RHEL 8 / CentOS 8 open HTTP port 80 and HTTPS port 443 with firewalld

This article explains how to open HTTP port 80 and HTTPS port 443 on RHEL 8 / CentOS 8 system with the firewalld firewall. HTTP and HTTPS protocols are primarily used by web services such as, but not limited to, Apache or Nginx web serves.

For more information about the firewalld firewall visit our introduction guide to firewalld syntax and usage guide.

In this tutorial you will learn:

• How to open HTTP port 80 and HTTPS port 443.
• How to open HTTP port 80 and HTTPS port 443 permanently.
• How to list currently open ports/services.
• How to close/remove HTTP port 80 and HTTPS port 443.

RHEL 8 – HTTP & HTTPS protocol services. Open ports 80 & 443.

Software Requirements and Conventions Used

RHEL 8 / CentOS 8 open HTTP port 80 and HTTPS port 443 step by step instructions

1. Check the status of your firewall.

   # firewall-cmd --state
   running
   

   ---

   ---

2. Retrieve your currently active zones. Take a note of the zone within which you wish to open ports 80 and 443:

   # firewall-cmd --get-active-zones
   libvirt
     interfaces: virbr0 
   public
     interfaces: enp0s3
   

3. Open port 80 and port 443 port.

   The port 80 and port 443 ports are listed with Firewalld as http and https services. To temporarily open both ports execute:

   # firewall-cmd --zone=public --add-service=http
   # firewall-cmd --zone=public --add-service=https
   

   Note, the above firewald commands will open HTTP and HTTPS port only temporarily.

4. Open port 80 and port 443 port permanently. Execute the below commands to open both ports permanently, hence, make the settings persistent after reboot:

   # firewall-cmd --zone=public --permanent --add-service=http
   # firewall-cmd --zone=public --permanent --add-service=https
   # firewall-cmd --reload
   

5. Check for open ports/services. The services with permanently open ports are listed on line starting with services::

   # firewall-cmd --list-all
   public (active)
     target: default
     icmp-block-inversion: no
     interfaces: enp0s3
     sources: 
     services: cockpit dhcpv6-client http https ssh
     ports: 
     protocols: 
     masquerade: no
     forward-ports: 
     source-ports: 
     icmp-blocks: 
     rich rules:
   

6. In case you need to close the previously open HTTP port 80 and HTTPS port 443 execute:

   # firewall-cmd --zone=public --permanent --remove-service=http
   # firewall-cmd --zone=public --permanent --remove-service=https
   # firewall-cmd --reload