Stunnel
TLS proxy in Privacy & security
People recommend it as a simple way to add TLS encryption to legacy apps and systems that lack native support, and to set up mutual TLS for them.
People recommend it as a simple way to add TLS encryption to legacy apps and systems that lack native support, and to set up mutual TLS for them.
14 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 13
- criticize it
- 1
- approval share
- 93%
Recommended in 2 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 13 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 13 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 2 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Adds TLS to legacy software
“A practical solution, both for legacy components and for the cases when you don't want to deal with implementing TLS natively.”
Comment from 23 Jan 2026 in “Stunnel” “relatively simple method for implementing mutual TLS (mTLS) for legacy apps or systems”
Comment from 23 Jan 2026 in “Stunnel” “I've found stunnel a godsend for bridging the gap.”
Comment from 23 Jan 2026 in “Stunnel” Good enough for most cases
“This thing is gold for "80% solutions" in that respect.”
Comment from 23 Jan 2026 in “Stunnel” “stunnel is a perfectly fine option”
Comment from 23 Jan 2026 in “Stunnel” Easier than SSH for mail
“Allows me to speak SSL and receive mail. I like that.”
Comment from 23 Jan 2026 in “Stunnel” “easier to use in this context than ssh”
Comment from 23 Jan 2026 in “Stunnel”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Crashes under high handshake rate
“stunnel crashes at under 100 handshakes per second”
Comment from 15 Dec 2025 in “Ask HN: What Are You Working On? (December 2025)”
What people said
11 of the 14 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“this means an stunnel is probably the sneakier and thus more reliable method of encryption on the wire”
“This thing is gold for "80% solutions" in that respect.”
“Allows me to speak SSL and receive mail. I like that.”
“Now it was much easier to entirely block outgoing connections from Mail with Little Snitch.”
“A practical solution, both for legacy components and for the cases when you don't want to deal with implementing TLS natively.”
“your software could be practically security wise up-to-day forever as long as you or your user keeps their stunnel updated”
“easier to use in this context than ssh”
“I've found stunnel a godsend for bridging the gap.”
“relatively simple method for implementing mutual TLS (mTLS) for legacy apps or systems”
“stunnel is a perfectly fine option”
“stunnel crashes at under 100 handshakes per second”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.