Entware Pi-hole directly on the router? Yes!

[jacklul]

Followed your guide, still says DNS service not running. If I change the DNS Server 1 field under LAN > DHCP Server to blank as your guide says from my current PiHole address, I just lose all internet.

I'm sure it's something I'm doing wrong but what that is, is the question.

I also still can't access the router PiHole even after changing those settings here > https://github.com/jacklul/entware-pi-hole/wiki/Install-on-Asuswrt‐Merlin

Please run "pihole debug" command, upload when prompted and send me the link.

 

[heslo]

Please run "pihole debug" command, upload when prompted and send me the link.

Here ya go mate

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[jacklul]

Here ya go mate

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Your pihole.toml shows changes to variables that were customized for Entware:

     [webserver.tls]
       cert = "/etc/pihole/tls.pem" ### CHANGED, default = "/opt/etc/pihole/tls.pem"
     [webserver.paths]
       webroot = "/var/www/html" ### CHANGED, default = "/opt/share/pihole/www"
 [files]
     pid = "/run/pihole-FTL.pid" ### CHANGED, default = "/opt/var/run/pihole-FTL.pid"
     database = "/etc/pihole/pihole-FTL.db" ### CHANGED, default = "/opt/etc/pihole/pihole-FTL.db"
     gravity = "/etc/pihole/gravity.db" ### CHANGED, default = "/opt/etc/pihole/gravity.db"
     gravity_tmp = "/tmp" ### CHANGED, default = "/opt/tmp"
     macvendor = "/etc/pihole/macvendor.db" ### CHANGED, default = "/opt/etc/pihole/macvendor.db"
     [files.log]
       ftl = "/var/log/pihole/FTL.log" ### CHANGED, default = "/opt/var/log/pihole/FTL.log"
       dnsmasq = "/var/log/pihole/pihole.log" ### CHANGED, default = "/opt/var/log/pihole/pihole.log"
       webserver = "/var/log/pihole/webserver.log" ### CHANGED, default = "/opt/var/log/pihole/webserver.log"
   [misc]

You restored values that are in official releases. Did you base your config file on something found online?

You also set 127.0.0.1:5335 as one of your upstreams but there is nothing listening on that port.

 

[heslo]

Your pihole.toml shows changes to variables that were customized for Entware:

     [webserver.tls]
       cert = "/etc/pihole/tls.pem" ### CHANGED, default = "/opt/etc/pihole/tls.pem"
     [webserver.paths]
       webroot = "/var/www/html" ### CHANGED, default = "/opt/share/pihole/www"
 [files]
     pid = "/run/pihole-FTL.pid" ### CHANGED, default = "/opt/var/run/pihole-FTL.pid"
     database = "/etc/pihole/pihole-FTL.db" ### CHANGED, default = "/opt/etc/pihole/pihole-FTL.db"
     gravity = "/etc/pihole/gravity.db" ### CHANGED, default = "/opt/etc/pihole/gravity.db"
     gravity_tmp = "/tmp" ### CHANGED, default = "/opt/tmp"
     macvendor = "/etc/pihole/macvendor.db" ### CHANGED, default = "/opt/etc/pihole/macvendor.db"
     [files.log]
       ftl = "/var/log/pihole/FTL.log" ### CHANGED, default = "/opt/var/log/pihole/FTL.log"
       dnsmasq = "/var/log/pihole/pihole.log" ### CHANGED, default = "/opt/var/log/pihole/pihole.log"
       webserver = "/var/log/pihole/webserver.log" ### CHANGED, default = "/opt/var/log/pihole/webserver.log"
   [misc]

You restored values that are in official releases. Did you base your config file on something found online?

You also set 127.0.0.1:5335 as one of your upstreams but there is nothing listening on that port.

I've never touched it other than to make the changes specified here

 

[jacklul]

I've never touched it other than to make the changes specified here

Hmm, that is weird because this shouldn't happen by itself.
The config file also has query logging disabled and few other changes that the guide does not mention.
Can you try and restore the defaults for mentioned variables and restart pihole-FTL?

It also looks like /opt/etc/pihole/gravity.db is missing, it should be created by the package install script, weird. Were there any errors during package install ?
You can force the creation of the database with "pihole -g" command.

 

[heslo]

Hmm, that is weird because this shouldn't happen by itself.
Can you try and restore the defaults for mentioned variables and restart pihole-FTL?

It also looks like /opt/etc/pihole/gravity.db is missing, it should be created by the package install script, weird.

I can but just about to hop into bed (early start tomorrow)

I'll give it a whirl at some stage tomorrow when I'm home but yeah, definitely didn't change anything myself. I'll change those variables to defaults and go from there. I also did notice that gravity.db was missing as well, not sure why that wasn't created. Anything else I need to change while I'm at it?

Appreciate the help btw, thanks for the patience, I'm not exactly a power user with this sort of stuff

 

[heslo]

Hmm, that is weird because this shouldn't happen by itself.
The config file also has query logging disabled and few other changes that the guide does not mention.
Can you try and restore the defaults for mentioned variables and restart pihole-FTL?

It also looks like /opt/etc/pihole/gravity.db is missing, it should be created by the package install script, weird. Were there any errors during package install ?
You can force the creation of the database with "pihole -g" command.

xxxxxx@RT-AX88U-17A0:/tmp/home/root# pihole -g
[✓] DNS resolution is available

Creating new gravity database
Error: unable to open database "/etc/pihole/gravity.db": unable to open database file
[✗] Unable to create /etc/pihole/gravity.db
[✗] Error creating new gravity database. Please contact support.
[✗] Unable to migrate to database. Please contact support.

That's what I get when I try to run pihole -g


I couldn't go to bed with at least trying what you recommended and changing the variables in pihole.toml but still nothing. Can't load the WebUI and DNS service still not running

 

[jacklul]

xxxxxx@RT-AX88U-17A0:/tmp/home/root# pihole -g
[✓] DNS resolution is available

Creating new gravity database
Error: unable to open database "/etc/pihole/gravity.db": unable to open database file
[✗] Unable to create /etc/pihole/gravity.db
[✗] Error creating new gravity database. Please contact support.
[✗] Unable to migrate to database. Please contact support.

That's what I get when I try to run pihole -g


I couldn't go to bed with at least trying what you recommended and changing the variables in pihole.toml but still nothing. Can't load the WebUI and DNS service still not running

You will have to fix variables issue I mentioned earlier first because it clearly tries to use the wrong paths. It won't work as long those paths aren't corrected.

Might be worth removing the package, removing/renaming /opt/etc/pihole and starting from scratch.

Are you sure you didn't copy the config from your RPi? Or used teleporter restore (including config)?

 

[capitantrueno]

Hi there,

I have an Asus 4g-AC86U router (quite similar to the Asus RT-AC86U in features). The router firmware is 3.0.0.4.382_41621. It is a firmware that has not been updated for a long time. With the goal of increasing my privacy, my intention is to reduce/remove the amount of ads flooding my network. I have seen this project and would like to know if given the characteristics of my hardware (Asus 4G-AC86U specs) and the age of my software, I can make use of it or not.

I have checked the corresponding repository to install ENTWARE and I have been able to verify that my hardware is compatible.

I have also checked the instructions to enable the use of a swap file in the ASUSWRT stock firmware and create a 2GB swap partition.

Best,

 

[heslo]

You will have to fix variables issue I mentioned earlier first because it clearly tries to use the wrong paths. It won't work as long those paths aren't corrected.

Might be worth removing the package, removing/renaming /opt/etc/pihole and starting from scratch.

Are you sure you didn't copy the config from your RPi? Or used teleporter restore (including config)?

Yeah I've already fixed those variables, same outcome.

I think you're right that removing and re-installing might be a good way forward, best way of doing so?

And yeah, definitely didn't copy anything across from the RPi

 

[JGrana]

Given where this project is going, all we need now is “pihole_manager” ;-)

 

[Clark Griswald]

PiHoleMON for amtm

I'm curious about the added work for the router's limited resources while running pihole? I personally try to run as little as possible on the router so that it can do the job it is designed.

 

[jacklul]

I have seen this project and would like to know if given the characteristics of my hardware (Asus 4G-AC86U specs) and the age of my software, I can make use of it or not.

You should check that you have at least 100MB of free memory, the daemon itself usually stays below 50MB but weekly gravity update really loves the memory, swap file and not much available memory will cause a sudden slowdown, might be less of an issue if you have fast SSD plugged in.

Yeah I've already fixed those variables, same outcome.

I think you're right that removing and re-installing might be a good way forward, best way of doing so?

And yeah, definitely didn't copy anything across from the RPi

You should double check that pihole.toml has the changes you made after writing to it, if you make a syntax error then Pi-hole might restore previous configuration.

I'm curious about the added work for the router's limited resources while running pihole? I personally try to run as little as possible on the router so that it can do the job it is designed.

It's not heavy on the CPU as far as I can tell, memory usage also seems stable. The weekly lists update (gravity update) is where the memory usage spikes up.

 

[capitantrueno]

You should check that you have at least 100MB of free memory, the daemon itself usually stays below 50MB but weekly gravity update really loves the memory, swap file and not much available memory will cause a sudden slowdown, might be less of an issue if you have fast SSD plugged in.

Hi again,

Thank you for your response. I am going to try a 16 GB USB stick and a 2 GB swap file on it. I don't know if I will be able to apply all the settings detailed in the README from the repository, as some of the options described in it, do not exist on my router.

Best,

 

[bibikalka]

@bibikalka btw: have you checked if "pihole status" and "pihole updateGravity" work without any errors or warnings in your setup?
Those commands use hardcoded 127.0.0.1 for DNS and HTTP checks.
I think I will have to work on getting those hardcoded stuff functional in advanced setups.

Also might be worth updating the guide as the pages with toml configs no longer exist.

Yeah, all of this runs fine, see the outputs:

admin@RT-AC86U-9988:/tmp/home/root# pihole status
  [✓] FTL is listening on port 53
     [✓] UDP (IPv4)
     [✓] TCP (IPv4)
     [✗] UDP (IPv6)
     [✗] TCP (IPv6)

  [✓] Pi-hole blocking is enabled
admin@RT-AC86U-9988:/tmp/home/root# pihole updateGravity
  [✓] DNS resolution is available

  [i] Neutrino emissions detected...

  [✓] Preparing new gravity database
  [✓] Creating new gravity databases
  [✓] Pulling blocklist source list into range
  [i] Using libz compression

  [i] Target: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/StevenBlack/hosts/master/hosts
  [✓] Status: Retrieval successful
  [i] List has been updated
  [✓] Parsed 231413 exact domains and 0 ABP-style domains (blocking, ignored 1 non-domain entries)
      Sample of non-domain entries:
        - fe80::1%lo0

  [✓] Building tree
  [i] Number of gravity domains: 231413 (231413 unique domains)
  [i] Number of exact denied domains: 0
  [i] Number of regex denied filters: 16
  [i] Number of exact allowed domains: 0
  [i] Number of regex allowed filters: 0
  [✓] Optimizing database
  [✓] Swapping databases
  [✓] The old database remains available
  [✓] Cleaning up stray matter

  [✓] Done.

 

[heslo]

Ok I'm definitely lost now. Trying to remove the Pihole package and start from a clean slate. Ran the command "opkg remove pihole" and it returns with "No packages removed"

What am I doing wrong and what's the best way to remove this so I can start again with hopefully a non botched install

 

[jacklul]

Ok I'm definitely lost now. Trying to remove the Pihole package and start from a clean slate. Ran the command "opkg remove pihole" and it returns with "No packages removed"

What am I doing wrong and what's the best way to remove this so I can start again with hopefully a non botched install

The package is called "pi-hole".

 

[heslo]

The package is called "pi-hole".

Jesus I'm a moron, thank you!

I've been running around in circles trying to get this to work I'm just tied up in knots now lol

That worked, I'll do a re-install tomorrow and see if that fares any better than what I just went through, cheers

 

[capitantrueno]

Hi @jacklul!
I am following the recommendations to install the prerequisites (asuswrt-scripts). After installing the boot script (‘https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jacklul/asuswrt-scripts/master/scripts/scripts-startup.sh’), when I check the value of “nvram get script_usbmount”, I notice that my previous content has been overwritten. What would be the best way to re-enable the swap partition?

if [ $1 = "/tmp/mnt/ENTWARE" ]; then
  ln -sf \$1 /tmp/opt
  # Start the swap:
  swapon /tmp/mnt/ENTWARE/myswap.swp           
  # Run the `free` command to see the swap is started
  # Uninstall swap:
  # swapoff /tmp/mnt/ENTWARE/myswap.swp
  # Delete swap: `rm /tmp/mnt/volume-label/myswap.swp`
  /opt/etc/init.d/rc.unslung start
fi

Thanks
BR

 

[heslo]

Getting this now on re-install

admin@RT-AX88U-17A0:/tmp/home/root# opkg update && opkg install pi-hole
Downloading https://bin.entware.net/aarch64-k3.10/Packages.gz
Updated list of available packages in /opt/var/opkg-lists/entware
Downloading https://jacklul.github.io/entware-pi-hole/aarch64-k3.10/Packages.gz
Updated list of available packages in /opt/var/opkg-lists/pi-hole
package pi-hole suggests installing logrotate
Installing pi-hole (2025.08.19-1) to root...
Downloading https://jacklul.github.io/entware-pi-hole/aarch64-k3.10/pi-hole_2025.08.19-1_aarch64-3.10.ipk
package pi-hole suggests installing logrotate
Configuring pi-hole.
  [i] Running Pi-hole install/upgrade tasks...
  [i] Setting random gravity update and updatechecker times...
  [i] Setting user and group in logrotate file...
  [i] It looks like the root user is not called 'root' - this can cause issues!
  [i] Correcting username in crontab file...
  [i] Generated password for the web interface: s7gH_pKp
  [i] It can be changed using 'pihole setpassword' command.
  [✓] Restarting pihole-FTL service...
  [✓] DNS resolution is available

  [i] Creating new gravity database
Error: unable to open database "/etc/pihole/gravity.db": unable to open database file
   [✗] Unable to create /etc/pihole/gravity.db
   [✗] Error creating new gravity database. Please contact support.
   [✗] Unable to migrate to database. Please contact support.
  [✗] Gravity database rebuild failed - waited 1 hour for it to complete!

I still can't access the WebUI on a fresh install either but no idea why it's not building the gravity database