IFCONFIG(8)

NAME
ifconfig - configure network interface parameters

SYNOPSIS
ifconfig [-AaC] [interface] [address_family] [ address [dest_address]] [parameters]

DESCRIPTION
The ifconfig utility is used to assign an address to a network interface and/or configure network interface parameters. Generally speaking, hostname.if(5) files are used at boot-time to define the network address of each interface present on a machine; ifconfig is used at a later time to redefine an interface's address or other operating parameters.

ifconfig displays the current configuration for a network interface when no optional parameters are supplied. If a protocol family is specified, ifconfig will report only the details specific to that protocol family. If no parameters are provided, a summary of all interfaces is provided.

Only the superuser may modify the configuration of a network interface.

The following options are available:

-A  Causes full interface alias information for each interface to be displayed.

-a  Causes ifconfig to print information on all interfaces. The protocol family may be specified as well. This is the default, if no parameters are given to ifconfig.

-C  Print the names of all network pseudo-devices that can be created dynamically at runtime using ifconfig create.

interface
    The interface parameter is a string of the form “name unit”, for example, “en0”. If no optional parameters are supplied, this string can instead be just “name”. If an interface group of that name exists, all interfaces in the group will be shown. Otherwise all interfaces of the same type will be displayed (for example, “fxp” will display all fxp(4) interfaces).

address_family
    Specifies the address family which affects interpretation of the remaining parameters. Since an interface can receive transmissions in differing protocols with different naming schemes, specifying the address family is recommended. The address or protocol families currently supported are “inet” and “inet6”.

address
    An Internet version 4 or 6 address. Valid formats are dot notation (IPv4), colon-separated (IPv6), CIDR notation, or a host name present in the host name database, hosts(5).

dest_address
    Specify the address of the correspondent on the other end of a point-to-point link.

The following parameters may be set with ifconfig:

alias
    Establish an additional network address for this interface. This is sometimes useful when changing network numbers, and one wishes to accept packets addressed to the old interface.

-alias
    A synonym for delete. Use of this option is discouraged in favour of delete.

arp Enable the use of the Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) in mapping between network level addresses and link level addresses (default).

-arp
    Disable the use of ARP.

autoconf
    Set the AUTOCONF4 or AUTOCONF6 flag on the interface, depending on address_family. slaacd(8) automatically configures IPv6 addresses for interfaces with AUTOCONF6 set. dhcpleased(8) automatically configures IPv4 addresses (using DHCP protocol) for interfaces with AUTOCONF4 set.

-autoconf
    Unset the AUTOCONF4 or AUTOCONF6 flag on the interface, depending on address_family.

broadcast addr
    (inet only) Specify the address to use to represent broadcasts to the network. The default broadcast address is the address with a host part of all 1's.

create
    Create the specified network pseudo-device. At least the following devices can be created on demand:

    aggr(4), bpe(4), bridge(4), carp(4), egre(4), enc(4), eoip(4), etherip(4), gif(4), gre(4), lo(4), mgre(4), mpe(4), mpw(4), nvgre(4), pair(4), pflog(4), pflow(4), pfsync(4), ppp(4), pppoe(4), svlan(4), switch(4), tap(4), tpmr(4), trunk(4), tun(4), vether(4), vlan(4), vxlan(4), wg(4)

debug
    Enable driver-dependent debugging code; usually, this turns on extra console error logging.

-debug
    Disable driver-dependent debugging code.

delete
    Remove the default inet address associated with the interface, including any netmask or destination address configured with it. An address and address family can be given to make the deletion more specific.

description value
    Specify a description of the interface. This can be used to label interfaces in situations where they may otherwise be difficult to distinguish.

-description
    Clear the interface description.

destroy
    Destroy the specified network pseudo-device.

down
    Mark an interface “down”. When an interface is marked “down”, the system will not attempt to transmit messages through that interface. If possible, the interface will be reset to disable reception as well. This action automatically disables routes using the interface.

group group-name
    Assign the interface to a group. The group-name may not be longer than 15 characters and must not end with a digit. Any interface can be in multiple groups.

    For instance, a group could be used to create a hardware independent pf(4) ruleset (i.e. not one based on the names of NICs) using existing (egress, carp, etc.) or user-defined groups.

    Some interfaces belong to specific groups by default:

    -   All interfaces are members of the “all” interface group.
    -   Cloned interfaces are members of their interface family group. For example, a PPP interface such as “ppp0” is a member of the “ppp” interface family group.
    -   pppx(4) interfaces are members of the “pppx” interface group.
    -   The interfaces the default routes point to are members of the “egress” interface group.
    -   IEEE 802.11 wireless interfaces are members of the “wlan” interface group.
    -   Any interfaces used for network booting are members of the “netboot” interface group.

-group group-name
    Remove the interface from the given group.

hwfeatures
    Display the interface hardware features:

    CSUM_IPv4
        The device supports IPv4 checksum offload.
    CSUM_TCPv4
        As above, for TCP in IPv4 datagrams.
    CSUM_UDPv4
        As above, for UDP.
    VLAN_MTU
        The device can handle full sized frames, plus the size of the vlan(4) tag.
    VLAN_HWTAGGING
        On transmit, the device can add the vlan(4) tag.
    CSUM_TCPv6
        As CSUM_TCPv4, but supports IPv6 datagrams.
    CSUM_UDPv6
        As above, for UDP.
    WOL The device supports Wake on LAN (WoL).
    hardmtu
        The maximum MTU supported.

-inet
    Remove all configured inet(4) addresses on the given interface.

-inet6
    Disable inet6(4) on the given interface and remove all configured inet6(4) addresses, including the link-local ones. This is the default. To turn inet6 on, use eui64 or autoconf, or assign any inet6 address.

instance minst
    Set the media instance to minst. This is useful for devices which have multiple physical layer interfaces (PHYs). Setting the instance on such devices may not be strictly required by the network interface driver as the driver may take care of this automatically; see the driver's manual page for more information.

link[0-2]
    Enable special processing of the link level of the interface. These three options are interface specific in actual effect; however, they are in general used to select special modes of operation. An example of this is to select the connector type for some Ethernet cards. Refer to the man page for the specific driver for more information.

-link[0-2]
    Disable special processing at the link level with the specified interface.

lladdr etheraddr|random
    Change the link layer address (MAC address) of the interface. This should be specified as six colon-separated hex values, or can be chosen randomly.

llprio prio
    Set the priority for link layer communications (arp(4), bpf(4), pppoe(4)).

media [type]
    Set the media type of the interface to type. If no argument is given, display a list of all available media.

    Some interfaces support the mutually exclusive use of one of several different physical media connectors. For example, a 10Mb/s Ethernet interface might support the use of either AUI or twisted pair connectors. Setting the media type to “10base5” or “AUI” would change the currently active connector to the AUI port. Setting it to “10baseT” or “UTP” would activate twisted pair. Refer to the interface's driver-specific man page for a complete list of the available types, or use the following command for a listing of choices:

        $ ifconfig interface media

mediaopt opts
    Set the specified media options on the interface. opts is a comma delimited list of options to apply to the interface. Refer to the interface's driver-specific man page for a complete list of available options, or use the following command for a listing of choices:

        $ ifconfig interface media

-mediaopt opts
    Disable the specified media options on the interface.

metric nhops
    Set the routing metric of the interface to nhops, default 0. The routing metric can be used by routing protocols. Higher metrics have the effect of making a route less favorable.

mode mode
    If the driver for the interface supports the media selection system, force the mode of the interface to the given mode. For IEEE 802.11 wireless interfaces that support multiple modes, this directive is used to select between 802.11a (“11a”), 802.11b (“11b”), 802.11g (“11g”), and 802.11n (“11n”) modes.

-mode
    Select the mode automatically. This is the default for IEEE 802.11 wireless interfaces.

monitor
    Enable monitor mode on the interface, preventing the processing of incoming packets by the network stack.

-monitor
    Disable monitor mode on the interface, allowing the processing of incoming packets by the network stack.

mpls
    Enable Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) on the interface, allowing it to send and receive MPLS traffic.

-mpls
    Disable MPLS on the interface.

mtu value
    Set the MTU for this device to the given value. Cloned routes inherit this value as a default. For Ethernet devices which support setting the MTU, a value greater than 1500 enables jumbo frames. The hardmtu output from hwfeatures shows the maximum supported MTU.

netmask mask
    (inet and inet6 only) Specify how much of the address to reserve for subdividing networks into subnetworks. The mask includes the network part of the local address and the subnet part, which is taken from the host field of the address. The mask can be specified as a single hexadecimal number with a leading 0x, or with a dot-notation Internet address. The mask contains 1's for the bit positions in the 32-bit address which are to be used for the network and subnet parts, and 0's for the host part. The mask should contain at least the standard network portion, and the subnet field should be contiguous with the network portion.

prefixlen n
    (inet and inet6 only) Effect is similar to netmask, but you can specify prefix length by digits.

priority n
    Set the interface routing priority to n. n is in the range of 0 to 15 with smaller numbers being better. The default priority of an interface is 0, except for IEEE 802.11 wireless interfaces (priority 4), umb(4) interfaces (priority 6), and carp(4) interfaces (priority 15). The default priority of newly connected routes (routes created by configuring an IP address on an interface) is calculated by adding 4 (RTP_CONNECTED) to the interface priority. The default priority of new static routes added to the kernel is calculated by adding 8 (RTP_STATIC) to the interface priority.

rdomain rdomainid
    Attach the interface to the routing domain with the specified rdomainid. Interfaces in different routing domains are separated and cannot directly pass traffic between each other. It is therefore possible to reuse the same addresses in different routing domains. If the specified rdomain does not yet exist it will be created, including a routing table with the same id. By default all interfaces belong to routing domain 0.

-rdomain
    Remove the interface from the routing domain and return it to routing domain 0. Any inet and inet6 addresses on the interface will also be removed.

rtlabel route-label
    (inet) Attach route-label to new network routes of the specified interface. Route labels can be used to implement policy routing; see route(4), route(8), and pf.conf(5).

-rtlabel
    Clear the route label.

staticarp
    If ARP is enabled, the host will only reply to requests for its addresses, and will never send any requests.

-staticarp
    If ARP is enabled, the host will perform normally, sending out requests and listening for replies.

transceiver
    Query and display information and diagnostics from GBIC and SFP modules installed in an interface. It is only supported by drivers implementing the necessary functionality on hardware which supports it.

up  Mark an interface “up”. This may be used to enable an interface after an ifconfig down. It happens automatically when setting the first address on an interface. If the interface was reset when previously marked down, the hardware will be re-initialized.

wol Enable Wake on LAN (WoL). When enabled, reception of a WoL frame will cause the network card to power up the system from standby or suspend mode. WoL frames are sent using arp(8).

-wol
    Disable WoL. WoL is disabled at boot by the driver, if possible.

BPE
ifconfig bpe-interface [[-]parent parent-interface] [vnetid vnetid-tag]

The following options are available for bpe(4) interfaces:

parent parent-interface
    Associate the BPE interface with the interface parent-interface.

-parent
    Disassociate from the parent interface. This breaks the link between the BPE interface and its parent.

vnetid vnetid-tag
    Set the virtual network identifier tag value to vnetid-tag. This is a 24-bit value in the range 0 to 16777215.

BRIDGE
The following options are available for a bridge(4) interface:

add interface
    Add interface as a member of the bridge. The interface is put into promiscuous mode so that it can receive every packet sent on the network. An interface can be a member of at most one bridge.

addr
    Display the addresses that have been learned by the bridge.

addspan interface
    Add interface as a span port on the bridge.

autoedge interface
    Automatically detect the spanning tree edge port status on interface. This is the default for interfaces added to the bridge.

-autoedge interface
    Disable automatic spanning tree edge port detection on interface.

autoptp interface
    Automatically detect the point-to-point status on interface by checking the full duplex link status. This is the default for interfaces added to the bridge.

-autoptp interface
    Disable automatic point-to-point link detection on interface.

blocknonip interface
    Mark interface so that only IPv4, IPv6, ARP, and Reverse ARP packets are accepted from it or forwarded to it from other bridge member interfaces.

-blocknonip interface
    Allow non-IPv4, IPv6, ARP, or Reverse ARP packets through interface.

del interface
    Remove interface from the bridge. Promiscuous mode is turned off for the interface when it is removed from the bridge.

deladdr address
    Delete address from the cache.

delspan interface
    Delete interface from the list of span ports of the bridge.

discover interface
    Mark interface so that packets are sent out of the interface if the destination port of the packet is unknown. If the bridge has no address cache entry for the destination of a packet, meaning that there is no static entry and no dynamically learned entry for the destination, the bridge will forward the packet to all member interfaces that have this flag set. This is the default for interfaces added to the bridge.

-discover interface
    Mark interface so that packets are not sent out of the interface if the destination port of the packet is unknown. Turning this flag off means that the bridge will not send packets out of this interface unless the packet is a broadcast packet, multicast packet, or a packet with a destination address found on the interface's segment. This, in combination with static address cache entries, prevents potentially sensitive packets from being sent on segments that have no need to see the packet.

down
    Stop the bridge from forwarding packets.

edge interface
    Set interface as a spanning tree edge port. An edge port is a single connection to the network and cannot create bridge loops. This allows a straight transition to forwarding.

-edge interface
    Disable edge port status on interface.

flush
    Remove all dynamically learned addresses from the cache.

flushall
    Remove all addresses from the cache including static addresses.

flushrule interface
    Remove all Ethernet MAC filtering rules from interface.

fwddelay time
    Set the time (in seconds) before an interface begins forwarding packets. Defaults to 15 seconds, minimum of 4, maximum of 30.

hellotime time
    Set the time (in seconds) between broadcasting spanning tree protocol configuration packets. Defaults to 2 seconds, minimum of 1, maximum of 2. This option is only supported in STP mode with rapid transitions disabled; see the proto command for setting the protocol version.

holdcnt time
    Set the transmit hold count, which is the number of spanning tree protocol packets transmitted before being rate limited. Defaults to 6, minimum of 1, maximum of 10.

ifcost interface num
    Set the spanning tree path cost of interface to num. Defaults to 55, minimum of 1, maximum of 200000000 in RSTP mode, and maximum of 65535 in STP mode.

-ifcost interface
    Automatically calculate the spanning tree priority of interface based on the current link speed, interface status, and spanning tree mode. This is the default for interfaces added to the bridge.

ifpriority interface num
    Set the spanning tree priority of interface to num. Defaults to 128, minimum of 0, maximum of 240.

learn interface
    Mark interface so that the source address of packets received from the interface are entered into the address cache. This is the default for interfaces added to the bridge.

-learn interface
    Mark interface so that the source address of packets received from interface are not entered into the address cache.

link0
    Setting this flag stops all IP multicast packets from being forwarded by the bridge.

-link0
    Clear the link0 flag on the bridge interface.

link1
    Setting this flag stops all non-IP multicast packets from being forwarded by the bridge.

-link1
    Clear the link1 flag on the bridge interface.

link2
    Setting this flag causes all packets to be passed on to ipsec(4) for processing, based on the policies established by the administrator using the ipsecctl(8) command and ipsec.conf(5). If appropriate security associations (SAs) exist, they will be used to encrypt or decrypt the packets. Otherwise, any key management daemons such as isakmpd(8) that are running on the bridge will be invoked to establish the necessary SAs. These daemons have to be configured as if they were running on the host whose traffic they are protecting (i.e. they need to have the appropriate authentication and authorization material, such as keys and certificates, to impersonate the protected host(s)).

-link2
    Clear the link2 flag on the bridge interface.

maxaddr size
    Set the address cache size to size. The default is 100 entries.

maxage time
    Set the time (in seconds) that a spanning tree protocol configuration is valid. Defaults to 20 seconds, minimum of 6, maximum of 40.

protected interface ids
    Put interface in protected domains. ids is a comma delimited list of domain IDs, between 1 and 31, to put the interface in. Interfaces that are part of a protected domain cannot forward traffic to any other interface in that domain. Interfaces do not belong to any protected domain by default.

-protected interface
    Remove interface from all protected domains.

proto value
    Force the spanning tree protocol version. The available values are rstp to operate in the default Rapid Spanning Tree (RSTP) mode or stp to force operation in Spanning Tree (STP) mode with rapid transitions disabled.

ptp interface
    Set interface as a point-to-point link. This is required for straight transitions to forwarding and should be enabled for a full duplex link or a trunk(4) with at least two physical links to the same network segment.

-ptp interface
    Disable point-to-point link status on interface. This should be disabled for a half duplex link and for an interface connected to a shared network segment, like a hub or a wireless network.

    rule block|pass [in | out] on interface [src lladdr] [dst lladdr] [tag tagname] [ arp|rarp [request | reply] [sha lladdr] [spa ipaddr] [tha lladdr] [tpa ipaddr]] Add a filtering rule to an interface. Rules have a similar syntax to those in pf.conf(5). Rules can be used to selectively block or pass frames based on Ethernet MAC addresses or to tag packets for pf(4) to filter on.

    arp(4) packets can be matched with the arp keyword for regular packets and rarp for reverse arp. request and reply limit matches to requests or replies. The source and target host addresses can be matched with the sha and tha keywords, and the protocol addresses with spa and tpa.

    Rules are processed in the order in which they were added to the interface. The first rule matched takes the action (block or pass) and, if given, the tag of the rule. If no source or destination address is specified, the rule will match all frames (good for creating a catchall policy).

rulefile filename
    Load a set of rules from the file filename.

rules interface
    Display the active filtering rules in use on interface.

spanpriority num
    Set the spanning priority of this bridge to num. Defaults to 32768, minimum of 0, maximum of 61440.

static interface address
    Add a static entry into the address cache pointing to interface. Static entries are never aged out of the cache or replaced, even if the address is seen on a different interface.

stp interface
    Enable spanning tree protocol on interface.

-stp interface
    Disable spanning tree protocol on interface. This is the default for interfaces added to the bridge.

timeout time
    Set the timeout, in seconds, for addresses in the cache to time. The default is 240 seconds. If time is set to zero, then entries will not be expired.

up  Start the bridge forwarding packets.

CARP
ifconfig carp-interface [advbase n] [advskew n] [balancing mode] [carpnodes vhid:advskew,vhid:advskew,...] [carpdev iface] [[-]carppeer peer_address] [pass passphrase] [state state] [vhid host-id]

The following options are available for a carp(4) interface:

advbase n
    Set the base advertisement interval to n seconds. Acceptable values are 0 to 254; the default value is 1 second.

advskew n
    Skew the advertisement interval by n. Acceptable values are 0 to 254; the default value is 0.

balancing mode
    Set the load balancing mode to mode. Valid modes are ip, ip-stealth, and ip-unicast.

carpnodes vhid:advskew,vhid:advskew,...
    Create a load balancing group consisting of up to 32 nodes. Each node is specified as a vhid:advskew tuple in a comma-separated list.

carpdev iface
    Attach to parent interface iface.

carppeer peer_address
    Send the carp advertisements to a specified point-to-point peer or multicast group instead of sending the messages to the default carp multicast group. The peer_address is the IP address of the other host taking part in the carp cluster. With this option, carp(4) traffic can be protected using ipsec(4) and it may be desired in networks that do not allow or have problems with IPv4 multicast traffic.

-carppeer
    Send the advertisements to the default carp multicast group.

pass passphrase
    Set the authentication key to passphrase. There is no passphrase by default.

state state
    Explicitly force the interface to enter this state. Valid states are init, backup, and master.

vhid n
    Set the virtual host ID to n. Acceptable values are 1 to 255.

Taken together, the advbase and advskew indicate how frequently, in seconds, the host will advertise the fact that it considers itself master of the virtual host. The formula is advbase + (advskew / 256). If the master does not advertise within three times this interval, this host will begin advertising as master.

IEEE 802.11 (WIRELESS DEVICES)
ifconfig wireless-interface [[-]bssid bssid] [[-]chan [n]] [[-]join id] [[-]joinlist] [[-]nwflag flag] [[-]nwid id] [[-]nwkey key] [[-]powersave [duration]] [scan] [[-]wpa] [wpaakms akm,akm,...] [wpaciphers cipher,cipher,...] [wpagroupcipher cipher] [[-]wpakey passphrase | hexkey] [wpaprotos proto,proto,...]

The following options are available for a wireless interface:

bssid bssid
    Set the desired BSSID.

-bssid
    Unset the desired BSSID. The interface will automatically select a BSSID in this mode, which is the default.

chan [n]
    Set the channel (radio frequency) to n.

    With no channel specified, show the list of channels supported by the device.

-chan
    Unset the desired channel. It doesn't affect the channel to be created for IBSS or Host AP mode.

join id
    Add the network with ESSID id to the join list. The interface will automatically attempt to connect to networks on this list if they are found during a scan.

    The id can either be a printable ASCII string up to 32 characters in length, or a series of hexadecimal digits up to 64 digits preceded by “0x”. If id is the empty string ("") and none of the networks on the join list are found during a scan, the interface will automatically connect to any available networks, provided they do not require WEP or WPA authentication.

    Apart from the id, the join list will record wpakey, wpaprotos, or nwkey parameters for the network, provided they are passed in the same invocation of ifconfig. Because multiple access points may exist in a given network, the mode (11a/11b/11g/11n), chan, and bssid parameters cannot be stored with join. However, they may be used separately to force the selection of a particular access point when the automatic access point selection turns out to be suboptimal.

    join and nwid cannot be used together in the same invocation of ifconfig.

-join id
    Remove the network with ESSID id from the join list and disconnect the interface from the access point if it is currently connected to this network. The interface will keep scanning for access points as long as it remains marked as “up”. A new connection will be established either if a network on the join list is found during the scan or if a network ID is configured with nwid.

joinlist
    Show the list of networks stored on the join list.

-joinlist
    Remove all networks from the join list.

nwflag flag
    Set specified flag. The flag name can be:

    hidenwid
        The ‘hidenwid’ flag will hide the network ID (ESSID) in beacon frames when operating in Host AP mode. It will also prevent responses to probe requests with an unspecified network ID.

    nobridge
        The ‘nobridge’ flag will disable the direct bridging of frames between associated nodes when operating in Host AP mode. Setting this flag will block and filter direct inter-station communications.

    nomimo
        The ‘nomimo’ flag will disable MIMO reception and transmission even if the driver and wireless network device support MIMO. This flag can be used to work around packet loss in 11n mode if the wireless network device has unused antenna connectors.

    stayauth
        The ‘stayauth’ flag will cause the interface to ignore deauth frames. This flag should only be used on wifi networks which are being attacked with spoofed deauth frames. It breaks interoperability with spectrum management solutions and access points that perform band-steering of clients.

    Note that the ‘hidenwid’ and ‘nobridge’ options do not provide any security. The hidden network ID will be sent in clear text by associating stations and can be easily discovered with tools like tcpdump(8) and hostapd(8).

-nwflag flag
    Remove specified flag.

nwid id
    Connect to the network with NWID/ESSID id. The id can either be a printable ASCII string up to 32 characters in length, or a series of hexadecimal digits up to 64 digits preceded by “0x”.

    Unlike join, the nwid option only allows one network to be configured at a time. The nwid option may not be used together with join in the same invocation of ifconfig but may be used to momentarily override the automatic selection of networks stored in the join list.

-nwid
    Clear the network ID configured with nwid and disconnect the interface from the access point if it is currently connected to this network. The interface will keep scanning for access points as long as it remains marked as “up”. A new connection will be established either if a network on the join list is found during the scan or if a network ID is configured with nwid.

nwkey key
    Enable WEP encryption using the specified key. The key can either be a string, a series of hexadecimal digits (preceded by ‘0x’), or a set of keys of the form “n:k1,k2,k3,k4” where ‘n’ specifies which of the keys will be used for transmitted packets, and the four keys, “k1” through “k4”, are configured as WEP keys. If a set of keys is specified, a comma (‘’), within the key must be escaped with a backslash. Note that if multiple keys are used, their order must be the same within the network.

    The length of each key must be either 40 bits for 64-bit encryption (5-character ASCII string or 10 hexadecimal digits) or 104 bits for 128-bit encryption (13-character ASCII string or 26 hexadecimal digits).

-nwkey
    Disable WEP encryption.

nwkey persist
    Enable WEP encryption using the persistent key stored in the network card.

nwkey persist:key
    Write key to the persistent memory of the network card, and enable WEP encryption using that key.

powersave
    Enable 802.11 power saving mode. Power saving is disabled by default. See driver specific manual pages to see details of the implementation relevant to that device.

-powersave
    Disable 802.11 power saving mode.

scan
    Show the results of an access point scan. In Host AP mode, this will dump the list of known nodes without scanning. In station mode, this will list each access point's SSID, channel, MAC address (BSSID), received signal strength indicator, maximum data transfer rate, and supported feature flags. If an access point cannot be selected due to incompatibilities with the interface configuration, ifconfig indicates mismatching configuration items with an exclamation mark.

    Because the list of access points is continuously updated while a scan is in progress, scan may sometimes show incomplete scan results.

    Some interfaces support scanning in the background while remaining associated to the current access point. The superuser may use scan to trigger a background scan while associated, which will update the scan result list and also trigger a search for a better access point to roam to.

wpa Enable Wi-Fi Protected Access. WPA is a Wi-Fi Alliance protocol based on the IEEE 802.11i standard. It was designed to enhance the security of wireless networks. Notice that not all drivers support WPA. Check the driver's manual page to know if this option is supported.

-wpa
    Disable Wi-Fi Protected Access.

wpaakms akm,akm,...
    Set the comma-separated list of allowed authentication and key management protocols.

    The supported values are “psk” and “802.1x”. psk authentication (also known as personal mode) uses a 256-bit pre-shared key. 802.1x authentication (also known as enterprise mode) is used with an external IEEE 802.1X authentication server, such as wpa_supplicant. The default value is “psk”. “psk” can only be used if a pre-shared key is configured using the wpakey option.

wpaciphers cipher,cipher,...
    Set the comma-separated list of allowed pairwise ciphers.

    The supported values are “tkip”, “ccmp”, and “usegroup”. usegroup specifies that no pairwise ciphers are supported and that only group keys should be used. The default value is “ccmp”. If multiple pairwise ciphers are specified, the pairwise cipher will be negotiated between the station and the access point at association time. A station will always try to use ccmp over tkip if both ciphers are allowed and supported by the access point. If the selected cipher is not supported by the hardware, software encryption will be used. Check the driver's manual page to know which ciphers are supported in hardware.

wpagroupcipher cipher
    Set the group cipher used to encrypt broadcast and multicast traffic.

    The supported values are “wep40”, “wep104”, “tkip”, and “ccmp”. The default value is “ccmp”. The use of tkip or wep40 or wep104 as the group cipher is discouraged due to weaknesses in TKIP and WEP. The wpagroupcipher option is available in Host AP mode only. A station will always use the group cipher of the BSS.

wpakey passphrase | hexkey
    Set the WPA key and enable WPA. The key can be given using either a passphrase or a full length hex key, starting with 0x. If a passphrase is used the nwid or join option must first be specified, since ifconfig will hash the nwid along with the passphrase to create the key.

-wpakey
    Delete the pre-shared WPA key and disable WPA.

wpaprotos proto,proto,...
    Set the comma-separated list of allowed WPA protocol versions.

    The supported values are “wpa1” and “wpa2”. wpa1 is based on draft 3 of the IEEE 802.11i standard whereas wpa2 is based on the ratified standard. The default value is “wpa2”. If “wpa1,wpa2” is specified, a station will always use the wpa2 protocol when supported by the access point.

INET6
ifconfig interface inet6 [[-]anycast] [[-]temporary] [eui64] [pltime n] [[-]soii] [[-]tentative] [vltime n]

The following options are available for an ip6(4) interface:

anycast
    Set the IPv6 anycast address bit.

-anycast
    Clear the IPv6 anycast address bit.

temporary
    Enable temporary address extensions for stateless IPv6 address autoconfiguration (RFC 8981) on the interface. These extensions are enabled by default. The purpose of these extensions is to prevent tracking of individual devices which connect to the IPv6 internet from different networks using stateless autoconfiguration. The interface identifier often remains constant and provides the lower 64 bits of an autoconfigured IPv6 address, facilitating tracking of individual devices (and hence, potentially, users of these devices) over long periods of time (weeks to months to years). When these extensions are active, random interface identifiers are used for autoconfigured addresses.

    Autoconfigured addresses are also made temporary, which means that they will automatically be replaced regularly. Temporary addresses are deprecated after 24 hours. Once a temporary address has been deprecated, a new temporary address will be configured upon reception of a router advertisement indicating that the prefix is still valid. Deprecated addresses will not be used for new connections as long as a non-deprecated address remains available. Temporary addresses become invalid after another 24 hours, at which time they will be removed from the interface.

-temporary
    Disable IPv6 autoconf temporary address extensions on the interface. Currently configured addresses will not be removed until they become invalid.

eui64
    Fill the interface index (the lowermost 64 bits of an IPv6 address) automatically.

pltime n
    Set preferred lifetime for the address, in seconds.

soii
    Enable persistent Semantically Opaque Interface Identifiers (SOIIs), as per RFC 7217, for SLAAC addresses on the interface. The purpose of these identifiers is to make discovery of hosts by scanning a whole prefix more difficult. SOIIs use the whole 64 bits of the host part while SLAAC addresses are formed from MAC addresses which can lower the entropy to 24 bits if the host is running in a virtualization environment or the hardware manufacturer is known. See RFC 7721 and RFC 8064 for details. SOIIs are enabled by default.

-soii
    Disable IPv6 persistent Semantically Opaque Interface Identifiers on the interface. Currently configured addresses will not be removed until they become invalid.

tentative
    Set the IPv6 tentative address bit.

-tentative
    Clear the IPv6 tentative address bit.

vltime n
    Set valid lifetime for the address, in seconds.

INTERFACE GROUPS
ifconfig -g group-name [ [-]carpdemote [number]]

The following options are available for interface groups:

-g group-name
    Specify the group.

carpdemote [number]
    Increase carp(4) demotion counter for given interface group by number. Acceptable values are 0 to 128. If number is omitted, it is increased by 1. The maximum value for a demotion counter is 255.

-carpdemote [number]
    Decrease carp(4) demotion counter for given interface group by number. Acceptable values are 0 to 128. If number is omitted, it is decreased by 1.

MPLS
ifconfig mpls-interface [[-]mplslabel mpls-label] [[-]pwecw] [[-]pwefat] [pweneighbor mpls-label neighbor] [[-]tunneldomain rdomain]

The following options are available for mpe(4), mpip(4), and mpw(4) interfaces:

mplslabel mpls-label
    Set the local MPLS label to mpls-label. MPLS packets sent to this label on the local system will be decapsulated for input. An MPLS label is a 20-bit number. Labels 0 to 15 inclusive are reserved labels and cannot be used.

-mplslabel
    Unset the local MPLS label.

tunneldomain rdomain
    Use the routing domain rdomain for MPLS transit. The MPLS encapsulated traffic does not need to terminate in the same routing domain as the interface itself.

-tunneldomain
    Use the default routing domain 0 for MPLS transit.

The following options are available for the mpip(4) and mpw(4) interfaces that provide MPLS Pseudowire Emulation Edge-to-Edge (PWE3) functionality:

pwecw
    Enable the use of the PWE3 Control Word.

-pwecw
    Disable the use of the PWE3 Control Word.

pwefat
    Enable the use of the Flow-Aware Transport (FAT) flow label.

-pwefat
    Disable the use of the Flow-Aware Transport (FAT) flow label.

pweneighbor mpls-label neighbor
    Use mpls-label and neighbor as the remote MPLS label and neighbor respectively. Remote MPLS labels have the same restrictions on values as local MPLS labels.

PAIR
ifconfig pair-interface [[-]patch interface]

The following options are available for a pair(4) interface:

patch interface
    Connect the interface with a second pair(4) interface. Any outgoing packets from the first pair-interface will be received by the second interface, and vice versa. This makes it possible to interconnect two routing domains locally.

-patch
    If configured, disconnect the interface pair.

PFLOW
ifconfig pflow-interface [[-]flowdst addr:port] [[-]flowsrc addr[:port]] [pflowproto n]

The following options are available for a pflow(4) interface:

flowdst addr:port
    Set the receiver address and the port for pflow(4) packets. Both must be defined to export pflow data. addr is the IP address and port is the port number of the flow collector. Pflow data will be sent to this address/port.

-flowdst
    Unset the receiver address and stop sending pflow data.

flowsrc addr[:port]
    Set the source IP address for pflow packets. addr is the IP address used as sender of the UDP packets and may be used to identify the source of the data on the pflow collector.

-flowsrc
    Unset the source address.

pflowproto n
    Set the protocol version. The default is version 5.

PFSYNC
ifconfig pfsync-interface [[-]defer] [maxupd n] [[-]syncdev iface] [[-]syncpeer peer_address]

The following options are available for a pfsync(4) interface:

defer
    Defer transmission of the first packet in a state until a peer has acknowledged that the associated state has been inserted. See pfsync(4) for more information.

-defer
    Do not defer the first packet in a state. This is the default.

maxupd n
    Indicate the maximum number of updates for a single state which can be collapsed into one. This is an 8-bit number; the default value is 128.

syncdev iface
    Use the specified interface to send and receive pfsync state synchronisation messages.

-syncdev
    Stop sending pfsync state synchronisation messages over the network.

syncpeer peer_address
    Make the pfsync link point-to-point rather than using multicast to broadcast the state synchronisation messages. The peer_address is the IP address of the other host taking part in the pfsync cluster. With this option, pfsync(4) traffic can be protected using ipsec(4).

-syncpeer
    Broadcast the packets using multicast.

PPPOE
ifconfig pppoe-interface [authkey key] [authname name] [authproto proto] [[-]peerflag flag] [peerkey key] [peername name] [peerproto proto] [[-]pppoeac access-concentrator] [pppoedev parent-interface] [[-]pppoesvc service]

pppoe(4) uses the sppp(4) "generic" SPPP framework. Any options not described in the section immediately following are described in the SPPP section, below.

The following options are available for a pppoe(4) interface:

pppoeac access-concentrator
    Set the name of the access-concentrator.

-pppoeac
    Clear a previously set access-concentrator name.

pppoedev parent-interface
    Set the name of the interface through which packets will be transmitted and received.

pppoesvc service
    Set the service name of the interface.

-pppoesvc
    Clear a previously set service name.

SPPP (PPP LINK CONTROL PROTOCOL)
ifconfig sppp-interface [authkey key] [authname name] [authproto proto] [[-]peerflag flag] [peerkey key] [peername name] [peerproto proto]

The following options are available for an sppp(4) or pppoe(4) interface:

authkey key
    Set the client key or password for the PPP authentication protocol.

authname name
    Set the client name for the PPP authentication protocol.

authproto proto
    Set the PPP authentication protocol on the specified interface acting as a client. The protocol name can be either ‘chap’, ‘pap’, or ‘none’. In the latter case, authentication will be turned off.

peerflag flag
    Set a specified PPP flag for the remote authenticator. The flag name can be either ‘callin’ or ‘norechallenge’. The ‘callin’ flag will require the remote peer to authenticate only when he's calling in, but not when the peer is called by the local client. This is required for some peers that do not implement the authentication protocols symmetrically. The ‘norechallenge’ flag is only meaningful with the CHAP protocol to not re-challenge once the initial CHAP handshake has been successful. This is used to work around broken peer implementations that can't grok being re-challenged once the connection is up.

-peerflag flag
    Remove a specified PPP flag for the remote authenticator.

peerkey key
    Set the authenticator key or password for the PPP authentication protocol.

peername name
    Set the authenticator name for the PPP authentication protocol.

peerproto proto
    Set the PPP authentication protocol on the specified interface acting as an authenticator. The protocol name can be either ‘chap’, ‘pap’, or ‘none’. In the latter case, authentication will be turned off.

SWITCH
The following options are available for a switch(4) interface:

add interface
    Add interface as a member of the switch. The interface is put into promiscuous mode so that it can receive every packet sent on the network. An interface can be a member of at most one switch.

addlocal interface
    Add interface as a local port of the switch. Local port is a special port connected with the local system's network stack. Only vether(4) can be used for the interface. Only one interface can be added as a local port.

datapath id
    Configure the datapath ID for the switch. The default value is generated randomly.

del interface
    Remove interface from the switch. Promiscuous mode is turned off for the interface when it is removed from the switch.

maxflow number
    Set the maximum number of flows per table. The default value is 10000.

maxgroup number
    Set the maximum number of groups. The default value is 1000.

portno interface number
    Set the port number for the port named interface. The default value is the interface index of the interface.

protected interface ids
    Put interface in protected domains. ids is a comma delimited list of domain IDs, between 1 and 31, to put the interface in. Interfaces that are part of a protected domain cannot forward traffic to any other interface in that domain. Interfaces do not belong to any protected domain by default.

-protected interface
    Remove interface from all protected domains.

up  Start the switch processing packets.

TPMR
ifconfig tpmr-interface [add child-iface] [del child-iface] [[-]link0] [[-]link1] [[-]link2]

The following options are available for a tpmr(4) interface:

add child-iface
    Add child-iface as a member.

del child-iface
    Remove the member child-iface.

link0
    Disable the filtering of Ethernet frames destined for the TPMR component reserved addresses, as specified by IEEE 802.1Q.

-link0
    Enable the filtering of Ethernet frames destined for the TPMR component reserved addresses, as specified by IEEE 802.1Q. This is the default.

link1
    Disable the filtering of IPv4 and IPv6 packets with pf(4).

-link1
    Enable the filtering of IPv4 and IPv6 packets with pf(4). This is the default.

link2
    Disable the filtering of 802.1Q VLAN and QinQ SVLAN packets.

-link2
    Enable the filtering of 802.1Q VLAN and QinQ SVLAN packets. This is the default.

TRUNK (LINK AGGREGATION)
ifconfig trunk-interface [lacpmode active|passive] [lacptimeout fast|slow] [[-]trunkport child-iface] [trunkproto proto]

The following options are available for aggr(4) and trunk(4) interfaces:

lacpmode active|passive
    Set the LACP trunk mode to either active (default) or passive.

lacptimeout fast|slow
    Set the LACP timeout speed to either fast or slow (default).

trunkport child-iface
    Add child-iface as a trunk port.

-trunkport child-iface
    Remove the trunk port child-iface.

trunkproto proto
    Set the link aggregation protocol on trunk(4) interfaces. Refer to trunk(4) for a complete list of the available protocols.

TUNNEL
ifconfig tunnel-interface [[-]keepalive period count] [rxprio prio] [[-]tunnel src_address dest_address] [[-]tunneldf] [[-]tunneldomain rtable] [tunnelttl ttl] [txprio prio] [[-]vnetflowid] [[-]vnetid network-id]

egre(4), eoip(4), etherip(4), gif(4), gre(4), mgre(4), nvgre(4), and vxlan(4) are all tunnel interfaces. The following options are available:

keepalive period count
    Enable gre(4) keepalive with a packet sent every period seconds. A second timer is run with a timeout of count * period. If no keepalive response is received during that time, the link is considered down. The minimal usable count is 2 since the round-trip time of keepalive packets needs to be accounted for.

-keepalive
    Disable the gre(4) keepalive mechanism.

rxprio prio
    Configure the source used for the packet priority when decapsulating a packet. The value can be a priority number from 0 to 7, or packet to use the priority currently set on the packet. If supported by the interface, the value may also be set to outer to have the priority field copied from the tunnel protocol headers, or payload to have the priority field copied from the encapsulated protocol headers.

tunnel src_address dest_address[:dest_port]
    Set the source and destination tunnel addresses on a tunnel interface. Packets routed to this interface will be encapsulated in IPv4 or IPv6, depending on the source and destination address families. Both addresses must be of the same family. The optional destination port can be specified for interfaces such as vxlan(4), which further encapsulate the packets in UDP datagrams.

-tunnel
    Remove the source and destination tunnel addresses.

tunneldf
    Do not allow fragmentation of encapsulated packets.

-tunneldf
    Allow fragmentation of encapsulated packets.

tunneldomain rtable
    Use routing table rtable instead of the default table. The tunnel does not need to terminate in the same routing domain as the interface itself. rtable can be set to any valid routing table ID; the corresponding routing domain is derived from this table.

-tunneldomain
    Use the default routing table and routing domain 0.

tunnelttl ttl
    Set the IP or multicast TTL of the tunnel packets. If supported by the tunnel protocol, the value can also be set to copy to have the TTL copied between the encapsulated protocol headers and the tunnel protocol headers.

txprio prio
    Configure the value used for the priority field in the tunnel protocol headers. The value can be a priority number from 0 to 7, or packet to use the priority currently set on the packet. If supported by the interface, the value can also be set to payload to have the priority field copied from the encapsulated protocol headers to the tunnel protocol headers.

vnetflowid
    Use a portion of the virtual network identifier space for a flow identifier. This allows load balancing of the encapsulated traffic over multiple links.

-vnetflowid
    Disable the use of a flow identifier in the virtual network identifier.

vnetid network-id
    Set the virtual network identifier. This is a number which is used by tunnel protocols such as eoip(4) and vxlan(4) to identify packets with a virtual network. The accepted size of the number depends on the individual tunnel protocol; it is a 16-bit number for eoip(4), and a 24-bit number for vxlan(4). If supported by the tunnel protocol, the value can also be set to any to accept packets with arbitrary network identifiers (for example for multipoint-to-multipoint modes).

-vnetid
    Clear the virtual network identifier.

UMB
ifconfig umb-interface [[-]apn apn] [chgpin oldpin newpin] [[-]class class,class,...] [pin pin] [puk puk newpin] [[-]roaming]

The following options are available for a umb(4) interface:

apn apn
    Set the Access Point Name (APN) required by the network provider.

-apn
    Clear the current APN.

chgpin oldpin newpin
    Permanently change the PIN of the SIM card from the current value oldpin to newpin.

class
    List all available cell classes.

class class,class,...
    Set the preferred cell classes. Apart from those listed by class the following aliases can be used: 4G, 3G, and 2G.

-class
    Clear any cell class preferences.

down
    Marking the interface as "down" will terminate any existing data connection and deregister with the service provider.

pin pin
    Enter the PIN required to unlock the SIM card. Most SIM cards will not be able to establish a network association without providing a PIN.

puk puk newpin
    Sets the PIN of the SIM card to newpin using the PUK puk to validate the request.

roaming
    Enable data roaming.

-roaming
    Disable data roaming.

up  As soon as the interface is marked as "up", the umb(4) device will try to establish a data connection with the service provider.

VEB
ifconfig veb-interface [add child-iface] [addspan child-iface] [del child-iface] [delspan child-iface] [[-]discover child-iface] [[-]learn child-iface] [[-]link0] [[-]link1] [[-]protected child-iface ids]

The following options are available for a veb(4) interface:

add child-iface
    Add child-iface as a member.

addspan child-iface
    Add child-iface as a span port on the bridge.

del child-iface
    Remove the member child-iface.

delspan child-iface
    Delete child-iface from the list of span ports of the bridge.

discover child-iface
    Mark child-iface so that packets are sent out of the interface if the destination port of the packet is unknown. If the bridge has no address cache entry for the destination of a packet, meaning that there is no static entry and no dynamically learned entry for the destination, the bridge will forward the packet to all member interfaces that have this flag set. This is the default for interfaces added to the bridge.

-discover child-iface
    Mark child-iface so that packets are not sent out of the interface if the destination port of the packet is unknown. Turning this flag off means that the bridge will not send packets out of this interface unless the packet is a broadcast packet, multicast packet, or a packet with a destination address found on the interface's segment. This, in combination with static address cache entries, prevents potentially sensitive packets from being sent on segments that have no need to see the packet.

learn child-iface
    Mark child-iface so that the source address of packets received from the interface are entered into the address cache. This is the default for interfaces added to the bridge.

-learn child-iface
    Mark child-iface so that the source address of packets received from interface are not entered into the address cache.

link0
    Disable the filtering of 802.1Q VLAN and QinQ SVLAN packets.

-link0
    Enable the filtering of 802.1Q VLAN and QinQ SVLAN packets. This is the default.

link1
    Enable the filtering of IPv4 and IPv6 packets with pf(4).

-link1
    Disable the filtering of IPv4 and IPv6 packets with pf(4). This is the default.

protected child-iface ids
    Put interface in protected domains. ids is a comma delimited list of domain IDs, between 1 and 31, to put the interface in. Interfaces that are part of a protected domain cannot forward traffic to any other interface in that domain. Interfaces do not belong to any protected domain by default.

-protected child-iface
    Remove child-iface from all protected domains.

VLAN
ifconfig vlan-interface [[-]parent parent-interface] [rxprio prio] [txprio prio] [[-]vnetid vlan-tag]

The following options are available for vlan(4) and svlan(4) VLAN interfaces:

parent parent-interface
    Associate the VLAN interface with the interface parent-interface. Packets transmitted on vlan(4) or svlan(4) interfaces will be tagged with 802.1Q or 802.1ad headers respectively and transmitted on the specified parent interface. Packets with 802.1Q or 802.1ad tags received by the parent interface with the specified VLAN tag will be diverted to the associated VLAN interface. Unless a custom Ethernet address is assigned to the VLAN interface, it will inherit a copy of the parent interface's Ethernet address.

-parent
    Disassociate from the parent interface. This breaks the link between the VLAN interface and its parent.

rxprio prio
    Set the value used for the packet priority field. Values may be from 0 to 7, packet to maintain the current packet priority, or outer to use the priority field in the 802.1Q or 802.1ad headers.

txprio prio
    Set the value used for the priority field in the 802.1Q or 802.1ad headers. Values may be from 0 to 7, or packet to use the priority of packets transmitted on the interface.

vnetid vlan-tag
    Set the VLAN tag value to vlan-tag. This value is a 12-bit number which is used in the 802.1Q or 802.1ad headers in packets handled by vlan(4) or svlan(4) interfaces respectively. Valid tag values are from 1 to 4094 inclusive.

-vnetid
    Clear the tag value. Packets on a VLAN interface without a tag set will use a value of 0 in their headers.

WIREGUARD
ifconfig wg-interface [wgkey privatekey] [wgport port] [wgrtable rtable] [-wgpeerall] [ [-]wgpeer publickey [wgaip allowed-ip_address/prefix] [wgendpoint peer_address port] [wgpka interval] [wgpsk presharedkey] [-wgpsk]]

The following options are available for wg(4) interfaces:

wgkey privatekey
    Set the private key of the interface. The privatekey is 32 bytes, base64-encoded. It can be generated as follows:

        $ openssl rand -base64 32

    The corresponding public key will then be displayed in the interface status for distribution to peers.

wgpeer publickey
    Specify an interface peer by its publickey, which is 32 bytes, base64-encoded. Repeat the option to specify multiple peers in a single command.

-wgpeer publickey
    Remove the peer with the given publickey.

-wgpeerall
    Remove all peers from the interface.

wgport port
    Set the interface's UDP port for exchanging traffic with its peers. The interface will bind to INADDR_ANY and IN6ADDR_ANY_INIT. By default, the interface will choose a port.

wgrtable rtable
    Exchange traffic with peers under the routing table rtable, instead of the default rtable(4). The routing domain of the rtable needn't be the routing domain to which the interface is attached, in which the interface's tunneled traffic appears.

Peer configuration options, which apply to the wgpeer immediately preceding them, are as follows:

wgaip allowed-ip_address/prefix
    Set the peer's IPv4 or IPv6 allowed-ip_address range for tunneled traffic. Repeat the option to set multiple ranges. By default, no addresses are allowed.

wgendpoint peer_address port
    Address traffic to the peer's IPv4 or IPv6 peer_address and UDP port. The interface will track the peer, updating wgendpoint to the source of its last authenticated packet. By default, the endpoint is unknown and so the peer cannot be addressed until it initiates communication. This implies that at least one peer in each pair must specify wgendpoint.

wgpka interval
    Set the interval of persistent keepalive packets in seconds. The default, zero, disables these. They can be used to maintain connectivity to a peer otherwise blocked to unsolicited traffic by an intermediate firewall or NAT device. For this, an interval of 25 seconds should suffice.

wgpsk presharedkey
    Set a unique key pre-shared with the peer. This strengthens the Diffie-Hellman exchange should in future a quantum-computational attack on it become feasible. The presharedkey is 32 bytes, base64-encoded. It is optional but recommended and can be generated as follows:

        $ openssl rand -base64 32

-wgpsk
    Remove the pre-shared key for this peer.

EXAMPLES
Assign the address of 192.168.1.10 with a network mask of 255.255.255.0 to interface fxp0:

    # ifconfig fxp0 inet 192.168.1.10 netmask 255.255.255.0

Configure the xl0 interface to use 100baseTX, full duplex:

    # ifconfig xl0 media 100baseTX mediaopt full-duplex

Label the em0 interface as an uplink:

    # ifconfig em0 description "Uplink to Gigabit Switch 2"

Create the gif1 network interface:

    # ifconfig gif1 create

Put the athn0 wireless interface into monitor mode:

    # ifconfig athn0 mediaopt monitor

DIAGNOSTICS
Messages indicating the specified interface does not exist, the requested address is unknown, or the user is not privileged and tried to alter an interface's configuration.

SEE ALSO
netstat(1), ifmedia(4), inet(4), intro(4), netintro(4), route(4), rtable(4), hostname.if(5), hosts(5), rc(8), slaacd(8), tcpdump(8)

HISTORY
The ifconfig command appeared in 4.2BSD.