AdGuard has released the first beta of AdGuard Home 1.0, the free, open-source, network-wide ad and tracker blocker that many people run on a home server, Raspberry Pi or router-adjacent box. The release is a redesigned interface, a new versioning scheme and a promise of more frequent feature work. It is a beta, so it is aimed at people who already run the software and are happy to test, not at anyone looking for a one-click ad blocker.
What AdGuard announced
In a blog post dated 2 October, AdGuard said it is launching the beta of AdGuard Home v1.0 and shifting the project from "quiet maintenance into active development". The company describes the product as a free, open-source tool for putting network control in users' hands, and says it first appeared as a v0.1 preview in 2018.
The GitHub releases page shows the build as v1.0.0-b.1, marked as a pre-release and published on 30 September. Its changelog says the beta channel has been switched to the new interface and versioning scheme. It also lists a Go version update intended to avoid the possibility of exploiting Go vulnerabilities fixed upstream, two bug fixes, and the removal of support for macOS 13 Ventura, with a pointer to the Go 1.27 release notes.
What changes for users
According to AdGuard, the main change is the interface. The company says the new design keeps the familiar layout while looking cleaner and matching other AdGuard products. It adds that the frontend was rebuilt to be lighter and faster, that this resolves earlier memory consumption issues on low-power devices, and that there is now a fully responsive mobile layout.
- Setup: a new installation wizard and setup guide for first-time configuration and for pointing devices at the DNS server.
- Dashboard and settings: a streamlined dashboard, plus a tidier structure for general, DNS and DHCP options and for per-device client settings.
- Query log: more request data on each entry, with new sorting and filtering options.
- Filters: reworked blocklists, allowlists, DNS rewrites and user rules, with configurable automatic update intervals for filters.
The versioning change matters more than it first appears. AdGuard says it is moving to a flexible scheme similar to its other products, where minor releases, for example from v1.0.0 to v1.1.0, may include backwards-incompatible changes. The company says lifting that restriction lets it ship new features faster. For anyone who automates updates, that is a reason to read release notes before upgrading rather than treating every minor version as a drop-in replacement.
How to try it, and how to stay on stable
AdGuard says people already on the beta channel do not need to do anything, because the update arrives through the built-in updater. Anyone on the stable version who wants to test it should first back up their configuration file (AdGuardHome.yaml) and the data directory. The company then lists three routes: change a Docker image tag from latest to beta, use the install script with the beta flag on Linux or macOS, or replace the executable manually on Windows and other systems.
The project's README describes the beta channel as "more or less stable" and usually released every two weeks or more often. It also describes a separate edge channel that receives daily updates from the development branch. The AdGuard knowledge base gives the same backup advice for manual updates: stop the service, copy the configuration file and data directory, then replace the executable.
If you want a quiet, working setup, there is no need to move. The releases page still lists the older v0.107 line alongside the betas, including v0.107.79, so stable users can stay where they are. Our reading is that anyone who depends on AdGuard Home for a household or a small office should wait for a stable 1.0 build, or test the beta on a spare device first. We have not tested the beta ourselves, and everything here about its features comes from AdGuard's own announcement.
Why it matters to ad-blocker buyers
AdGuard Home sits in a different corner of the ad-blocking market from browser extensions. The README explains that it works as a DNS server that sends tracking domains to a "black hole", so it covers every device on a home network without client software. The project says this can help on devices where a traditional blocker cannot be installed, such as smart TVs and smart speakers.
It also states the limits plainly. DNS-level blocking cannot remove ads that share a domain with the content, and the README gives YouTube and Twitch ads and sponsored posts on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram as examples. It says only a content-blocking proxy, like the one in the standalone AdGuard apps, could handle those, and that this is planned for AdGuard Home but may still be complicated to configure. In practice, a network-level blocker and a browser or app blocker do different jobs, and some people will want both.
The other point for buyers is cost and effort. AdGuard Home is free and open source, but it asks you to run your own server, which is more work than installing an extension. A friendlier interface and a setup wizard lower that barrier a little. They do not remove it.
What to do
- If you already run AdGuard Home and want the new interface, back up AdGuardHome.yaml and the data folder first, then try the beta on a non-critical setup.
- If you rely on it every day, stay on the stable channel and watch for a final 1.0 release.
- Check that your operating system is still supported: macOS 13 Ventura is dropped in this beta.
- Report bugs on the project's GitHub issues page, after searching for existing reports, as AdGuard asks.
- If you only want ad blocking in a browser, this release changes nothing for you.
