# pfSense Menu Reference - All Web GUI Menu Items

> Complete reference of every pfSense web GUI menu item with descriptions - System, Interfaces, Firewall, Services, VPN, Status, and Diagnostics

Source: https://opennix.org/en/docs/pfsense/menu-guide/pfsense-menu-reference/


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](/docs/pfsense/high-availability/) nodes |
| Logout | System > Logout | End the current administrator session |
| Package Manager | System > Package Manager | Install, remove, and update additional [packages](/docs/pfsense/pfsense-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](/docs/pfsense/interfaces/) |
| Interface Groups | Interfaces > Assignments > Interface Groups | Group interfaces for shared firewall rule application |
| Wireless | Interfaces > Assignments > Wireless | Create virtual [wireless interfaces](/docs/pfsense/wireless/pfsense-wireless-setup/) (VAP) |
| VLANs | Interfaces > Assignments > VLANs | Create 802.1Q [VLAN interfaces](/docs/pfsense/vlans/pfsense-vlan-setup/) |
| Bridges | Interfaces > Assignments > Bridges | Create Layer 2 network [bridges](/docs/pfsense/bridging/) 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](/docs/pfsense/firewall/pfsense-firewall-rules/) |
| NAT | Firewall > NAT | Configure [Port Forward, 1:1 NAT, and Outbound NAT](/docs/pfsense/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](/docs/pfsense/traffic-shaper/) (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](/docs/pfsense/captive-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](/docs/pfsense/services/pfsense-dhcp/) 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](/docs/pfsense/vpn/ipsec/) - Phase 1/Phase 2 tunnels, mobile clients |
| L2TP | VPN > L2TP | Configure the L2TP VPN server (typically used alongside IPsec) |
| OpenVPN | VPN > OpenVPN | Configure [OpenVPN](/docs/pfsense/vpn/openvpn/) - servers, clients, site-to-site and remote access |
| WireGuard | VPN > WireGuard | Configure [WireGuard VPN](/docs/pfsense/vpn/wireguard/) - 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](/docs/pfsense/high-availability/) 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](/docs/pfsense/backup/pfsense-backup-recovery/) 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 |