How to Open the Windows Firewall on Your Windows Server

For services such as game or web servers to be reachable from the outside, you have to open the required ports in the Windows Firewall. This guide shows you both ways – via the graphical interface and via PowerShell.

Via the graphical interface

1. Open the firewall
   Press Windows + R, type wf.msc and confirm with Enter. The Windows Defender Firewall with Advanced Security opens.

2. Create a new inbound rule
   Click Inbound Rules on the left and then New Rule… on the right.

3. Choose the rule type
   Select Port and click Next.

4. Specify protocol and port
   Select TCP or UDP and enter the desired port under Specific local ports (e.g. 25565). Click Next.

5. Allow the connection
   Select Allow the connection and click Next.

6. Select the profiles
   Leave all profiles (Domain, Private, Public) enabled and click Next.

7. Name the rule
   Give it a meaningful name (e.g. Minecraft Server) and click Finish.

Via PowerShell

Alternatively, you can open a port directly via PowerShell – which is often faster.

1. Open PowerShell as administrator
   Right-click the Start menu and select Windows PowerShell (Admin) or Terminal (Admin).

2. Create the rule
   Run the following command and adjust the name, port and protocol:

   New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "Minecraft Server" -Direction Inbound -LocalPort 25565 -Protocol TCP -Action Allow
   

   For a UDP port, replace TCP with UDP.