History

OpenWrt originated from the Linksys WRT54G project, which was a wireless router with its source code released under the GNU General Public License. Under this license, Linksys was required to make the source code of its modified version available under the same license. This allowed independent developers to create derivative versions. Initially, OpenWrt supported the WRT54G series, but later expanded to include routers and devices from other manufacturers. Using this code as a base and later as a reference, developers created a Linux distribution that provided features that were previously unavailable in consumer-grade routers. Initially, some features required proprietary software. For example, before OpenWrt 8.09 (based on Linux 2.6.25 and the b43 kernel module), WLAN for many Broadcom-based routers was only accessible via the proprietary wl.o module (which required Linux 2.4.x). OpenWrt versions were historically named after drinks, such as White Russian, Kamikaze, Backfire, Attitude Adjustment, Barrier Breaker, and Chaos Calmer, with their recipe displayed in the message of the day (motd) shown after login via the command-line interface (ash shell). In May 2016, OpenWrt was split by a group of core contributors due to internal process disagreements. This fork was known as the Linux Embedded Development Environment (LEDE). The split was reconciled a year later.

Components
The main components of OpenWrt include Linux, util-linux, musl, and BusyBox. All components are optimized to be small enough to fit into the limited memory and storage available in home routers. OpenWrt is configured using a command-line interface (ash shell) or a web interface (LuCI). Approximately 8,000 optional software packages are available for installation via the opkg package management system. OpenWrt can run on a variety of devices, including CPE routers, residential gateways, smartphones, handheld computers (such as the Ben NanoNote). OpenWrt can also be run on personal computers and laptops.

Features
OpenWrt offers several features that set it apart from other embedded operating systems. Some of these features include:

- **Flexibility and Customization**: OpenWrt allows users to modify their operating system by selecting the software packages they want to install. This enables users to add or remove features that meet their specific needs. For example, users can turn a router into a file server, print server, VPN server, web server, media server, DNS server, DHCP server, SSH server, FTP server, torrent server, and more.
- **Stability and Security**: OpenWrt includes a writable file system (JFFS2) that protects configuration changes in case of power outages or restarts. It also has a recovery system (failsafe mode) that allows access to the router in case of failure or configuration errors.