Split tunnelling for Windows · Free public beta
Rules for your routes.
Send each app, IP or subnet out the network interface you choose. Run WireGuard, Tailscale, OpenVPN and your work VPN side by side.
What is Rouler?
Rouler is split tunnelling for Windows. You choose which network interface each app uses: a privacy VPN for your browser, a work tunnel for work apps, and your normal connection for everything else. They all run at the same time.
It does one job at the network layer, sending each app's traffic out the interface you chose. It isn't a VPN or a firewall.
Works with any VPN client
Rouler works with network interfaces, so it isn't tied to a particular VPN. Use the official WireGuard client, Tailscale, Mullvad, OpenVPN or AmneziaWG, and run several side by side. If Windows has an interface for it, Rouler can send traffic over it.
A rule can match an app, a destination IP or subnet, or both. So one app can use different interfaces for different destinations. Your VPN clients keep running as they normally do, and there's nothing to import.
A custom Rust driver
Rouler uses its own Windows network driver, written in Rust. It's small and fast, and it changes as little of your system's networking as it can.
Apps and services
Make rules for programs and for Windows services, so background services use the interface you choose instead of your default one. Rules for packaged apps and folders are coming.
See what happened
A live view shows every connection, the rule it matched, and whether it was diverted, routed by Windows, or blocked. No digging through logs.
A clean UI
Detailed control over each app's traffic, in an interface that stays out of your way.
A closer look
A few of the screens you'll use.
Pick the interface
Point a rule at a specific interface, or let the system route it.
Scope by IP range
Narrow a rule to an IP range. Rouler shows which interfaces can reach it.
Rule from any connection
Right-click a connection in the activity view to make a rule from it.
Why it works the way it does
Design philosophy
Like a lot of people, I can't stand software that sits in the background interfering with everything: Discord overlays, junk utilities for a monitor or mouse, motherboard software that tries to install a copy of Norton. It never ends.
So Rouler is built on a few rules:
Interfere as little as possible
No system hooks, no virtual network adapters, no user-mode proxy, no custom NAT, and nothing that trips game anti-cheat. Rouler builds on what already ships in Windows.
Everything in the open
Every action Rouler takes shows up in the app. If it did something, you can see it.
Fast
It should be quick and stay out of the way.
How it works
Rouler only touches traffic you've written a rule for. A rule matches an app, optionally narrowed to a destination IP or subnet, and sends it out the interface you pick. Anything without a rule goes through normal Windows routing.
For example, take a machine with three interfaces:
- Ethernet and Mullvad both have a default route (
0.0.0.0/0), so they can reach anything. You can send any app out either one. - Tailscale only has a route for
10.0.0.0/20, so it can only carry traffic to that subnet. You can send an app over Tailscale just for10.0.0.0/20.
So these rules all work together:
Chrome's other traffic has no rule, so like Steam, Windows routes it as normal. Rouler applies a rule just before Windows makes its routing decision, and leaves everything else alone.
Rouler doesn't edit your route table. Each interface's routes still decide what it can reach, so you can run as many interfaces as you like, as long as their routes don't conflict.
Performance
In everyday use, you won't notice Rouler is running.
No extra lag
Games and calls feel the same with Rouler on. The delay it adds is too small to measure.
Full-speed connection
Uploads run at full speed, even on a 2.5 Gb/s connection, and downloads are never slowed.
Light on your PC
Rouler uses very little CPU in normal use. It only works hard under loads far beyond what real apps send.
Small and light
The installer is just 4.3 MB. Minimised to the system tray, Rouler settles to about 15 MB to 20 MB of memory within 30 seconds.
For the full results, or to run the same tests on your own PCs, see the Performance doc.
Help shape it
Design choices I'd like feedback on
These are deliberate choices to keep your machine working the way you'd expect. I'd like to hear how they work for you.
- 1
Apps can choose their own interface
Rouler lets them, so things like casting to a TV keep working.
- 2
DNS doesn't follow app rules yet
Most lookups go through one Windows service that doesn't say which app asked.
- 3
System routed means Rouler leaves it alone
Windows' route table decides, just as it would without Rouler.
- 4
Traffic is blocked rather than leaked
If a rule's interface can't carry it, Rouler blocks it instead of sending it elsewhere.
Think something should work differently? Email me at beta@rouler.io.
Roadmap
Rouler is early. This is the order I'm building it in.
Next
Reliability and speed
Make it fast and stable across as many real setups as the beta turns up.
Later
Features and UI
Rules for packaged apps and folders, and a more polished UI.
Who makes Rouler
I'm an independent developer based in Australia. Rouler is a solo project. It's just me, building the kind of tool I want to use.
I'm a dad, a lifelong gamer, and a tech enthusiast who's been on Windows since the '90s, with around 25 years in tech behind me. Over that time I've built up a strong sense of how a system should run, and a low tolerance for software that fights you. I care about tools that respect your machine and stay out of the way.
Before you install
- 64-bit Intel or AMD only. There's no ARM build yet.
- The interface is English only for now.
- Windows may show a SmartScreen warning for the installer. Choose More info, then Run anyway. The installer is signed with an EV certificate and the driver is signed by Microsoft. The warning goes away once the certificate builds up a reputation with Microsoft.
- Rouler installs a network driver, and it's early days. If you'd rather not run new software on your main machine, try it in a VM or Windows Sandbox first.
FAQ
Will it be free?
Only the beta is free. The release version won't be. I haven't settled on pricing yet.
How do I give feedback?
Email me at beta@rouler.io.
Join the beta, or stay up to date
Get a free beta key and try it now. Your feedback decides what I work on next. Not ready yet? Join the updates list and I'll email you when there's news.
Get your free beta key
Your beta key and a download link arrive by email. Places are limited so I can keep up with feedback. Once they're gone, new sign-ups go on a waitlist.