Networking & Firewall (Ss/Netstat/Iptables/Nftables/Curl)

Stop Guessing Why Your Firewall Rules Don’t Work

🧩 The Challenge

Ever spent an hour pulling your hair out because you swore you put in the right `iptables` or `nftables` rule, but traffic still isn’t going where it should? Or worse, it’s going somewhere it shouldn’t? And you can’t tell if your rule’s even being touched.

💡 The Fix

Forget guessing. Dump your firewall rules with packet and byte counters. You’ll instantly see which rules are actually doing work and which ones are just dead weight. This stops you from troubleshooting a phantom problem.

iptables -vnL
# Or, if you're on a newer system with nftables:
nft list ruleset

⚙️ Why It Works

These commands show your full ruleset along with counters for how many packets and bytes each rule has matched. When you see zero hits on a rule you expect to be active, you know something’s wrong with its placement or conditions.

🚀 Pro-Tip: Zero out your counters with `iptables -Z` or `nft reset counters` before testing new rules.

Linux Tips & Tricks | © ngelinux.com | 11/1/2026