As someone who enjoys experimenting with self-hosted solutions, I recently decided to implement SafeLine WAF in my homelab. SafeLine, developed by Chaitin Tech, is a self-hosted WAF that uses AI-powered semantic analysis to offer advanced protection for web applications.
In this post, I’ll share my experience with SafeLine, why I chose it over other WAF solutions, and how you can set it up in your own homelab.
What is SafeLine WAF?
SafeLine is a self-hosted Web Application Firewall that works as a reverse proxy. It provides real-time protection by intercepting and filtering web traffic before it reaches your web applications. What sets SafeLine apart from traditional WAFs is its use of semantic analysis powered by machine learning, which helps detect and block malicious traf…
As someone who enjoys experimenting with self-hosted solutions, I recently decided to implement SafeLine WAF in my homelab. SafeLine, developed by Chaitin Tech, is a self-hosted WAF that uses AI-powered semantic analysis to offer advanced protection for web applications.
In this post, I’ll share my experience with SafeLine, why I chose it over other WAF solutions, and how you can set it up in your own homelab.
What is SafeLine WAF?
SafeLine is a self-hosted Web Application Firewall that works as a reverse proxy. It provides real-time protection by intercepting and filtering web traffic before it reaches your web applications. What sets SafeLine apart from traditional WAFs is its use of semantic analysis powered by machine learning, which helps detect and block malicious traffic based on intent, not just signatures.
Key Features of SafeLine:
- Real-Time Blocking: Sub-millisecond detection speeds block malicious traffic as it enters.
- Versatile Protection: Guards against SQL injection, XSS, RCE, path traversal attacks, HTTP floods, bots, and zero-day vulnerabilities.
- Self-Hosted: You control your data; no third-party services involved.
With over 17.3K GitHub stars and protecting over 1 million websites, SafeLine has become a popular choice for self-hosted security.
Why Choose SafeLine Over Alternatives?
I evaluated several WAF solutions, but SafeLine stood out for a few key reasons:
Performance Comparison
Based on community benchmarks, SafeLine consistently outperforms other WAF solutions in detection rates and false positives:
| Solution | Detection Rate | False Positives | Overall Accuracy |
|---|---|---|---|
| SafeLine (Balanced) | 71.65% | 0.07% | 99.45% |
| SafeLine (Strict) | 76.17% | 0.22% | 99.38% |
| ModSecurity Level 1 | 69.74% | 17.58% | 82.20% |
| Cloudflare Free | 10.70% | 0.07% | 98.40% |
As you can see, SafeLine strikes a great balance between detection and minimal false positives, offering much better accuracy than other solutions like ModSecurity and Cloudflare.
Why I Chose SafeLine:
- Performance: SafeLine’s detection rates are consistently high, and false positives are incredibly low.
- No Traffic Limits: Unlike Cloudflare, there are no traffic restrictions or ongoing costs with SafeLine.
- Privacy: Your data stays within your homelab, providing greater control and privacy.
- Ease of Use: SafeLine’s web-based management interface is straightforward, and it’s easier to configure than alternatives like ModSecurity.
Setting Up SafeLine in My Homelab
Setting up SafeLine was surprisingly easy. Here’s a step-by-step guide to getting it up and running on your own system.
Prerequisites
Before you begin, make sure you have the following:
- Linux OS (I’m using Ubuntu 24.04)
- Docker & Docker Compose installed
- At least 1GB RAM and 5GB storage
Quick Installation
SafeLine provides an automated installer for easy deployment. To install with an English interface, run the following command:
bash -c "$(curl -fsSLk https://waf.chaitin.com/release/latest/manager.sh)" -- --en
Give it a try and see how SafeLine can help protect your web applications! Official Website: https://waf.chaitin.com Discord Community: https://discord.gg/3aRJ4qfwjA GitHub Repo: https://github.com/chaitin/SafeLine