How do I port forward 18080 for monerod?

To port forward 18080 for monerod, add a rule in your router that sends incoming TCP traffic on port 18080 to port 18080 on the computer running your Monero node. You also need to allow that port through your computer’s firewall and make sure your internet connection supports incoming connections.

Give your node a stable local address

monerod is the program that runs your Monero node. Port 18080 is its default mainnet peer-to-peer port—the connection other Monero nodes use to share blocks and transactions with yours.

First, find the local IPv4 address of the computer running monerod. It often looks like 192.168.1.50.

• Windows: Run ipconfig in Command Prompt and look for the IPv4 address of your active connection.
• Linux: Run ip addr.
• macOS: Check your active connection in System Settings → Network.

In your router’s settings, create a DHCP reservation for that computer. This tells the router to keep assigning it the same local address. Without this, your forwarding rule could eventually point to the wrong device.

Add the router’s forwarding rule

Open your router’s settings using its gateway address, which you can find in your computer’s network details. Look for Port Forwarding, NAT, or Virtual Server.

Create a rule like this, replacing the example address with your node’s address:

• Name: Monero P2P
• Protocol: TCP
• External/WAN port: 18080
• Internal/LAN address: 192.168.1.50
• Internal/LAN port: 18080
• Enabled: Yes

You do not need UDP for this rule. Save the settings and apply them.

If your router asks for a source address, that means the remote address allowed to connect. Leave it unrestricted if you want ordinary public Monero peers to reach your node.

Do not forward port 18081 just for peer connections. That is the default RPC port, used for commands and queries from wallets or other software. Exposing it requires separate security decisions.

Allow the connection on your computer

Your router’s rule does not override your computer’s firewall.

On Windows, create an inbound rule in Windows Defender Firewall with Advanced Security allowing TCP port 18080 on the appropriate network profile.

On Ubuntu or another Linux system using UFW, you can run:

sudo ufw allow 18080/tcp

On macOS, allow incoming connections for monerod in the firewall settings.

For a normal mainnet setup, monerod already listens on TCP port 18080. If you changed its configuration, check that it is not bound only to 127.0.0.1, which allows connections only from the same computer. These options explicitly enable listening on all IPv4 interfaces:

monerod --p2p-bind-ip 0.0.0.0 --p2p-bind-port 18080

Test it and check common blockers

Keep monerod running, then use an external port-checking service to test your public IPv4 address on TCP port 18080. Testing your public address from inside your own network may fail even when forwarding works.

If it stays closed:

• Two routers: Forward through both, or put the upstream router into bridge mode.
• Carrier-grade NAT: Your provider may share one public address among customers. Ask for a public IPv4 address.
• VPN: Incoming traffic usually needs forwarding support from the VPN provider.
• Wrong address: Recheck the node’s local address and firewall rule.

The bottom line

Forward TCP 18080 to your node’s local address, allow it through the firewall, and test while monerod runs. This helps other nodes reach yours; it is not required for syncing through outgoing connections and does not directly increase your solo-mining or P2Pool earnings.