NetBird

NetBird is an open-source peer-to-peer mesh VPN. Once configured, you can access your private Sliplane services using their internal hostnames from any device connected to your NetBird network.

Prerequisites

• A NetBird account
• A Sliplane server with services you want to make private

Step 1: Get Your NetBird Setup Key

1. Log in to NetBird
2. Go to Setup Keys in the left menu
3. Create a new setup key or copy an existing one

Step 2: Deploy NetBird on Sliplane

Create a new service with the following configuration:

Setting	Value
Image	docker.io/netbirdio/netbird:latest
Network	Private (no public access)

Add these environment variables:

Variable	Value	Description
NB_SETUP_KEY	Your setup key from Step 1	Used for automatic registration
NB_HOSTNAME	routing-peer	The internal name for this peer
NB_USE_NETSTACK_MODE	true	Required - Enables userspace networking

Caution

The NB_USE_NETSTACK_MODE=true variable is required for NetBird to work properly in a container environment.

Step 3: Configure Network Resources

1. Go to app.netbird.io/networks
2. Select your network
3. Click Add Resource
4. Set the address to *.internal

This allows NetBird to route traffic to all your private Sliplane services.

Note

You may also need to add this resource to your Access Policies to allow traffic from your devices.

Step 4: Connect Your Local Device

1. Install the NetBird client on your local machine
2. Log in to your NetBird account
3. Your device will automatically connect to the mesh network

Step 5: Access Your Private Services

Once connected, you can access any private service using its internal hostname:

ping my-service.internal
curl http://my-database.internal:5432

The traffic goes through the encrypted NetBird tunnel, and your services remain inaccessible from the public internet.

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Troubleshooting

Service not reachable:

• Ensure the NetBird service is running on Sliplane
• Check that your local device is connected to NetBird
• Verify the *.internal resource is configured in NetBird

NetBird container not starting:

• Make sure NB_USE_NETSTACK_MODE is set to true
• Verify your setup key is valid and not expired