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

Stop guessing why your packets are being dropped by nftables

🧩 The Challenge

You stare at your firewall rules for an hour, swear they look perfect, but your traffic is still vanishing into the void. It’s the kind of silent failure that makes you want to throw your monitor out the window.

💡 The Fix

Use the built-in tracing features of nftables to actually see which rule is nuking your packets. It saves you from having to debug with manual log rules that clutter up your system logs.

nft monitor trace

⚙️ Why It Works

Setting the trace flag on a specific rule lets the kernel stream the packet’s journey through your ruleset directly to your terminal. It’s basically a flight recorder for your network traffic.

🚀 Pro-Tip: Always remember to turn the trace off in your ruleset after you’re done, or you’ll choke your kernel logs with noise.

Linux Tips & Tricks | © ngelinux.com | 7/12/2026