pfSense Menu Reference - All Web GUI Menu Items
pfSense Menu Reference - All Web GUI Menu Items
The pfSense web interface contains seven top-level menus, each grouping functions of a specific category. Below is a complete listing of every menu item with its navigation path and a brief description of its purpose. For detailed configuration guidance on each feature, consult the corresponding documentation section.
System
The System menu holds general system settings, user management, certificates, updates, and routing configuration.
| Menu Item | Path | Description |
|---|---|---|
| General Setup | System > General Setup | Hostname, domain, DNS servers, time zone, and GUI theme |
| Advanced | System > Advanced | Advanced settings: admin access, firewall/NAT tuning, networking, notifications, miscellaneous |
| Cert Manager | System > Cert Manager | Certificate authority, server and user certificate management, CRL administration |
| High Avail. Sync | System > High Avail. Sync | XMLRPC configuration synchronization between HA cluster nodes |
| Logout | System > Logout | End the current administrator session |
| Package Manager | System > Package Manager | Install, remove, and update additional packages |
| Routing | System > Routing | Gateway management, gateway groups, and static route configuration |
| Setup Wizard | System > Setup Wizard | Initial system configuration wizard |
| Update | System > Update | Check for and install pfSense updates |
| User Manager | System > User Manager | Local user and group management, LDAP/RADIUS authentication server configuration |
Interfaces
The Interfaces menu contains network interface settings, VLANs, bridges, and link aggregation.
| Menu Item | Path | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Interface Assignments | Interfaces > Assignments | Map physical and virtual ports to logical interfaces |
| Interface Groups | Interfaces > Assignments > Interface Groups | Group interfaces for shared firewall rule application |
| Wireless | Interfaces > Assignments > Wireless | Create virtual wireless interfaces (VAP) |
| VLANs | Interfaces > Assignments > VLANs | Create 802.1Q VLAN interfaces |
| Bridges | Interfaces > Assignments > Bridges | Create Layer 2 network bridges between interfaces |
| GIF | Interfaces > Assignments > GIFs | Create GIF tunnels (Generic Tunnel Interface) for IPv6-in-IPv4 encapsulation |
| GRE | Interfaces > Assignments > GREs | Create GRE tunnels (Generic Routing Encapsulation) |
| LAGG | Interfaces > Assignments > LAGGs | Aggregate physical interfaces (LACP, failover, loadbalance, roundrobin) |
| QinQ | Interfaces > Assignments > QinQ | Create QinQ interfaces (802.1ad, VLAN stacking) |
| PPPs | Interfaces > Assignments > PPPs | Configure PPPoE, PPTP, and L2TP WAN connections |
| WAN | Interfaces > WAN | WAN interface parameters (IP address, gateway, MTU, MSS) |
| LAN | Interfaces > LAN | LAN interface parameters |
| OPTn | Interfaces > OPTn | Additional interface configuration (OPT1, OPT2, and so on) |
Firewall
The Firewall menu manages packet filtering rules, NAT, aliases, and traffic shaping.
| Menu Item | Path | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Aliases | Firewall > Aliases | Create named groups of IP addresses, ports, and URLs for use in rules |
| NAT | Firewall > NAT | Configure Port Forward, 1:1 NAT, and Outbound NAT |
| Rules | Firewall > Rules | Manage firewall rules per interface (WAN, LAN, OPTn, Floating Rules) |
| Schedules | Firewall > Schedules | Create time-based schedules for conditional firewall rule enforcement |
| Traffic Shaper | Firewall > Traffic Shaper | Configure QoS and bandwidth management (ALTQ, Limiters) |
| Virtual IPs | Firewall > Virtual IPs | Create virtual IP addresses (CARP, IP Alias, Proxy ARP, Other) |
Services
The Services menu holds configuration for network services provided by pfSense.
| Menu Item | Path | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Captive Portal | Services > Captive Portal | Configure an authentication portal for guest and public networks |
| DHCP Relay | Services > DHCP Relay | Relay DHCP requests to an external DHCP server |
| DHCP Server | Services > DHCP Server | Configure the DHCP server per interface (pools, static mappings, options) |
| DHCPv6 Server & RA | Services > DHCPv6 Server & RA | Configure DHCPv6 and Router Advertisement for IPv6 networks |
| DNS Forwarder | Services > DNS Forwarder | DNS proxy based on dnsmasq (host overrides, domain overrides) |
| DNS Resolver | Services > DNS Resolver | Recursive DNS resolver based on Unbound (DNSSEC, DNS over TLS, host overrides) |
| Dynamic DNS | Services > Dynamic DNS | Update DNS records automatically when the WAN IP address changes |
| IGMP Proxy | Services > IGMP Proxy | Proxy IGMP traffic between interfaces for multicast streams (IPTV) |
| NTP | Services > NTP | NTP server and time synchronization settings |
| PPPoE Server | Services > PPPoE Server | Create a PPPoE server to provide client connections |
| SNMP | Services > SNMP | Configure the SNMP agent for system monitoring by external NMS platforms |
| UPnP & NAT-PMP | Services > UPnP & NAT-PMP | Automatic NAT rule creation on application request (gaming, torrents) |
| Wake-on-LAN | Services > Wake-on-LAN | Send WoL packets to remotely power on network devices |
VPN
The VPN menu contains settings for all supported VPN connection types.
| Menu Item | Path | Description |
|---|---|---|
| IPsec | VPN > IPsec | Configure IPsec VPN - Phase 1/Phase 2 tunnels, mobile clients |
| L2TP | VPN > L2TP | Configure the L2TP VPN server (typically used alongside IPsec) |
| OpenVPN | VPN > OpenVPN | Configure OpenVPN - servers, clients, site-to-site and remote access |
| WireGuard | VPN > WireGuard | Configure WireGuard VPN - tunnels, peers, key generation |
Status
The Status menu provides information about the current state of the system and all its components.
| Menu Item | Path | Description |
|---|---|---|
| CARP (failover) | Status > CARP (failover) | CARP virtual IP status and high availability cluster state |
| Dashboard | Status > Dashboard | Main monitoring dashboard with widgets (CPU load, memory, traffic, services) |
| DHCP Leases | Status > DHCP Leases | List of active and static DHCP leases per interface |
| Filter Reload | Status > Filter Reload | Packet filter reload status and manual filter reload trigger |
| Gateways | Status > Gateways | Gateway status, RTT, packet loss, and monitoring state |
| Interfaces | Status > Interfaces | Status of all network interfaces (IP, MAC, statistics, link speed) |
| IPsec | Status > IPsec | IPsec tunnel status for Phase 1 and Phase 2, SA state |
| Logs | Status > Logs | System logs: System, Firewall, DHCP, DNS, VPN, Gateway, Routing, and others |
| Monitoring | Status > Monitoring | RRD graphs: traffic, link quality, system resource utilization |
| NTP | Status > NTP | NTP synchronization status and list of configured time servers |
| OpenVPN | Status > OpenVPN | OpenVPN server status and connected clients |
| Queues | Status > Queues | Traffic shaper queue statistics (ALTQ) |
| Services | Status > Services | List of all services with running/stopped status indicators |
| Traffic Graph | Status > Traffic Graph | Real-time traffic graphs per interface |
| UPnP & NAT-PMP | Status > UPnP & NAT-PMP | List of current NAT rules created via UPnP |
| WireGuard | Status > WireGuard | WireGuard tunnel status, connected peers, handshake time, traffic counters |
Diagnostics
The Diagnostics menu contains troubleshooting tools, backup utilities, and system management functions.
| Menu Item | Path | Description |
|---|---|---|
| ARP Table | Diagnostics > ARP Table | ARP table showing IP-to-MAC address mappings on local networks |
| Authentication | Diagnostics > Authentication | Test user authentication against configured servers (LDAP, RADIUS) |
| Backup & Restore | Diagnostics > Backup & Restore | Back up and restore the system configuration (XML) |
| Command Prompt | Diagnostics > Command Prompt | Execute shell commands and PHP code through the web interface |
| DNS Lookup | Diagnostics > DNS Lookup | Perform DNS queries for name resolution diagnostics |
| Edit File | Diagnostics > Edit File | Edit files on the filesystem through the web interface |
| Factory Defaults | Diagnostics > Factory Defaults | Reset the configuration to factory defaults |
| Halt System | Diagnostics > Halt System | Perform a clean system shutdown |
| Limiter Info | Diagnostics > Limiter Info | Display configured limiters and their current state |
| NDP Table | Diagnostics > NDP Table | NDP (Neighbor Discovery Protocol) table for IPv6 neighbors |
| Packet Capture | Diagnostics > Packet Capture | Capture network packets (tcpdump) on a selected interface with filtering |
| pfInfo | Diagnostics > pfInfo | Packet filter statistics (counters, states, tables) |
| pfTop | Diagnostics > pfTop | Real-time active connections in the packet filter (top-like view for pf) |
| Ping | Diagnostics > Ping | Send ICMP requests to verify host reachability |
| Reboot | Diagnostics > Reboot | Reboot the pfSense system |
| Routes | Diagnostics > Routes | System routing table (IPv4 and IPv6) |
| S.M.A.R.T. Status | Diagnostics > S.M.A.R.T. Status | Storage device health status via S.M.A.R.T. data |
| Sockets | Diagnostics > Sockets | List of open network sockets (listening ports and connections) |
| States | Diagnostics > States | Packet filter state table (active connections, NAT translations) |
| States Summary | Diagnostics > States Summary | Firewall state summary grouped by IP, port, and protocol |
| System Activity | Diagnostics > System Activity | System process activity (equivalent to the top command) |
| Tables | Diagnostics > Tables | Contents of pf tables (bogons, snort2c, virusprot, and custom tables) |
| Traceroute | Diagnostics > Traceroute | Trace the network route to a specified host |
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