nftables ☆

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Description:
Netfilter tables userspace tools

Type: Formula | Latest Version: 1.1.6@0 | Tracked Since: Oct 14, 2025

Links: Homepage | formulae.brew.sh

Category: Networking

Tags: firewall networking security linux kernel

Install: brew install nftables

About:
nftables is the user-space command-line tool used to configure the Linux kernel's inbuilt packet filtering framework, also named nftables. It provides a simplified syntax and more efficient processing compared to its predecessor, iptables. This tool is essential for managing network traffic rules, firewalls, and network address translation (NAT) on modern Linux systems.

Key Features:

Unified syntax replacing ip(6)tables, ebtables, and arptables
Improved performance with a single packet processing pipeline
In-kernel packet filtering and NAT capabilities
Compatibility layer for legacy iptables syntax

Use Cases:

Configuring host-based firewalls on Linux servers
Implementing Network Address Translation (NAT) for routing
Filtering network traffic based on IP, port, and protocol

Alternatives:

iptables – The legacy utility for packet filtering; nftables offers a more efficient and flexible architecture.
ufw – A user-friendly interface for managing firewalls that often uses nftables or iptables as a backend.

Version History

Detected	Version	Rev	Change	Commit
Oct 14, 2025 4:49pm		0	VERSION_BUMP	0897a8f2