Backmilian.GitHub
Case study

DarkGuard

A lightweight, open-source dark-mode GUI for WireGuard on Windows, written in Rust.

In developmentOpen sourceGPL-3.0RustWindows

Overview

DarkGuard is a native Windows graphical frontend for managing WireGuard tunnels, a cleaner alternative to the official WireGuard UI that relies entirely on the official WireGuard backend. It does not implement its own VPN stack and does not modify WireGuard internals.

Features

Native dark-mode interface
Start, stop and monitor tunnels
Live RX/TX traffic statistics
Detailed tunnel info (endpoint, DNS, MTU, allowed IPs)
Uses official WireGuard binaries & services
Auto-installs WireGuard if not present
Portable distribution (no forced installer)

How it works

DarkGuard acts as a graphical wrapper around WireGuard for Windows. It manages tunnels by:

  1. 01

    Installs WireGuard if missing

    On first run, DarkGuard downloads and installs the official WireGuard for Windows package automatically.

  2. 02

    Manages tunnel services

    Installs and controls the WireGuard tunnel Windows services that back each tunnel.

  3. 03

    Invokes the official CLI

    Drives tunnels through the official wireguard.exe tool. No custom VPN stack, no modified internals.

  4. 04

    Reads live status

    Pulls tunnel status and RX/TX statistics straight from the system for a clean, live view.

This keeps the app fully compatible with WireGuard while staying lightweight and transparent.

Transparency: antivirus false positives

DarkGuard manages tunnels by installing and controlling Windows services and invoking wireguard.exe. That behaviour is similar to how some malware loaders operate, so heuristic scanners may flag it. DarkGuard is fully open-source: it uses no obfuscation or packers, does not hide or persist beyond WireGuard services, and performs no malicious actions. Everything is verifiable in the source.

Public Any.Run sandbox report

Requirements

  • Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit)
  • Administrator privileges (to manage WireGuard)

Status

Early development, so APIs and UI may change between versions. Licensed under GPL-3.0. Bug reports and contributions are welcome.

Want something like this built?

From low-level system tools to full products, I build and ship.