create_ap

WiFi access point creation tool

TLDR

Create an open network without passphrase

$ create_ap [wlan0] [eth0] [access_point_ssid]

Create AP with WPA/WPA2 passphrase

$ create_ap [wlan0] [eth0] [access_point_ssid] [passphrase]

Create AP without Internet sharing

$ create_ap -n [wlan0] [access_point_ssid] [passphrase]

Create bridged network with Internet sharing

$ create_ap -m bridge [wlan0] [eth0] [access_point_ssid] [passphrase]

Use pre-configured bridge interface

$ create_ap -m bridge [wlan0] [br0] [access_point_ssid] [passphrase]

Share Internet from same WiFi interface

$ create_ap [wlan0] [wlan0] [access_point_ssid] [passphrase]

Use different WiFi driver

$ create_ap --driver [wifi_adapter] [wlan0] [eth0] [access_point_ssid] [passphrase]

SYNOPSIS

create_ap [options] wifiinterface [internetinterface] [ssid] [passphrase]

create_ap creates a WiFi access point using hostapd. It handles the complex configuration of hostapd, dnsmasq, iptables, and network interfaces automatically, abstracting away the tedious manual setup typically required.The tool configures hostapd to create the access point, sets up dnsmasq for DHCP and DNS services, establishes NAT routing through iptables (or bridging if specified), and manages network interface configuration. It supports NAT mode (default) for sharing Internet connections, bridge mode for transparent network bridging, and isolated mode without Internet sharing.

PARAMETERS

-n

Don't share Internet (isolated AP)

-m mode

Mode: nat (default), bridge, none

--driver driver

WiFi driver (nl80211, rtl871xdrv, etc.)

-c channel

WiFi channel

--hidden

Hide SSID

--ieee80211n

Enable 802.11n

--ieee80211ac

Enable 802.11ac

INSTALL

yay -S create_ap

CAVEATS

Requires hostapd and dnsmasq. WiFi adapter must support AP mode. Some adapters may not work due to driver limitations. Requires root privileges. The original create_ap project (by oblique) is archived and no longer maintained; the actively developed successor is linux-router (the lnxrouter command), which keeps a compatible command-line interface.

RESOURCES

Source code