Port 8080: HTTP alternate

What is port 8080 used for?

The most common alternative HTTP port, used by Tomcat, Jenkins, proxies and many containers.

Should port 8080 be open?

Open only if you need it. Expose it only when required, with encryption and strong authentication, ideally limited to known IP addresses. If it’s open to the internet, make sure it isn’t an admin interface.

See what is listening on port 8080

# Linux
sudo ss -tlnp | grep ':8080 '

# macOS
sudo lsof -nP -i TCP:8080 -sTCP:LISTEN

# Windows (PowerShell)
Get-NetTCPConnection -LocalPort 8080 -State Listen

Open or block port 8080 in a firewall

# Ubuntu / Debian (ufw)
sudo ufw allow 8080/tcp
sudo ufw deny 8080/tcp

# Windows (PowerShell, as administrator)
New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "Port 8080" -Direction Inbound -Protocol TCP -LocalPort 8080 -Action Allow

On cloud servers, also open the port in the provider’s security group or network firewall. At home, a service behind a router needs a port-forwarding rule to the device’s local IP.

Test it from outside

A port can be open on the server but blocked upstream. The Port Checker connects from the internet, so it shows what the world sees. From your own machine, use nc -vz example.com 8080 (macOS/Linux) or Test-NetConnection example.com -Port 8080 (Windows).