Caddy Warden

Native security middleware for Caddy v2 to protect sensitive files, block reconnaissance bots, and stop path evasion tricks.

Caddy Warden (github.com/routewarden/caddy-warden) is an official Caddy v2 HTTP module. It plugs directly into your Caddyfile or Caddy's dynamic JSON API, blocking scanner probes before they touch your upstream web apps.

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What Does Caddy Warden Do?

🛡️ Instant Sensitive File Shield

Automatically blocks scans targeting .env, .git, AWS credentials, database dumps, and server status endpoints with zero config.

🔍 Automatic Anti-Evasion

Cleans up sneaky URLs before evaluating rules—handling double URL encoding, semicolon parameters, backslashes, and null bytes.

📝 Simple Caddyfile Directive

Configure everything in 3 lines right inside your existing Caddyfile or dynamically via Caddy's REST API.

💣 Deception & Custom Responses

Reply to attackers with custom JSON, 404 deceptions, silent TCP drops, Turnstile captcha challenges, or bot-crashing gzip bombs.

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30-Second Quick Start

Add Caddy Warden directives to your Caddyfile or JSON API:

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{    order routewarden before reverse_proxy}example.com {    routewarden {        enable_default_patterns true    }    reverse_proxy localhost:8080}

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Installation & Build

Build a custom Caddy binary with caddy-warden or run via Docker:

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# docker-compose.ymlservices:  caddy:    build:      context: .      dockerfile_inline: |        FROM caddy:2-builder AS builder        RUN xcaddy build --with github.com/routewarden/caddy-warden@v1.4.1        FROM caddy:2-alpine        COPY --from=builder /usr/bin/caddy /usr/bin/caddy    ports:      - "80:80"      - "443:443"    volumes:      - ./Caddyfile:/etc/caddy/Caddyfile:ro      - caddy_data:/data      - caddy_config:/configvolumes:  caddy_data:  caddy_config:

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Explore the Documentation

Guide	Description
🚀 Getting Started	Build Caddy with xcaddy or run with Docker in 2 minutes.
⚙️ Caddyfile Reference	Directive ordering, syntax schema, and configuration options.
📡 JSON API Reference	Native Caddy REST API schema and zero-downtime reconfiguration.
💡 Caddy Recipes & Examples	Real-world Caddyfile recipes (Honeypot bombs, Turnstile, VPN allowlists).
📜 Changelog & Releases	Complete release history, directive updates, and migration notes.