The Pi-hole[®](https://pi-hole.net/trademark-rules-and-brand-guidelines/) is a [DNS sinkhole](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DNS_Sinkhole) that protects your devices from unwanted content, without installing any client-side software.
- **Easy-to-install**: our versatile installer walks you through the process, and [takes less than ten minutes](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKWjx1AQYgs)
- **Resolute**: content is blocked in _non-browser locations_, such as ad-laden mobile apps and smart TVs
- **Responsive**: seamlessly speeds up the feel of everyday browsing by caching DNS queries
- **Lightweight**: runs smoothly with [minimal hardware and software requirements](https://discourse.pi-hole.net/t/hardware-software-requirements/273)
- **Robust**: a command line interface that is quality assured for interoperability
- **Insightful**: a beautiful responsive Web Interface dashboard to view and control your Pi-hole
- **Versatile**: can optionally function as a [DHCP server](https://discourse.pi-hole.net/t/how-do-i-use-pi-holes-built-in-dhcp-server-and-why-would-i-want-to/3026), ensuring *all* your devices are protected automatically
- **Scalable**: [capable of handling hundreds of millions of queries](https://pi-hole.net/2017/05/24/how-much-traffic-can-pi-hole-handle/) when installed on server-grade hardware
[Piping to `bash` is controversial](https://pi-hole.net/2016/07/25/curling-and-piping-to-bash), as it prevents you from [reading code that is about to run](https://github.com/pi-hole/pi-hole/blob/master/automated%20install/basic-install.sh) on your system. Therefore, we provide these alternative installation methods which allow code review before installation:
Once the installer has been run, you will need to [configure your router to have **DHCP clients use Pi-hole as their DNS server**](https://discourse.pi-hole.net/t/how-do-i-configure-my-devices-to-use-pi-hole-as-their-dns-server/245) which ensures that all devices connecting to your network will have content blocked without any further intervention.
If your router does not support setting the DNS server, you can [use Pi-hole's built-in DHCP server](https://discourse.pi-hole.net/t/how-do-i-use-pi-holes-built-in-dhcp-server-and-why-would-i-want-to/3026); just be sure to disable DHCP on your router first (if it has that feature available).
There are many reoccurring costs involved with maintaining free, open source, and privacy-respecting software; expenses which [our volunteer developers](https://github.com/orgs/pi-hole/people) pitch in to cover out-of-pocket. This is just one example of how strongly we feel about our software, as well as the importance of keeping it maintained.
-<imgsrc="https://pi-hole.github.io/graphics/Badges/paypal-badge-black.svg"width="24"height="24"alt="PP"> [Donate via PayPal](https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=3J2L3Z4DHW9UY)
If you have something to add - anything from a typo through to a whole new feature, we're happy to check it out! Just make sure to fill out our template when submitting your request; the questions that it asks will help the volunteers quickly understand what you're aiming to achieve.
You'll find that the [install script](https://github.com/pi-hole/pi-hole/blob/master/automated%20install/basic-install.sh) and the [debug script](https://github.com/pi-hole/pi-hole/blob/master/advanced/Scripts/piholeDebug.sh) have an abundance of comments, which will help you better understand how Pi-hole works. They're also a valuable resource to those who want to learn how to write scripts or code a program! We encourage anyone who likes to tinker to read through it and submit a pull request for us to review.
Word-of-mouth continues to help our project grow immensely, and so we are helping make this easier for people.
If you are going to be presenting Pi-hole at a conference, meetup or even a school project, [get in touch with us](https://pi-hole.net/2017/05/17/giving-a-presentation-on-pi-hole-contact-us-first-for-some-goodies-and-support/) so we can hook you up with free swag to hand out to your audience!
While we are primarily reachable on our [Discourse User Forum](https://discourse.pi-hole.net/), we can also be found on a variety of social media outlets. **Please be sure to check the FAQ's** before starting a new discussion, as we do not have the spare time to reply to every request for assistance.
The `pihole` command has all the functionality necessary to be able to fully administer the Pi-hole, without the need of the Web Interface. It's fast, user-friendly, and auditable by anyone with an understanding of `bash`.
- [Viewing the live log file](https://github.com/pi-hole/pi-hole/wiki/Core-Function-Breakdown#tail)
- [Real-time Statistics via `ssh`](https://github.com/pi-hole/pi-hole/wiki/Core-Function-Breakdown#chronometer) or [your TFT LCD screen](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00ID39LM4/pihole09-20)
- [Updating Ad Lists](https://github.com/pi-hole/pi-hole/wiki/Core-Function-Breakdown#gravity)
- [Querying Ad Lists for blocked domains](https://github.com/pi-hole/pi-hole/wiki/Core-Function-Breakdown#query)
- [Enabling and Disabling Pi-hole](https://github.com/pi-hole/pi-hole/wiki/Core-Function-Breakdown#enable--disable)
You can read our [Core Feature Breakdown](https://github.com/pi-hole/pi-hole/wiki/Core-Function-Breakdown), as well as read up on [example usage](https://discourse.pi-hole.net/t/the-pihole-command-with-examples/738) for more information.
This [optional dashboard](https://github.com/pi-hole/AdminLTE) allows you to view stats, change settings, and configure your Pi-hole. It's the power of the Command Line Interface, with none of the learning curve!
FTLDNS is a lightweight, purpose-built daemon used to provide statistics needed for the Web Interface, and its API can be easily integrated into your own projects. As the name implies, FTLDNS does this all *very quickly*!
The API can be accessed via [`telnet`](https://github.com/pi-hole/FTL), the Web (`admin/api.php`) and Command Line (`pihole -c -j`). You can out find [more details over here](https://discourse.pi-hole.net/t/pi-hole-api/1863).
While quite outdated at this point, [this original blog post about Pi-hole](https://jacobsalmela.com/2015/06/16/block-millions-ads-network-wide-with-a-raspberry-pi-hole-2-0/) goes into **great detail** about how Pi-hole was originally set up and how it works. Syntactically, it's no longer accurate, but the same basic principles and logic still apply to Pi-hole's current state.
