Platform Overview

NextDNS Blocker runs on macOS, Linux, Windows, and Docker with platform-specific optimizations.

Supported Platforms

Platform	Scheduler	Status
macOS	launchd	Full support
Linux	cron	Full support
Windows	Task Scheduler	Full support
WSL	cron	Full support
Docker	Built-in cron	Full support

Platform Detection

NextDNS Blocker automatically detects your platform and uses the appropriate scheduler:

nextdns-blocker watchdog status

Shows:

Platform: macOS (launchd)
# or
Platform: Linux (cron)
# or
Platform: Windows (Task Scheduler)

Key Differences

File Locations

Component	macOS/Linux	Windows
Config	~/.config/nextdns-blocker/	%APPDATA%\nextdns-blocker\
Data	~/.local/share/nextdns-blocker/	%LOCALAPPDATA%\nextdns-blocker\
Logs	~/.local/share/nextdns-blocker/logs/	%LOCALAPPDATA%\nextdns-blocker\logs\

Scheduler Behavior

Aspect	macOS	Linux	Windows
Service	launchd	cron	Task Scheduler
Interval	2 minutes	2 minutes	2 minutes
User scope	Per-user	Per-user	Per-user
Boot start	Automatic	Requires config	Automatic

File Permissions

Platform	Sensitive Files
macOS/Linux	chmod 600 (owner only)
Windows	User ACL (default)

Platform Guides

macOS

• launchd configuration
• Homebrew installation
• System permissions
• Troubleshooting

Linux

• cron setup
• Distribution specifics
• systemd integration
• WSL considerations

Windows

• Task Scheduler setup
• PowerShell installer
• Path considerations
• Troubleshooting

Docker

• Container setup
• docker-compose configuration
• Environment variables
• Persistent storage

Installation Quick Reference

macOS

brew tap aristeoibarra/tap
brew install nextdns-blocker
nextdns-blocker init
nextdns-blocker watchdog install

Linux

pip install nextdns-blocker
nextdns-blocker init
nextdns-blocker watchdog install

Windows

pip install nextdns-blocker
nextdns-blocker init
nextdns-blocker watchdog install

Or use the PowerShell installer:

irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/aristeoibarra/nextdns-blocker/main/install.ps1 | iex

Docker

git clone https://github.com/aristeoibarra/nextdns-blocker.git
cd nextdns-blocker
cp .env.example .env
cp config.json.example config.json
docker compose up -d

Cross-Platform Considerations

Configuration Portability

config.json is portable across platforms:

• Same format everywhere
• Copy between machines
• Version control friendly

.env may need adjustment:

• Timezone detection differs
• Path formats vary

Timezone Handling

Platform	Auto-Detection
macOS	/etc/localtime symlink
Linux	/etc/localtime symlink
Windows	tzutil /g command
Docker	TZ environment variable

Command Differences

Commands are identical across platforms. Only internal behavior differs:

• Path separators handled automatically
• File permissions adapted to platform
• Scheduler commands platform-specific