Introduction
Hotspotd is a small daemon to create a wifi hotspot on linux. It depends on hostapd for AP provisioning and dnsmasq to assign IP addresses to devices.
Hotspotd works by creating a virtual NAT (Network address transation) table between your connected device and the internet using linux iptables.
Installation
To install hotspotd, just follow these steps:
wget https://github.com/prahladyeri/hotspotd/raw/master/dist/hotspotd-latest.tar.gz
tar xvf hotspotd-latest.tar.gz
cd hotspotd-latest/
sudo python setup.py install
To uninstall hotspotd, just say:
sudo python setup.py uninstall
Dependencies
- dnsmasq (typically pre-installed on most linux distributions)
- hostapd for AP provisioning
To install hostapd on ubuntu:
apt-get install hostapd
Or on RHEL based distros:
yum install hostapd
Usage
To start hotspot:
sudo hotspotd start
To stop hotspot:
sudo hotspotd stop
The first time you run hotspotd, it will ask you for configuration values for SSID, password, etc. Alternatively, you may also run:
sudo hotspotd configure
Troubleshooting
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Make sure all dependencies (hostapd, dnsmasq and python 2.7) are installed.
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hotspotd creates the NAT by manipulating iptables rules. So if you have any other firewall software that manipulates the iptables rules (such as the firewalld on fedora), make sure you disable that.
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To create a hotspot, your wifi must support AP mode. To find that out, use this process:
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Find your kernel driver module in use by issuing the below command:
lspci -k | grep -A 3 -i network(example module: ath9k)
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Now, use the below command to find out your wifi capabilities (replace ath9k by your kernel driver):
modinfo ath9k | grep depend -
If the above output includes โmac80211โ then it means your wifi card will support the AP mode.
-
Testing status
This package has been tested on Qualcomm Atheros adapter on the following distros:
- Ubuntu 12.04 LTS
- Ubuntu 14.04 LTS
In theory, it should work with all other distros too (on machines having wifi adapters supported by hostapd), but you will have to try that out and tell me!
Notes
- Replace
sudowithsuorsu -cif you manage superuser access in that manner. - PyPI home page could be found at https://pypi.python.org/pypi/hotspotd.
- I need someone to test this daemon across various linux distros. If you are interested in testing of open-source apps, please contact me.
Donation
Please consider donating if this tool has helped you in any way. You can also hire me through upwork or fiverr to get professional support and customization.