SafeLine

Summary

SafeLine is a self-hosted web application firewall (WAF) and reverse proxy, implemented in Go. It is designed to sit between internet traffic and a web application, filtering and monitoring HTTP(S) traffic, blocking attacks, and adding controls for abusive or unwanted access.

What it is useful for

SafeLine is useful when an engineer needs a self-hosted protection layer in front of an application rather than exposing the origin server directly to clients. Its documented attack coverage includes SQL injection, XSS, code injection, OS command injection, CRLF injection, XXE, SSRF, path traversal, RCE, and backdoor detection.

The README also lists rate limiting for brute-force attempts, traffic surges, and other abuse; an anti-bot challenge; an authentication challenge that can require a password; a web access control list; and dynamic encryption of HTML and JavaScript. These controls are relevant for public web applications and APIs that need filtering before requests reach the application server.

For infrastructure teams, the repository documents an Ingress-NGINX plugin for protecting Kubernetes ingress traffic and a Kong Gateway plugin for protecting APIs and services. It also includes a SafeLine MCP Server for AI-assisted management and control.

How engineers can use it

The README does not include a standalone, copy-paste installation command; it directs engineers to the Install Guide. The README also warns that people installing the international edition in mainland China may be unable to connect to cloud services and points to a Chinese installation document for that situation.

After deployment, use the Configuration guide to register an application and route its traffic through SafeLine. A practical starting point is to enable attack blocking, then configure rate limits, anti-bot challenges, or authentication challenges according to the application’s exposure. Dynamic HTML and JavaScript protection can also be enabled where the project’s delivery requirements allow it.

Engineers can use the documented live demo to observe how legitimate and malicious requests are handled, then consult the application and integration READMEs for deployment details. SafeLine is released under GPL-3.0, so review LICENSE.md before incorporating it into an organization’s workflow.