NetForge

NetForge

Professional Network Adapter Management Utility for Windows

A comprehensive, feature-rich GUI tool for managing network adapters, IP configurations, DNS settings, and network diagnostics with a modern dark-themed interface.

Features

Connection Status Bar

• Real-time connected/disconnected indicator with colored dot
• Local IP, optional public IP lookup, gateway display
• Connection type detection (Ethernet/WiFi/VPN/Bluetooth PAN/Cellular)
• WiFi details: SSID, signal strength %, channel, band, auth type, link speed
• Auto-refresh every 30 seconds

Network Adapter Control

• View all physical network adapters with real-time status
• Enumerate Bluetooth PAN and cellular/mobile broadband adapters
• Advanced switch for Hyper-V, VMware, VirtualBox, VPN, TAP, and other virtual adapters
• MAC address override with random generation and revert to hardware default
• Interface metric editor for adapter priority control across IPv4 and IPv6, including IPv4-first / IPv6-first presets
• Last-state rollback snapshot before IP, DNS, or profile changes with a manual restore action
• Enable/disable adapters with one click
• Display detailed adapter information (MAC, speed, driver, media state)
• Auto-refresh capability

WiFi Network Manager

• Scan nearby WiFi networks with signal, channel, band, security, and BSSID counts
• View channel utilization by visible BSSID with strongest signal and BSSID list
• Connect to saved Windows WLAN profiles without opening Settings
• Create WLAN profiles for open or secured personal networks from the app
• Disconnect the active WiFi interface from the same tab

IP Configuration

• DHCP Mode: Obtain IP address automatically
• Static IP Mode: Configure custom IP settings
  • IP Address
  • Subnet Mask
  • Default Gateway
  • CIDR Prefix Length
• Optional static IPv6 address, prefix length, and gateway configuration
• One-click switching between DHCP and static configurations

DNS Management

• 40+ Pre-configured DNS Presets organized by category:
  • Public: Google, Cloudflare, OpenDNS, Quad9, Verisign, and more
  • Security: Quad9, Comodo, Neustar Threat Protection, CleanBrowsing Security
  • Privacy: DNS.Watch, Mullvad, NextDNS, Control D, UncensoredDNS
  • Family: Cloudflare Family, OpenDNS FamilyShield, CleanBrowsing Family, AdGuard Family
  • Ad-Blocking: AdGuard DNS, Alternate DNS
• Custom DNS server configuration
• IPv6 DNS support for compatible presets
• Windows DoH and DoT encryption registration through netsh dns add encryption
• DNS providers load from a validated dns-providers.json catalog with a SHA256 sidecar and embedded defaults fallback
• Preset DoH templates and DoT hosts for Google, Cloudflare, Quad9, and AdGuard
• Custom DoH template and DoT host entry for account-specific providers
• DNS health output with configured adapter DNS, config leak guard, DoH/DoT probes, UDP fallback state, DoQ proxy listener state, and resolver latency preview
• DoQ local proxy controls for compatible dnsproxy.exe binaries
• NextDNS config ID helper that fills account-specific DoH, DoT, and DoQ endpoints
• Search and filter DNS presets

Profile System

• Save complete network configurations as profiles
• Store IP settings, DNS configuration, environment actions, and metadata
• Schema-versioned profiles with validation, duplicate protection, atomic writes, and import summaries
• Configurable profile storage with custom folder/OneDrive migration, conflict detection, backup manifests, health checks, and local-storage revert
• Event-driven auto-apply profiles when the current SSID or gateway MAC matches saved rules, with timer fallback
• Scheduled profile switching by day and time through the same rollback-protected apply path
• Preview profile differences against the selected adapter before applying
• Optional profile actions for Windows Public/Private network category, system proxy, default printer, and mapped network drives
• Quick-apply profiles to any adapter
• System tray profile switching against the selected or first active adapter
• Import/export profiles as JSON or PNG QR codes, plus import Windows WLAN profile XML from netsh wlan export profile
• CLI profile apply for scripts with -ApplyProfile, optional -AdapterName, and -Silent
• Remote Desktop launch workflow that applies a profile first and reverts the previous network state when RDP exits
• Optional Discord webhook notification after successful profile applies for fleet visibility
• Perfect for switching between work, home, and other networks

Network Tools

• Quick Actions:
  • Flush DNS Cache
  • Release IP Address
  • Renew IP Address
  • Reset Winsock Catalog
  • Reset TCP/IP Stack
  • Full Network Reset
• Static Routes:
  • Add or remove selected-adapter IPv4/IPv6 manual routes with destination prefix, next hop, and route metric
  • View current manual routes for the selected adapter
• Hosts File Groups:
  • Stage grouped hosts entries, toggle groups enabled/disabled, and write a NetForge-managed hosts section
  • Preserve unmanaged hosts lines and create a timestamped backup before applying changes
• RDP Profile Launch:
  • Apply a saved profile, launch mstsc.exe to a host or .rdp file, and monitor the RDP client
  • Revert the captured pre-RDP network state automatically when RDP exits, or manually from Network Tools
• App Interface Guard:
  • Restrict a selected executable to one allowed adapter by creating Windows Firewall/WFP outbound blocks on other adapters
  • Persist guard policies and repair missing or stale NetForge-owned firewall rules after startup, network-change events, or manual refresh
• Detailed Adapter Information:
  • Interface index and type
  • Link speed and media state
  • DHCP status and server
  • Current DNS servers
  • IPv6 addresses
  • Driver information
• Continuous Route Diagnostics:
  • MTR-style route tracing with per-hop sent/received/loss and latency history
• Port Scanning:
  • Host or bounded IPv4 CIDR scan for common LAN service ports with open-service output
• Reachability Wizard:
  • Diagnose "why can't I reach X?" targets across DNS, gateway, route/ping, TCP firewall/port, and MTU probes
  • Accept hosts, IP addresses, URLs, or host:port targets and emit a concise root-cause summary
• Packet Capture:
  • Start/stop Windows pktmon captures, convert to Wireshark-readable .pcapng, and launch Wireshark when installed
• Cable / Transceiver Diagnostics:
  • Selected-adapter report for hardware counters plus driver-exposed cable, SFP, DDM/DOM, and optical telemetry fields

Diagnostics Tab

• Ping Test: 10-ping burst with min/avg/max/loss statistics
• Continuous Ping: Toggle on/off, pings every 2 seconds with color-coded results (green <50ms, yellow 50-100ms, red >100ms)
• Latency Histogram: Timed endpoint probe with bucketed latency distribution, p50/p95, and loss percentage
• Endpoint Policy: Disable public-IP lookup, disable external speed-test downloads, and choose the HTTPS-only speed-test endpoint
• Profile Webhook: Opt-in Discord webhook for successful profile applies with redacted endpoint logging
• Diagnostics Export: Redacted support bundle mode with preview manifest and redaction-report.json
• Speed Test: Downloads from the selected HTTPS endpoint and logs the contacted endpoint
• DNS Lookup: Resolve any domain to IP addresses, shows responding DNS server

Modern Interface

• Professional dark theme with orange accents
• Persistent theme selector with GitHub Dark, Catppuccin Mocha, and Nord palettes
• Compact mode for laptop screens with persisted density scaling
• Tabbed interface for organized navigation
• UI strings load from resource files with English default and Spanish locale coverage
• Automation names and explicit focus order for primary workflows
• Real-time status updates
• System tray mode with categorized quick DNS preset and saved-profile switching
• Persistent operation/crash logs and a diagnostics zip export
• Responsive design
• Native Windows look and feel

Screenshots

Coming soon

Requirements

• Operating System: Windows 10/11
• PowerShell: Version 5.1 or higher
• Privileges: Administrator rights required
• .NET Framework: 4.5 or higher (included in Windows 10/11)
• Optional DoQ Proxy: AdGuard dnsproxy.exe or compatible local DNS proxy for DNS-over-QUIC forwarding

Installation

Option 1: Direct Download

1. Download NetForge-vX.Y.Z.zip and NetForge-vX.Y.Z.zip.sha256 from the Releases page
2. Verify the archive before extracting:

   certutil -hashfile .\NetForge-vX.Y.Z.zip SHA256
   Get-Content .\NetForge-vX.Y.Z.zip.sha256

3. Extract the zip, then right-click NetForge.ps1 and select "Run with PowerShell" (will auto-elevate to admin)

Option 2: Clone Repository

git clone https://github.com/SysAdminDoc/NetForge.git
cd NetForge
.\NetForge.ps1

Option 3: One-Line Install

irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/SysAdminDoc/NetForge/main/NetForge.ps1 -OutFile NetForge.ps1; .\NetForge.ps1

Usage

Running the Application

# Simply execute the script (auto-elevates if needed)
.\NetForge.ps1

CLI Profile Apply

# Apply a saved profile to the first active adapter without success output
.\NetForge.ps1 -ApplyProfile Home -Silent

# Apply a saved profile to a specific adapter name or interface index
.\NetForge.ps1 -ApplyProfile Work -AdapterName "Wi-Fi"

Local Checks

.\tools\Test-NetForge.ps1

Version and Release Package

.\tools\Set-NetForgeVersion.ps1 -Version 1.57.0
.\tools\New-NetForgeReleasePackage.ps1

Basic Workflow

1. Select an Adapter: Click on a network adapter from the left panel
2. Configure IP:
   • Choose DHCP or Static IP mode
   • Enter IP details if using static
   • Click "Apply IP Configuration"
3. Configure DNS:
   • Select a preset from the DNS list, or
   • Choose custom DNS and enter server addresses
   • Click "Apply DNS Configuration"
   • Click "Register DoH" or "Register DoT" to add Windows encrypted DNS metadata for compatible resolvers
   • Click "Test Health" to validate encrypted DNS handshakes and DNS-message responses
   • Configure the DoQ local proxy path/upstream and click "Start Proxy" when using DNS-over-QUIC
   • Enter a NextDNS config ID and click "Apply NextDNS" to populate account-specific encrypted endpoints
4. Save as Profile (optional):
   • Go to Profiles tab
   • Click "Create New Profile"
   • Capture current SSID/gateway MAC when the profile should auto-apply
   • Optionally schedule a profile for a recurring day/time switch
   • Optionally set environment actions such as network category, proxy, default printer, or mapped drives
   • Click "Preview Diff" to review changes against the selected adapter
   • Fill in details and save
   • Use the header Import button to import NetForge JSON exports or Windows WLAN profile XML exports
   • Use .\NetForge.ps1 -ApplyProfile Home -Silent from scripts to apply a saved profile without launching the window
5. Launch RDP with a profile (optional):
   • Go to Network Tools
   • Enter a host or .rdp file and saved profile name
   • Click "Launch RDP with Profile"
   • NetForge reverts the captured pre-RDP network state when the RDP client exits
6. Restrict an app to one interface (optional):
   • Go to Network Tools
   • Browse to an .exe, choose the allowed adapter, and click "Apply Guard"
   • NetForge blocks that app on other current adapters using Windows Firewall interface filters
7. Diagnose reachability:
   • Go to Network Tools
   • Enter a host, URL, IP address, or host:port
   • Click "Why Can't I Reach X?" to check DNS, gateway, route, TCP/firewall, and MTU signals
8. Manage WiFi:
   • Go to the WiFi tab
   • Click "Scan Networks"
   • Select a network and click "Connect" or "Disconnect"
9. Control external diagnostics:
   • Go to Diagnostics
   • Disable public-IP lookup or external speed-test downloads when working offline or privately
   • Select the HTTPS speed-test endpoint and click "Save Policy"
   • Optionally enable the profile apply Discord webhook with an HTTPS discord.com/api/webhooks/... URL

DNS Presets Quick Reference

Configuration Storage

NetForge stores its configuration in:

%APPDATA%\NetForge\    # Default location; profiles can be moved to a selected sync folder
|-- Profiles\          # Saved network profiles (.json)
|-- Logs\              # Operation and crash logs
`-- settings.json      # Application settings

Set UiLocale in settings.json to a shipped locale such as en-US or es-ES to change the UI language on the next launch. Set PublicIpLookupEnabled, ExternalSpeedTestEnabled, SpeedTestEndpoint, and DiscordWebhookEnabled in settings.json or use the Diagnostics endpoint-policy panel to control external diagnostic calls and profile notifications. Discord webhook URLs are stored as current-user protected data after entry through the Diagnostics tab or legacy settings migration.

Troubleshooting

Script Won't Run

# Set execution policy (run as admin)
Set-ExecutionPolicy -ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -Scope CurrentUser

Access Denied Errors

• Ensure you're running as Administrator
• The script will auto-elevate, but UAC must be approved

Adapter Not Showing

• Virtual adapters are filtered by default
• Only physical Ethernet and Wi-Fi adapters are displayed
• Click "Refresh Adapters" to update the list

DNS Changes Not Taking Effect

1. Try flushing DNS cache (Network Tools > Flush DNS Cache)
2. Release and renew IP address
3. Restart the network adapter

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

1. Fork the repository
2. Create your feature branch (git checkout -b feature/AmazingFeature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add some AmazingFeature')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/AmazingFeature)
5. Open a Pull Request

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Acknowledgments

• DNS provider information sourced from official documentation
• Inspired by the need for a simple, powerful network management tool
• Built with PowerShell and WPF

Disclaimer

This tool modifies network settings on your computer. While it includes safety confirmations for destructive actions, please use responsibly. Always ensure you have a way to restore network connectivity before making changes. The author is not responsible for any network issues resulting from the use of this tool.

NetForge - Take control of your network