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Add built-in host alias for box-to-host access#441

Merged
DorianZheng merged 1 commit intomainfrom
feature/host-boxlite-internal
Apr 14, 2026
Merged

Add built-in host alias for box-to-host access#441
DorianZheng merged 1 commit intomainfrom
feature/host-boxlite-internal

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Summary

  • add a built-in host.boxlite.internal alias that resolves inside the guest to a dedicated host IP
  • route that host IP to host loopback through gvproxy and keep the alias reachable under restrictive allow_net
  • add Go and Rust coverage for DNS ordering, NAT behavior, TCP filtering, and VM-level host alias behavior
  • replace the Docker-specific host.docker.internal guidance with BoxLite-specific docs and examples

Why

The docs previously referenced host.docker.internal, but BoxLite did not actually implement or document a BoxLite-native host alias in the runtime. This change makes box-to-host loopback access explicit, test-covered, and documented in the codebase.

User impact

Boxes can now reach host loopback-backed services through host.boxlite.internal or the dedicated virtual host IP 192.168.127.254 when networking is enabled. The docs also now distinguish host-to-box port forwarding from box-to-host connectivity.

Validation

  • cargo fmt --check
  • cargo test -p boxlite --features gvproxy --lib net::gvproxy::config
  • cargo clippy -p boxlite --features gvproxy --tests -- -D warnings
  • go test ./... in src/deps/libgvproxy-sys/gvproxy-bridge

Notes

  • the tree includes ignored VM integration tests covering host alias resolution and host loopback reachability
  • the branch was published from the current local commit contents with a clean main base

@DorianZheng DorianZheng marked this pull request as ready for review April 14, 2026 15:32
@DorianZheng DorianZheng merged commit 5b3d51b into main Apr 14, 2026
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@DorianZheng DorianZheng deleted the feature/host-boxlite-internal branch April 14, 2026 15:33
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