TUFW vs GUFW: Choosing a Terminal or GUI Interface for UFW

You do not have to be fluent in every UFW command to manage your firewall confidently. With the right interface, UFW becomes something you can explore, tweak, and understand visually instead of typing everything from memory.

TUFW (Terminal UI for UFW) keeps everything inside the terminal but layers a user interface on top. You stay in your SSH session, yet you still get menus, forms, key hints, and arrow key navigation that make rule management feel more guided.

GUFW (Graphical UFW) moves the experience into a desktop window. It offers checkboxes, buttons, and mouse-driven controls that feel familiar to anyone used to graphical system settings on a Linux desktop.

Both tools talk to the same UFW backend and ultimately apply the same kinds of rules. The real choice is how you prefer to work with your systems: inside terminals and SSH sessions, or through graphical applications on the desktop.

How TUFW works

TUFW transforms UFW management into an interactive terminal experience. Instead of typing commands and hoping you got the syntax right, you navigate menus and fill out forms that guide you through creating firewall rules.

The interface splits your terminal into two panels. The left side shows available actions like add rules, delete rules, search, and disable the firewall. The right side displays your current rules in a table or switches to a form when you're creating or editing rules.

Navigation happens through keyboard shortcuts. Press a to add a rule, d to delete, e to edit. Arrow keys move between options, Tab moves between form fields, and Enter confirms your selections. The entire experience stays within your terminal, which means it works perfectly over SSH connections.

When you create a rule, TUFW presents form fields for each component: port, protocol, source address, action, and comment. You tab through these fields, filling in only what you need. TUFW provides dropdown menus for options like action types (ALLOW, DENY, REJECT, LIMIT), so you don't need to remember exactly what's available.

The tool requires installation from the project's GitHub releases. You download a .deb package for Debian-based systems and install it with dpkg:

curl -L https://github.com/peltorator/tufw/releases/download/v0.2.7/tufw_0.2.7_linux_amd64.deb -o tufw.deb

sudo dpkg -i tufw.deb

After installation, launching TUFW requires root permissions since firewall modifications always need elevated access:

sudo tufw

TUFW translates every action you take into standard UFW commands behind the scenes. This means your rules are stored in UFW's configuration files and appear when you run regular ufw status commands. TUFW is purely an interface layer and doesn't change how UFW itself works.

The terminal interface might seem limiting, but it provides several advantages. You can use TUFW on headless servers without installing desktop environments. It works reliably over slow or unstable network connections where graphical forwarding would be painful. And it keeps you in the same environment where you're already doing system administration work.

With TUFW's terminal-based approach clear, examining GUFW shows how a completely different interface philosophy approaches the same problem.

How GUFW works

GUFW takes the opposite approach by providing a traditional desktop application. It's the kind of tool you launch from your application menu, not something you run in a terminal.

The interface uses GTK, which integrates naturally with GNOME, Ubuntu's default desktop environment, but works on any desktop that supports GTK applications. You get windows with title bars, buttons you click with your mouse, and dialogs that pop up when you need to make decisions.

The main window shows your firewall status prominently at the top - whether UFW is enabled or disabled, what the default policies are for incoming and outgoing traffic. Below that, you see your current rules in a table with columns for direction, action, protocol, port, and source/destination addresses.

Adding rules happens through a dedicated dialog window. Click the "Rules" menu and select "Add" to open a form where you specify rule details. Unlike TUFW's keyboard-driven form navigation, GUFW gives you text boxes for typing, dropdown menus for clicking, and radio buttons for selecting options.

The application is available in most distribution repositories, making installation straightforward:

sudo apt install gufw

On Debian and Ubuntu systems, this command handles all dependencies automatically. After installation, GUFW appears in your application menu under system tools or administration, depending on your desktop environment's organization.

Launching GUFW doesn't require sudo from your application menu because the program prompts for your password when it needs to make changes to the firewall. This authentication happens through PolicyKit, the standard Linux privilege escalation system for desktop applications.

GUFW provides features tailored to desktop usage. You can create application-specific rules by selecting from a list of known applications rather than memorizing port numbers. The interface shows profile management for switching between different firewall configurations, though this feature is more useful in theory than practice for most users.

Like TUFW, GUFW configures the standard UFW backend. Every rule you create in GUFW becomes a normal UFW rule that appears in command-line status output. You can freely switch between GUFW and command-line UFW management because they're different interfaces to the same system.

The graphical interface requires a desktop environment, which immediately limits where you can use it. Server systems rarely run desktop environments, making GUFW impractical for typical server administration. But on desktop Linux installations like laptops, workstations, and personal computers, GUFW provides firewall management that feels native to the graphical environment.

Understanding how both tools work sets up a meaningful comparison of their characteristics and trade-offs.

Comparing interface approaches

These tools share the same backend but provide dramatically different user experiences:

These fundamental differences cascade into how you actually use each tool for daily firewall management.

Creating rules in TUFW

Working with TUFW feels like navigating a text-based menu system. Everything happens through keyboard interaction.

Starting TUFW shows you the main interface immediately. The menu on the left lists your options with hotkeys in parentheses. The right panel displays your current rules in a table format showing port, action, source, and any comments you've added.

To create a new rule, press a or navigate to "Add a rule" and press Enter. The right panel transforms into a form with labeled fields:

• Port: The port number you want to control
• To: Optional destination specification
• Interface: Optional network interface
• Protocol: TCP, UDP, or leave blank for both
• Action: ALLOW IN, DENY IN, REJECT IN, LIMIT IN, etc.
• From: Optional source IP address or network
• Comment: Optional description of the rule

You tab between fields, type values where needed, and use Enter to open dropdown menus. For the Action field, pressing Enter reveals options:

Each action does something different. ALLOW IN permits incoming connections. DENY IN silently drops incoming packets. REJECT IN drops and sends a rejection message. LIMIT IN rate-limits connections to prevent brute force attacks.

For a simple rule allowing SSH from anywhere, you type 22 in the Port field, leave everything else blank (ALLOW IN is the default), and tab to the Save button. Press Enter to save, and two rules appear in your rule table - one for IPv4 and one for IPv6.

Restricting access to a specific IP address means filling the From field. Opening port 8080 only for your office network at 192.168.1.0/24, you'd enter:

• Port: 8080
• Protocol: tcp
• From: 192.168.1.0/24
• Comment: office webapp access

Tab to Save and press Enter. The new rule appears in the table immediately.

Editing rules requires highlighting them with arrow keys, pressing e, and modifying the pre-filled form that appears. Deleting is even simpler - highlight a rule and press d, then confirm the deletion.

The keyboard-driven interaction means you never reach for your mouse. Once you learn the hotkeys, managing rules becomes quite fast. But the interface provides no inline validation - if you type an invalid IP address or port number, the rule simply fails to save with no immediate error message. You need to run TUFW with debug logging to see what went wrong:

sudo /usr/local/bin/tufw -log /tmp/tufw_debug.log

This limitation can be frustrating when you're unsure why a rule won't save.

Having experienced TUFW's keyboard-centric workflow, seeing how GUFW handles the same tasks with point-and-click interaction shows the contrast clearly.

Creating rules in GUFW

GUFW's graphical interface provides familiar desktop application patterns. You click buttons, fill out forms in dialog windows, and see immediate visual feedback.

Opening GUFW presents a window with your firewall status at the top. A large toggle switch shows whether UFW is enabled or disabled. Below that, dropdown menus let you set default policies for incoming and outgoing traffic - typically deny incoming and allow outgoing for most security configurations.

The rules section occupies the main window area, displaying your current rules in a table with columns for direction, action, protocol, port, and IP addresses. Unlike TUFW's single table, GUFW separates incoming and outgoing rules visually.

Creating a rule starts by clicking the "Rules" menu and selecting "Add". A new window opens with several tabs: Simple, Advanced, and Application. Most rule creation happens in the Simple tab.

The Simple tab provides:

• Policy: Dropdown for Allow or Deny
• Direction: In or Out radio buttons
  
• Category: Simple, Advanced, or Application selector
• Protocol: Both, TCP, or UDP dropdown
• Port: Text box for port number

To allow SSH access, you select "Allow" for policy, click the "In" radio button, choose "TCP" for protocol, and type "22" in the port box. Click "Add" at the bottom of the dialog, and the rule appears in your main window's rule table.

For IP-specific rules, you switch to the Advanced tab. This reveals additional fields for source and destination addresses. Restricting your web application on port 8080 to your office network requires:

• Policy: Allow
• Direction: In
  
• Interface: Any
• Log: None
• From: 192.168.1.0/24
• Port: 8080
• Protocol: TCP

The Application tab provides a pre-populated list of common services like Apache, Deluge, Transmission, CUPS, and Samba. Selecting an application automatically fills in the appropriate ports and protocols. This is convenient when you're not sure what ports a service uses.

Editing rules happens by double-clicking them in the main table. The same dialog window opens, pre-filled with the rule's current settings. Make your changes and click "Add" (confusingly, not "Save") to update the rule.

Deleting rules requires selecting them in the table and clicking the "Delete" button at the bottom of the main window. A confirmation dialog asks if you're sure before removing the rule.

GUFW provides better immediate feedback than TUFW. If you enter an invalid IP address format, the dialog shows an error message explaining the problem. You can't save the rule until you fix it, which prevents mistakes but also means GUFW does more input validation.

The point-and-click interaction feels natural if you're accustomed to desktop applications, but it's slower than TUFW's hotkeys once you're comfortable with the keyboard interface. Every action requires navigating through menus and dialogs rather than quick key presses.

With rule creation covered in both tools, examining how they display information reveals different strengths.

Status and rule visibility

The way these tools present your firewall configuration directly affects how quickly you can understand your security posture.

TUFW displays rules in a terminal table with columns for number, destination, port, action, source, and comment. The layout is compact and information-dense:

The text-based format makes it easy to scan through many rules quickly. You can see IPv4 and IPv6 rules side by side, which helps identify gaps in your security configuration. The comment column provides context about why each rule exists, assuming you've added comments when creating rules.

However, TUFW's terminal table has limitations. Long source addresses or comments get truncated, and the fixed-width format doesn't adapt to your screen size dynamically. You also can't sort or filter rules within the interface beyond the basic search function.

GUFW presents rules in a graphical table with more visual polish. The window is resizable, and columns adjust to show complete information. The table uses alternating row colors to improve readability, and you can click column headers to sort by different criteria.

The graphical table separates incoming and outgoing rules into different sections, which some people find clearer for understanding traffic flow. The status panel at the top uses color coding - green when the firewall is active, red when disabled - providing instant visual feedback about your security state.

GUFW's application profiles appear with friendly names in the interface. Instead of seeing "80/tcp, 443/tcp", you might see "Apache Full" or "Nginx Full", which makes rules more understandable for people who think in terms of services rather than port numbers.

The graphical display consumes more screen space than TUFW's compact terminal table. On smaller laptop screens, GUFW's window can feel cramped, especially when viewing many rules. TUFW works equally well regardless of screen size since it adapts to your terminal dimensions.

Both interfaces allow you to view the underlying UFW configuration by running sudo ufw status in a terminal, which shows the same information in UFW's native format regardless of which tool created the rules.

Understanding rule display helps, but knowing how to troubleshoot problems matters just as much.

Error handling and feedback

Error messages and feedback shape how confident you feel using a firewall, especially when you are still learning the basics of rule management.

TUFW's error handling is its weakest feature. When you enter invalid data in a form field, nothing obvious happens. The Save button doesn't respond, and no error message appears. The form just stays open, leaving you wondering what went wrong.

To diagnose the problem, you need to exit TUFW and restart it with debug logging enabled:

sudo /usr/local/bin/tufw -log /tmp/tufw_debug.log

Then you can check the log file after attempting to save the problematic rule:

cat /tmp/tufw_debug.log

2025-11-27 14:45:12 ERROR: Invalid IP address format in From field: 192.168.1.999
2025-11-27 14:46:03 ERROR: Port number out of valid range: 70000

This two-step debugging process breaks your workflow and adds unnecessary friction. It's particularly frustrating when you have multiple validation errors because you need to fix one, save, check logs, fix the next, and repeat.

GUFW handles errors much better. When you enter invalid data in a form field and try to add the rule, a dialog box pops up immediately explaining what's wrong:

"Error: '192.168.1.999' is not a valid IP address"

or

"Error: Port number must be between 1 and 65535"

These messages appear the moment you try to save, before the rule is created or any changes are made. You can fix the problem right in the dialog without switching contexts or checking log files.

GUFW also validates input as you type in some cases. If you're entering an IP address and type letters instead of numbers, the field might highlight in red to show there's a problem. This immediate feedback prevents mistakes before you even try to save.

The graphical interface provides more space for helpful error messages too. Instead of cryptic abbreviations or codes, GUFW can explain errors in complete sentences that guide you toward fixing the problem.

However, GUFW's validation can sometimes be overly strict or unclear about what format it expects. If you're unsure whether to enter "192.168.1.0/24" or just "192.168.1.0" for a network address, trial and error might be necessary even with GUFW's better error messages.

Both tools ultimately create the same UFW rules, so if you're really stuck, you can always fall back to the UFW command line, which provides clear error messages about what's wrong with your syntax.

Error handling affects day-to-day usage, but for production environments, automation capabilities often matter more.

Automation and scripting

Neither TUFW nor GUFW is designed for automation, but the distinction matters when you're building infrastructure that needs consistent firewall configuration.

TUFW is an interactive tool that requires keyboard input. There's no way to script it or feed it commands programmatically. Every action requires a human navigating menus and filling out forms. This makes TUFW completely unsuitable for automation tasks like:

• Deploying identical firewall configurations across multiple servers
• Automatically adjusting rules based on monitoring alerts
• Including firewall setup in infrastructure-as-code workflows
• Implementing security policies through configuration management

If you need any of these capabilities, you're back to using UFW's command-line interface directly.

GUFW has similar limitations. While it's technically possible to script some GTK applications through accessibility interfaces or automation tools, GUFW isn't designed for this and doesn't expose a programmable API. The graphical interface requires human interaction through mouse clicks and keyboard input.

Both tools are "management interfaces" rather than "automation interfaces". They help humans configure firewalls more easily, but they don't help machines configure firewalls at all.

For automation, you need to use UFW directly:

#!/bin/bash

# Configure firewall for web server
sudo ufw --force reset
sudo ufw default deny incoming
sudo ufw default allow outgoing
sudo ufw allow 22/tcp comment 'SSH'
sudo ufw allow 80/tcp comment 'HTTP'
sudo ufw allow 443/tcp comment 'HTTPS'
sudo ufw --force enable

Or use configuration management tools like Ansible that have UFW modules:

- name: Configure firewall
  hosts: webservers
  become: yes
  tasks:
    - name: Allow SSH
      ufw:
        rule: allow
        port: 22
        proto: tcp

    - name: Allow HTTP/HTTPS
      ufw:
        rule: allow
        port: "{{ item }}"
        proto: tcp
      loop:
        - 80
        - 443

    - name: Enable firewall
      ufw:
        state: enabled

This limitation isn't really a weakness of TUFW or GUFW - they're designed for different use cases. Interactive management tools and automation tools serve different purposes, and trying to make one tool do both often results in compromises that satisfy neither use case well.

Many administrators use both approaches: TUFW or GUFW for ad-hoc changes and troubleshooting, UFW command line or Ansible for automated deployments and configuration management.

Understanding automation limits helps set expectations, but most daily usage revolves around simpler operations.

Remote access and deployment scenarios

Where and how you access your systems significantly affects which tool makes more sense.

TUFW excels in remote access scenarios. Since it runs entirely in a terminal, it works perfectly over SSH connections. You connect to your server, run sudo tufw, and get the same interface you'd see if you were sitting at the physical console:

ssh admin@server.example.com

sudo tufw

The terminal UI responds as quickly as your SSH connection allows. Even over slow or high-latency connections, TUFW remains usable because it's sending simple terminal control sequences rather than graphics data.

TUFW works on any server regardless of what software is installed. As long as you have terminal access, you can use TUFW. This makes it perfect for:

• Headless servers in data centers
• Cloud instances without GUI
• Embedded systems and IoT devices
• Containers that don't run X servers
• Emergency recovery scenarios using serial consoles

The tool's small footprint (about 6MB) means you can install it without worrying about dependencies or storage space on minimal server installations.

GUFW requires a completely different environment. You need a desktop session with GTK libraries, which immediately rules out most server deployments. Running GUFW remotely involves either:

X forwarding over SSH, which sends graphical data across the network:

ssh -X admin@server.example.com

gufw

This works but performs poorly over slow connections. Every button click, window redraw, and menu interaction involves network round trips. The experience ranges from sluggish to unusable depending on your connection quality.

Remote desktop protocols like VNC or RDP provide full desktop access, which includes running GUFW:

vncviewer server.example.com:1

Then launch GUFW from the remote desktop environment. This provides better performance than X forwarding but requires running and maintaining remote desktop services, which adds complexity and security considerations.

Local desktop access is where GUFW shines. On a laptop or desktop workstation running Linux, GUFW integrates naturally with the system. You launch it from your application menu just like any other program, and it works exactly as you'd expect a native desktop application to work.

This makes GUFW ideal for:

• Personal laptops and workstations
• Desktop Linux installations
• Systems where you have regular physical access
• Environments where users prefer graphical tools
• Teaching firewall concepts to people new to Linux

The difference becomes clear when you think about typical deployment scenarios. Most servers live in data centers or cloud environments where you access them via SSH. TUFW fits this model perfectly. Most desktop Linux systems have users sitting in front of them with mouse and keyboard, where GUFW feels more natural.

Some organizations run both: GUFW on desktop systems for local firewall management, TUFW on servers for remote administration. This gives each system type the interface that works best for its access pattern.

Access patterns matter, but so does the learning investment required to become productive.

Learning curves and skill development

How quickly you can become effective with these tools varies based on your background and how you learn best.

TUFW's learning curve is gentle but requires basic terminal comfort. If you're already comfortable with SSH, navigating directories with cd, and using terminal-based tools, TUFW feels natural. The interface is self-documenting - when you open it, you see all available options listed with their hotkeys.

The time investment to basic proficiency is measured in minutes. You can:

• Launch TUFW
• See the menu options
• Press a to add a rule
• Fill in the Port field
• Tab to Save and press Enter

That's a complete firewall rule in under a minute without reading any documentation. The visual nature of the menus and forms means you discover capabilities by exploring rather than by studying manuals.

However, TUFW doesn't teach you much about firewall concepts. You learn that there's a Port field and an Action dropdown, but you might not understand why you'd choose LIMIT over ALLOW, or what happens when you leave the Protocol field blank. The tool makes it easy to do things without necessarily understanding what you're doing.

GUFW has an even gentler learning curve for people accustomed to graphical applications. If you've used any desktop application with menus and dialogs, you already know how GUFW works. The patterns are universal:

• Click a menu
• Select an action
• Fill out a form
• Click a button to confirm

No terminal knowledge required. No command syntax to learn. No keyboard shortcuts to memorize. The interface uses standard desktop conventions that transfer from other applications.

The time to basic proficiency is essentially zero if you're comfortable with desktop applications. The interface is more explicitly labeled than TUFW - instead of single-letter hotkeys, you get complete menu labels and button text that explains exactly what each action does.

GUFW's help system integrates better than TUFW's GitHub documentation. Press F1 or use the Help menu, and you get explanations of what each option does, examples of common rule types, and guidance on security best practices. This built-in documentation makes learning without external resources more feasible.

Both tools share a limitation: they're interfaces to UFW, which means understanding UFW's concepts helps you use them effectively. Neither tool teaches you why you need a firewall, how packet filtering works, or when to use specific security configurations. They make it easy to manipulate UFW rules but don't provide firewall education.

For building deeper knowledge, the command-line UFW documentation actually teaches concepts better. When you read about UFW commands, you see the connection between actions and results more clearly than when clicking buttons or filling forms. The visual tools are faster once you know what you're doing, but they're less educational when you're learning.

Many people start with GUFW or TUFW to get comfortable with firewall management, then gradually learn UFW's command line as they need more advanced features or automation capabilities. The visual tools provide training wheels that you can remove when you're ready.

With learning requirements clear, deciding which tool fits your situation becomes straightforward.

Final thoughts

This article looks at TUFW and GUFW as two different paths into the same skill: understanding and managing UFW safely.

Instead of thinking in terms of picking the "best" tool, think in terms of what helps you learn and stay confident. If a graphical window with clear labels helps you see what rules are active, GUFW is doing its job. If working in a terminal keeps you closer to the tools you already use on servers, TUFW is doing its job. Both are training wheels on top of the same firewall.

Over time, you might move between them or drop them and use plain UFW commands. That is fine. What matters is that you reach a point where your rules make sense to you, your changes are deliberate, and you feel calm when you open your firewall configuration. If this article helps you pick one starting point that feels less stressful, it has done its work.

Got an article suggestion? Let us know

Next article

Homebrew vs Nix: Which Package Manager Should You Use?

Compare Homebrew and Nix package managers for macOS. Learn the key differences in dependency handling, reproducibility, team collaboration, and find out which tool fits your development workflow.

→

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.