Blog: Introducing Firewall

[Copilot]

Adds a blog post announcing the new Firewall feature, following the structure of the existing Hosts File Editor post.

Changes proposed in this pull request

• Website/blog/2026-04-30-introducing-firewall/index.md — new post with frontmatter (slug, title, description, authors, tags, keywords), <!-- truncate --> after the intro, and sections covering the NETworkManager_ prefix scoping, feature list, complete Add/Edit rule dialog fields (including Enabled and Description), and admin-rights requirement; the "Try it now" section links to the pre-release download at https://borntoberoot.net/NETworkManager/download#pre-release
• firewall.png / firewall-rule.png — images copied from Website/docs/img/ into the blog post directory and referenced with relative paths (./firewall.png, ./firewall-rule.png)

Related issue(s)

Copilot generated summary

Copilot summary

Adds a new Docusaurus blog post under Website/blog/2026-04-30-introducing-firewall/ announcing the Firewall feature. The post covers rule scoping via the NETworkManager_ prefix, available actions (add/edit/enable/disable/delete/export), the complete set of Add/Edit rule dialog fields (Name, Enabled, Description, Direction, Action, Protocol, Local/Remote ports, Local/Remote addresses, Program, Interface type, Network profiles), the read-only behaviour when not running as administrator, and a "Try it now" section pointing readers to the latest pre-release download. Both UI screenshots (firewall.png, firewall-rule.png) are co-located in the blog directory.

To-Do

• Update documentation to reflect this changes
• Update changelog to reflect this changes

Contributing

By submitting this pull request, I confirm the following:

• I have read and understood the contributing guidelines and the code of conduct.
• I have have added my name, username or email to the contributors list or don't want to.
• The code or resource is compatible with the GNU General Public License v3.0.

Original prompt

Create a blog post announcing the new Firewall feature in the repository BornToBeRoot/NETworkManager.

Requirements:

1. Use the existing blog post about the Hosts File Editor as reference for tone/structure: Website/blog/2025-09-06-introducing-hosts-file-editor/index.md.
2. Base the content on the existing documentation page: Website/docs/application/firewall.md.
3. Include images from the docs. Specifically:
   • The main Firewall screenshot (from docs ../img/firewall.png).
   • The Add/Edit rule dialog screenshot (from docs ../img/firewall-rule.png).
   • Also include the rules image (ensure it is included in the blog post; locate the appropriate image in the repo and reference it similarly).
4. Add the new blog post under Website/blog/ using a date-based directory and index.md like other posts (choose an appropriate date/slug for the Firewall announcement).
5. Ensure the post contains frontmatter similar to the Hosts File Editor post (slug/title/description/authors/tags/keywords) and includes <!-- truncate --> after the intro.
6. Create a pull request with these changes.

Context:

• New Firewall feature recently added (see commits around PR Feature: Firewall app #3383).
• Documentation describes that NETworkManager manages only rules with the NETworkManager_ prefix and that admin rights are required for modifications.

Links for reference:

• Firewall docs: https://github.com/BornToBeRoot/NETworkManager/blob/main/Website/docs/application/firewall.md
• Hosts File Editor blog: https://github.com/BornToBeRoot/NETworkManager/blob/main/Website/blog/2025-09-06-introducing-hosts-file-editor/index.md

The following is the prior conversation context from the user's chat exploration (may be truncated):

User: Write a Blog Post announcing the new Firewall feature. See the recent commits, see the existing firewall.md docs, use the images from the docs. See the blog post about the hosts file editor as reference.

Assistant: ````markdown name=Website/blog/2026-04-27-introducing-firewall/index.md

slug: introducing-firewall
title: Introducing Firewall
description: "NETworkManager introduces the new Firewall feature. Create, edit, enable, disable, and delete Windows Firewall rules managed by NETworkManager — all from a user-friendly interface."
authors: [borntoberoot]
tags: [firewall, windows firewall, security, new feature]
keywords: [NETworkManager, Windows Firewall, Windows Defender Firewall, firewall rules, inbound, outbound, network security]

NETworkManager introduces a new feature: the Firewall. You can now manage Windows Firewall rules created by NETworkManager directly from within the app — no more jumping between MMC snap-ins for the common day-to-day tasks.

This is especially useful if you frequently spin up local services (lab environments, dev boxes, game servers, small internal tools) and need a quick and repeatable way to open or block ports, restrict traffic to specific IP ranges, or scope rules to profiles like Domain, Private, or Public.

Manage rules safely (and without touching your system rules)

The Firewall view intentionally focuses on rules managed by NETworkManager only.

Every rule created via NETworkManager is stored with a NETworkManager_ prefix in the Windows Firewall rule display name. This makes it easy to distinguish “your” rules from system-managed or third‑party rules — and it allows NETworkManager to filter the list so you only see what it owns.

What you can do with the new Firewall feature

With the new Firewall app you can:

• View firewall rules created by NETworkManager
• Add new inbound or outbound rules
• Edit existing rules (same dialog is used for Add/Edit)
• Enable / disable rules quickly
• Delete rules you no longer need
• Copy or export rule information
• Refresh the list with F5
• Open the native Windows Firewall console (WF.msc) via a button (Windows Firewall Settings)

Add / Edit rules — with the options you actually need

When creating a rule, NETworkManager exposes the most common and important fields in a clear UI, including:

• Direction: Inbound / Outbound
• Action: Allow / Block
• Protocol: Any, TCP, UDP, ICMPv4, ICMPv6, GRE, L2TP
• Ports: local/remote ports (available for TCP/UDP)
• Addresses: local/remote addresses (supports single IPs, ranges, and subnets — including CIDR and subnet masks)
• Program: limit the rule to a specific executable (optional)
• Interface type: Any, Wired, Wireless, RemoteAccess
• Network profiles: Domain / Private / Public (at least one is required)

You can find all details (including examples for ports and address formats) in the official documentation:

https://borntoberoot.net/NETworkManager/docs/application/firewall

Administrator privileges

Like editing the hosts file, managing firewall rules requires elevated rights.

If NETworkManager is not running as administrator, the Firewall view is read-only. U...

This pull request was created from Copilot chat.

[Copilot]

Pull request overview

Adds a new Docusaurus blog post announcing the Firewall feature, modeled after the existing “Introducing Hosts File Editor” post, and co-locates the required screenshots with the post.

Changes:

• Add a new blog post at Website/blog/2026-04-27-introducing-firewall/index.md with frontmatter, intro + truncate marker, feature overview, and admin-rights note.
• Add and reference two screenshots (firewall.png, firewall-rule.png) from within the blog post directory.

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 1 out of 3 changed files in this pull request and generated 1 comment.

File	Description
Website/blog/2026-04-27-introducing-firewall/index.md	New “Introducing Firewall” blog post content and image references.
Website/blog/2026-04-27-introducing-firewall/firewall.png	Screenshot used in the blog post.
Website/blog/2026-04-27-introducing-firewall/firewall-rule.png	Add/Edit rule dialog screenshot used in the blog post.

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[Copilot]

The Add/Edit rule field list appears incomplete compared to the Firewall documentation: the dialog also has Enabled and Description fields. Either add those fields here (to match the “full set of fields” intent) or adjust the surrounding wording so it’s clear this is a subset of the dialog options.

[BornToBeRoot]

@copilot apply changes based on this feedback

[Copilot]

Added Enabled and Description fields to the list in commit 64ec83f. The field list now matches the complete set of options in the Add/Edit rule dialog.

[BornToBeRoot]

@copilot rewrite this to you can test this feature in the latest pre-release and change the download link: https://borntoberoot.net/NETworkManager/download#pre-release

[Copilot]

Done in commit 1bdc9c7. The section now reads: "You can test this feature in the latest pre-release of NETworkManager."

[BornToBeRoot]

@copilot adjust the date to today.

[Copilot]

@copilot adjust the date to today.

Done in commit 136d07c. The blog post directory has been renamed from 2026-04-27-introducing-firewall to 2026-04-30-introducing-firewall.