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OpenWard

A lightweight, self-hosted API rate limiting reverse proxy.

OpenWard sits between your clients and upstream APIs, enforcing configurable rate limits before forwarding requests.

Built in Go, OpenWard is designed around a simple philosophy:

  • Single binary deployment
  • SQLite persistence with WAL mode
  • Zero runtime dependencies
  • Project-based API authentication
  • High-performance reverse proxy
  • Self-hosted

Whether you're protecting your own APIs or placing limits in front of third-party services like OpenAI, OpenWard provides a simple, production-ready solution without requiring Redis or external infrastructure.

Why OpenWard?

Many rate limiting solutions rely on multiple moving parts—Redis, external databases, containers, or orchestration platforms.

OpenWard takes a different approach inspired from Pocketbase

By combining Go, SQLite in WAL mode, and an embedded dashboard into a single executable, OpenWard keeps deployment simple while remaining performant for real-world workloads.

Features

  • Reverse proxy
  • Multiple built-in rate limiting algorithms
    • Fixed Window
    • Sliding Window
    • Token Bucket
  • Embedded web dashboard (coming soon)
  • REST API (coming soon)

Project Status

Early Development

OpenWard is currently under active development.

The core proxy, rate limiting engine, configuration system, and SQLite storage are implemented. The web dashboard and management API are currently being built.

Breaking changes should be expected until the first stable release.

Next Steps

  • Read the About page to understand OpenWard's architecture and philosophy.
  • Follow the Quick Start guide to run your first instance.