@gibme/iptables

A simple Node.js wrapper for managing iptables rules programmatically. Supports both IPv4 (iptables) and IPv6 (ip6tables), with built-in TTL-based expiration for host rules and automatic chain rebuilding.

Requirements

• Linux with iptables / ip6tables installed
• Node.js >= 22
• Appropriate permissions to modify iptables rules (typically root)

Installation

yarn add @gibme/iptables

or

npm install @gibme/iptables

Documentation

https://gibme-npm.github.io/iptables/

Usage

Basic Example

import IPTables from '@gibme/iptables';

const firewall = new IPTables({
    chain: 'INPUT'
});

// Add a host rule (default jump target: ACCEPT)
await firewall.add('192.168.1.100');

// Add a host rule with a specific jump target
await firewall.add('8.8.8.8', 'DROP');

// Add an interface rule
await firewall.addInterface('eth0', 'ACCEPT');

// Remove a host rule
await firewall.delete('8.8.8.8');

// Remove an interface rule
await firewall.deleteInterface('eth0');

// Flush the entire chain
await firewall.flush();

IPv6 Support

const firewall6 = new IPTables({
    chain: 'INPUT',
    family: 6
});

await firewall6.add('::1', 'ACCEPT');

TTL-Based Expiration

Host rules are automatically removed after the configured TTL (default: 300 seconds). Use keepAlive() to reset the timer for a host.

const firewall = new IPTables({
    chain: 'INPUT',
    stdTTL: 600 // rules expire after 10 minutes
});

await firewall.add('10.0.0.1', 'ACCEPT');

// Reset the expiration timer
await firewall.keepAlive('10.0.0.1');

Options

Option	Type	Default	Description
chain	string	required	The iptables chain to manage (e.g., INPUT, FORWARD, OUTPUT)
stdTTL	number	300	TTL in seconds for host rules (0 = no expiration)
family	4 | 6	4	Address family — 4 for iptables, 6 for ip6tables
iptables	string	auto-detected	Path to the iptables binary

Events

The IPTables class extends EventEmitter and emits the following events:

• error — Emitted when an internal cache error occurs
• expired — Emitted when a host rule expires due to TTL

firewall.on('error', (error) => {
    console.error('Firewall error:', error);
});

firewall.on('expired', (host) => {
    console.log(`Rule expired for: ${host}`);
});

License

MIT