How do I manage space/applications on my router?

[Jim]

Greetings!

One of the interesting features of this router is that it is extremely configurable. So much so that I am beginning to wonder which Linux distribution it's based on!  😉 

One feature is the ability to add additional functionality via both the web interface and Open Packages.

1.  How do I know how much of my router's memory is available for use?
2.  How full is "too full"? (How much "headroom" should I leave?)
3.  Where do I find these Open Packages?
4.  How will I know if a particular package is compatible with my router?
5.  The OPKG package manager configuration page asks for an "initrc script".  What should I provide?

Thanks!

P.S.
I found this: https://openwrt.org/docs/guide-user/additional-software/opkg
It seems both useful and gnarly.

Edited Thursday at 09:11 AM by Jim
Clarification

[eralde]

On 2/5/2026 at 10:01 AM, Jim said:

Greetings!

One of the interesting features of this router is that it is extremely configurable. So much so that I am beginning to wonder which Linux distribution it's based on!  😉 

One feature is the ability to add additional functionality via both the web interface and Open Packages.

1.  How do I know how much of my router's memory is available for use?
2.  How full is "too full"? (How much "headroom" should I leave?)
3.  Where do I find these Open Packages?
4.  How will I know if a particular package is compatible with my router?
5.  The OPKG package manager configuration page asks for an "initrc script".  What should I provide?

Thanks!

P.S.
I found this: https://openwrt.org/docs/guide-user/additional-software/opkg
It seems both useful and gnarly.

Hi, Jim!

I am not sure I can answer all of your questions completely, but I will try to do my best:

1 + 2. If you are talking about RAM, then you can monitor that parameter in the web UI dashboard. There is no general rule of thumb on how many different service you will be able to run at the same time, so it is trial and error.

If you meant permanent storage, than I would recommend to install the open package system on a USB drive. There is an option to install it on the device internal storage, but the available space will be quite limited.

Spoiler

A few examples of RAM usage:

A "dev" router I use (it has some basic stuff configured on it):

My main home router, that has a few WireGuard connections, a KeenDNS (+ a few subdomains on it) and some other minor stuff:

Another "dev" router, that actually has a few OPKG packages configured on it
(and also an ARM CPU like your device plus more RAM in total):

 

3. You can check this GitHub repo and this section of the forum (the Entware Quickstart thread is a good start 🙂)

4. After setting up Entware/OPKG and logging into the SSH shell it provides, you can run opkg update && opkg list to see all the packages available for your device:

Spoiler

~ # opkg update
Downloading http://bin.entware.net/aarch64-k3.10/Packages.gz
Updated list of available packages in /opt/var/opkg-lists/entware
Downloading http://bin.entware.net/aarch64-k3.10/keenetic/Packages.gz
Updated list of available packages in /opt/var/opkg-lists/keendev
Downloading https://bin.antiscan.ru/b8e636fd/all/Packages.gz
Updated list of available packages in /opt/var/opkg-lists/antiscan-test
Downloading https://dimon27254.github.io/antiscan/all/Packages.gz
Updated list of available packages in /opt/var/opkg-lists/antiscan
~ # opkg list | grep lua
apache-mod-lua - 2.4.62-1 - Lua support for the Apache HTTP server.
asterisk-app-readexten - 20.8.1-1 - Read and evaluate extension validity.
asterisk-func-evalexten - 20.8.1-1 - Extension evaluation functions.
asterisk-pbx-lua - 20.8.1-1 - Lua PBX switch.
collectd-mod-lua - 5.12.0-53 - lua input/output plugin
...

5. You can leave the "initrc script" field empty, the installer will fill this parameter automatically.

Out KB article on how to install Entware on your router: https://help.keenetic.com/hc/en-us/articles/360021214160-Installing-the-Entware-repository-package-system-on-a-USB-drive