Server Controller
Server Controller is our own Windows app: it lets you manage a DirectAdmin server running CrowdSec without typing a single command. We handled the design, development and releases ourselves.
The idea
From a string of commands to one click.
On servers running CrowdSec it happens all the time: a customer enters the wrong password a few times, their IP address gets blocked and the website or email stops working. The fix always meant opening PuTTY, logging in as root and typing exactly the right command. Server Controller turns that into a button.
ssh root@203.0.113.10 -p 22. root@203.0.113.10's password: ••••••••••. cscli decisions list -i 192.0.2.44. cscli decisions delete --ip 192.0.2.44. cscli allowlists add my_allowlist 192.0.2.44 -d "kantoor".
- Product
- Digitaal Motief's own software
- Platform
- Windows 10 and 11, portable
- Technology
- C# · .NET 8 · Avalonia UI
- Licence
- Open source (MIT) ↗
Try it yourself
Lift a block, right here.
This is a working replica of part of the IP management screen. Lift a block, select a few at once or try to block your own IP address: the app won't let you.
- Click Unblock next to an address.
- Tick a few rows and lift them together.
- Block
198.51.100.24, the address you are "connected" from.
-
192.0.2.44Email: repeated wrong passwordNL · KPN 3 h 12 m -
203.0.113.87WordPress scanUS · DigitalOcean 2 h 41 m -
198.51.100.201SSH password attackVN · VNPT 1 h 58 m -
203.0.113.15Probing for hidden filesRU · Rostelecom 3 h 30 m -
192.0.2.160Port scanDE · Hetzner 47 m -
198.51.100.9Email: repeated wrong passwordBR · Claro 2 h 05 m
No more blocks. Everything works again.
Tour
Everything you would otherwise do in the terminal.
These are real screens from the app. The interface is currently in Turkish.
-
01
Dashboard
CPU, memory, disk, uptime and the status of every service at a glance. If something turns red, you see it straight away.
-
02
IP management
Every block with its reason in plain language, the country it came from and when it expires. Lift them one by one or all at once.
-
03
Diagnostics
"I blocked it, but it still gets through." The app checks CrowdSec, the bouncer, the firewall, IPv6 and Cloudflare, and tells you where it goes wrong.
-
04
PHP and CustomBuild
Add or switch PHP versions and install extensions such as ionCube, Imagick and Redis. Long-running jobs can be followed live.
-
05
WordPress
Every WordPress site on the server is found automatically. Search, install, update and disable plugins without logging in to each site.
-
06
Mail queue
Who is sending the most mail? A hacked site pumping out spam stands out right away, and you clear the queue with one click.
-
07
Light or dark
A frosted-glass interface in the style of macOS, with a dark and a light theme.
In motion
From command to button in 20 seconds.
A terminal full of text makes way for a calm dashboard. That is what working with Server Controller feels like.
Security
Root access belongs in a vault.
An app that runs commands as root has to be well secured itself. That's why security is built into every layer, from the password to the update.
- 1Your app passwordonly you know it
- 2PBKDF2-SHA256310,000 iterations, salted
- 3AES-256-GCMencrypts every server password
- 4Stored locallynever sent online
Server fingerprint
On the first connection you confirm the server's identity. If it changes later, you get a warning.
No command injection
Every input, from IP address to plugin name, is validated and safely quoted.
Protected against mistakes
You can't block your own IP address, and risky actions such as a restart always ask for confirmation.
Verified updates
New versions are downloaded inside the app, verified with SHA-256 and installed. Your servers and settings are kept.
Locks itself
After a set period of inactivity the app locks itself, just like your phone.
Only your server
The app talks to nobody but your server. No account, no cloud, no tracking.
Open source
Free to use, open to everyone.
The full source code is on GitHub under the MIT licence. Every new version is built automatically and published as a portable zip: unzip, double-click and you're done. No installation and no .NET required.
- C#
- .NET 8
- Avalonia UI 11
- MVVM
- SSH.NET
- SQLite
- GitHub Actions
- System
- Windows 10 / 11 · 64-bit
- Size
- about 60 MB
- Installation
- not needed, portable
- Server
- DirectAdmin · CrowdSec 1.6.8+
More projects
Also made by us.
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