Reduce your ping. Free. Forever.
LightSpeed is a zero-cost, open-source global network optimizer for multiplayer games. It reduces latency by tunneling game traffic through optimally-placed proxy nodes that leverage cloud provider backbone networks — delivering measurable ping reduction without any subscription fees.
Your PC ──UDP Tunnel──▶ Proxy Node ──Direct UDP──▶ Game Server
(LightSpeed Client) (Vultr Cloud) (Epic/Valve)
~500KB RAM
- Intercept: LightSpeed captures outbound game UDP packets via local redirect or pcap
- Route: Select the optimal proxy node based on real-time latency (ML-powered or nearest)
- Tunnel: Packets are wrapped in a lightweight 20-byte header and sent through the proxy's superior network path
- Protect: FEC (Forward Error Correction) recovers lost packets in 3ms instead of 400ms+ retransmit
- Deliver: The game server receives your original packet — your real IP is preserved
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| 🆓 Free Forever | Zero infrastructure cost — Vultr free credits, no subscription |
| 🔓 Transparent | Unencrypted tunneling — anti-cheat friendly, no IP masking |
| 🛡️ FEC Protection | XOR-based Forward Error Correction — recover lost packets without retransmission |
| 🌐 WARP Boost | Optional Cloudflare WARP integration for 5-10ms local route optimization |
| 🤖 AI-Powered | ML route selection via linfa Random Forest (11 network features) |
| 🎮 Game Support | Fortnite, CS2, Dota 2 (and growing) |
| 🌍 Global Mesh | Proxy nodes in US-West (LA) and Asia (Singapore) |
| 🦀 Rust | High-performance async runtime with Tokio, ~500KB RAM per proxy |
| 📖 Open Source | Full transparency, community-driven development |
| Metric | Target | Achieved |
|---|---|---|
| Tunnel overhead | ≤ 5ms | 162μs ✅ |
| Test pass rate | 100% | 52/52 + 8 FEC (100%) ✅ |
| Security findings | 0 Critical/High | 0 ✅ |
| Proxy RAM usage | < 10MB | ~500KB ✅ |
| WARP improvement | — | 5-10ms ✅ |
| Node Region | Latency (from Bangkok) | Role |
|---|---|---|
| US-West (Los Angeles) | 206ms | Primary proxy |
| Asia (Singapore) | 31ms | FEC multipath / SEA relay |
With WARP enabled: 193ms to LA — only 6ms off ExitLag's premium 187ms — at zero cost.
Every user runs their own proxy node. Set one up on any VPS in under 5 minutes — see Running the Proxy Server and infra/README.md.
| Game | Anti-Cheat | UDP Ports | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fortnite | EasyAntiCheat | 7000-9000 | ✅ Redirect mode ready |
| Counter-Strike 2 | VAC | 27015-27050 | ✅ Redirect mode ready |
| Dota 2 | VAC | 27015-27050 | ✅ Redirect mode ready |
Download the latest release for your platform from GitHub Releases.
| Platform | Download |
|---|---|
| Windows x64 | lightspeed-vX.Y.Z-windows-x64.zip |
| Linux x64 | lightspeed-vX.Y.Z-linux-x64.tar.gz |
| Linux ARM64 | lightspeed-vX.Y.Z-linux-arm64.tar.gz |
- Rust 1.75+ (stable, 2021 edition)
- C compiler (MSVC on Windows, gcc on Linux)
- Optional: Npcap (Windows) or libpcap (Linux/macOS) for packet capture features
# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/ShibbityShwab/lightspeed.git
cd lightspeed
# Build both client and proxy (release mode)
cargo build --release
# Binaries will be at:
# target/release/lightspeed (client)
# target/release/lightspeed-proxy (proxy server)You need a proxy node to connect to. Either run your own on any Linux VPS, or join the community to find nodes near you.
# Redirect mode — recommended for game integration
lightspeed --game fortnite --redirect --proxy YOUR_PROXY_IP:4434
# With FEC enabled (recovers packet loss)
lightspeed --game fortnite --redirect --proxy YOUR_PROXY_IP:4434 --fec
# With WARP optimization (install Cloudflare WARP first)
lightspeed --game cs2 --redirect --proxy YOUR_PROXY_IP:4434 --warp
# Test tunnel connectivity
lightspeed --game fortnite --proxy YOUR_PROXY_IP:4434 --test
# Verbose logging
lightspeed --game dota2 --verbose# Start the proxy with default settings
lightspeed-proxy
# Custom bind address and ports
lightspeed-proxy --bind 0.0.0.0 --data-port 4434 --control-port 4433
# With config file
lightspeed-proxy --config proxy.toml
# Verbose logging
lightspeed-proxy --verboseLightSpeed uses TOML configuration files. A default config is generated on first run:
# ~/.lightspeed/config.toml
[general]
game = "fortnite"
log_level = "info"
[proxy]
address = "YOUR_PROXY_IP:4434" # IP of your own proxy node
control_port = 4433
[tunnel]
keepalive_interval_secs = 5
timeout_secs = 30
fec_enabled = true
fec_group_size = 8
[route]
strategy = "nearest"lightspeed/
├── client/ # Rust client — packet capture, tunnel, ML routing
│ └── src/
│ ├── main.rs # CLI, test modes, WARP/FEC/redirect orchestration
│ ├── config.rs # TOML configuration
│ ├── error.rs # Centralized error types
│ ├── warp.rs # Cloudflare WARP integration
│ ├── redirect.rs # UDP redirect proxy (game integration)
│ ├── tunnel/ # UDP tunnel engine, header codec, relay
│ ├── quic/ # QUIC control plane (discovery, health)
│ ├── route/ # Route selection, multipath, failover
│ ├── capture/ # Cross-platform packet capture
│ ├── ml/ # ML model: features, training, prediction
│ └── games/ # Per-game configurations (Fortnite, CS2, Dota 2)
├── proxy/ # Rust proxy server — UDP relay, auth, metrics
│ └── src/
│ ├── relay.rs # Session-based packet relay loop
│ ├── auth.rs # Token authentication
│ ├── rate_limit.rs # Per-client PPS/BPS rate limiting
│ ├── abuse.rs # Amplification/reflection detection
│ ├── metrics.rs # Prometheus metrics
│ ├── health.rs # HTTP health check endpoint
│ └── control.rs # QUIC control server
├── protocol/ # Shared protocol crate
│ └── src/
│ ├── header.rs # 20-byte tunnel header (v1 plain, v2 FEC)
│ ├── control.rs # Binary control messages
│ └── fec.rs # XOR Forward Error Correction
├── docs/ # Architecture, protocol spec, security audit
├── infra/ # Terraform, Docker, deployment scripts
├── tools/ # E2E test scripts, echo server
└── web/ # Landing page (GitHub Pages)
See docs/architecture.md for the full system design and docs/protocol.md for the tunnel protocol specification.
| ExitLag | WTFast | LightSpeed | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $6.50/mo | $9.99/mo | Free |
| Encryption | Yes | Yes | No (transparent) |
| IP Preserved | No | No | Yes |
| Anti-Cheat Safe | Sometimes | Sometimes | By design |
| FEC | No | No | Yes (XOR parity) |
| Open Source | No | No | Yes |
| AI Routing | Proprietary | Proprietary | Open (linfa RF) |
| Proxy RAM | Unknown | Unknown | ~500KB |
# Run all tests
cargo test --workspace
# Run specific test suite
cargo test -p lightspeed-proxy --test integration_e2e
# Run FEC tests
cargo test -p lightspeed-protocol fec
# Check without building
cargo check --workspace
# Format code
cargo fmt --all
# Lint
cargo clippy --workspace- Architecture Design
- Protocol Specification — v1 (plain) and v2 (FEC)
- Security Audit
- Test Report
- Changelog
- Infrastructure
- v0.1.0 — MVP: UDP tunnel, proxy server, QUIC control, security hardening, 52 tests
- v0.2.0 — FEC (XOR parity), Cloudflare WARP integration, UDP redirect mode, live Vultr mesh, protocol v2
- v0.3.0 — Prometheus + Grafana monitoring, 10 alerting rules, CI/CD pipeline, pre-built binaries, load tested at 0.00% packet loss, online ML learning
- v0.4.0 — US-East node, EU-West node, Discord community, installer wizard
- v1.0.0 — Public stable release: polished UX, full game support matrix, community proxy network
LightSpeed is community-driven. Contributions welcome — open an issue or submit a PR.
This project uses a dual-licensing model to protect its technical discoveries and implementations:
- Free for Non-Commercial & Personal Use: You can use, study, and modify this project for personal or educational purposes, provided you give explicit credit and attribution to the original authors.
- Paid for Commercial Use: You are strictly prohibited from using this software, its architecture, or its underlying technologies to generate revenue, offer SaaS products, or integrate into proprietary systems without permission.
If you wish to use this technology commercially, you must contact the author to negotiate and purchase a commercial license.
See LICENSE for full details.
Built with 🦀 Rust and ⚡ ambition.
