Control-v0.1.0-x86_64.AppImage. -
Make it executable through Properties > Permissions > Allow executing file as program, or run:
chmod +x LANtern-Control-v0.1.0-x86_64.AppImage
-
Double-click the AppImage, or start it from a terminal:
./LANtern-Control-v0.1.0-x86_64.AppImage
-
Approve the graphical administrator prompt on first launch. Later launches of the same payload do not require another password.
-
If FUSE is unavailable, use:
APPIMAGE_EXTRACT_AND_RUN=1 ./LANtern-Control-v0.1.0-x86_64.AppImage
Always click Stop & restore before closing LANtern, changing networks, disconnecting the selected adapter, suspending, or rebooting.
- On Windows, launch LANtern Control as Administrator. On Linux, open the configured AppImage normally after completing its one-time setup.
- Select the network adapter whose local IP address and gateway match the network you want to manage.
- Click Start control and wait for connected devices to appear.
- Click Refresh devices when you want to run a fresh discovery scan.
- Enter a download or upload limit in
KB/s. A value of0means unlimited. - Use the Internet switch to pause or restore a device's connection.
- Open Visited domains to inspect the destination domains LANtern can observe for each device.
- Add individual domain rules or use a service preset to block domains for a selected device.
- Click Stop & restore before changing adapters, leaving the network, or shutting down the controller computer.
Settings, saved device identities, and rules are stored locally in:
Windows: %LOCALAPPDATA%\LANternControl\settings.json
Linux: ~/.local/share/LANternControl/settings.json
LANtern also maintains settings.backup.json beside the primary file so a
temporary file lock or interrupted update cannot replace saved device names,
limits, presets, or domain rules with an empty configuration.
No router username or password is required, and LANtern does not permanently change the router configuration.
LANtern can identify many destination domains, but it does not decrypt HTTPS, read searches, inspect messages, or view private page contents. Domain blocking is best effort because applications may use cached connections, several CDN domains, or encrypted protocols.
The following can hide domains or bypass domain-based rules:
- VPNs, Tor, and proxy applications.
- Encrypted DNS such as DoH or DoT.
- TLS Encrypted Client Hello (ECH).
- QUIC/HTTP3 and cached or already-open connections.
- Applications that use direct IP addresses or frequently changing domains.
LANtern operates on the local IPv4 network rather than through a router-specific API, so it can work with many ordinary home routers. It cannot be guaranteed on every network or adapter.
- IPv6 traffic is not controlled in this release.
- Guest Wi-Fi or client isolation can prevent discovery and control.
- Dynamic ARP inspection or other ARP protection can block interception.
- Devices behind another router or NAT are not on the same broadcast LAN.
- Some Wi-Fi drivers do not reliably support packet capture or injection.
- While a device is redirected, the controller computer becomes part of its traffic path. A weak controller connection can reduce speed or increase latency for that device.
- The controller must remain awake and connected while rules are active.
Install the latest version from the official Npcap download page, enable WinPcap API-compatible mode if offered, and restart LANtern Control.
- Confirm that the correct adapter is selected.
- Make sure the controller and devices are on the same normal LAN, not an isolated guest network.
- Run LANtern Control as Administrator.
- Click Refresh devices and allow the discovery scan to finish.
Click Stop & restore and wait for the application to repair the normal ARP mappings. If connectivity does not return, reconnect the affected device to Wi-Fi or disable and re-enable its network adapter.
Both applications require the .NET 8 SDK. The WiX 5 SDK used to produce the
Windows MSI is restored automatically by dotnet.
dotnet test .\tests\Lantern.Core.Tests\Lantern.Core.Tests.csproj
dotnet test .\tests\Lantern.App.Tests\Lantern.App.Tests.csproj
.\scripts\publish.ps1The publishing script creates the portable application and installer in the
outputs folder.
The Linux AppImage is built from the Avalonia project and the packaging scripts
under packaging/linux. The reproducible compatibility image uses Ubuntu 20.04:
dotnet test ./tests/Lantern.Linux.Tests/Lantern.Linux.Tests.csproj -c Release
dotnet publish ./src/Lantern.Linux/Lantern.Linux.csproj -c Release -r linux-x64 --self-contained true
./packaging/linux/build-appimage.sh 0.1.0LANtern Control is open-source software released under the MIT License.
Use LANtern Control only on networks and devices that you own or are authorized to administer. Pausing, limiting, monitoring, or blocking another person's traffic without permission may violate policies or local laws.
If you find a problem, open a GitHub issue and include the LANtern version, operating system and distribution, adapter type, capture-library version, router model, and steps needed to reproduce it.
This project was vibecoded so you can expect bugs please leave an issue if you find any