Static routes

Netifd supports static IP route declarations which are required to implement basic routing.

Static IPv4 routes can be defined on specific interfaces using route sections. As for aliases, multiple sections can be attached to an interface. The route sections are stored in the uci file /etc/config/network.

A minimal example looks like this:

config route 'route_example_1'
        option interface 'lan'
        option target '172.16.123.0'
        option netmask '255.255.255.0'
        option gateway '172.16.123.100'

lan is the logical interface name of the parent interface
172.16.123.0 is the network address of the route
255.255.255.0 specifies the route netmask

Another example, creating a default route for table 100 with the gateway 10.72.197.110:

config route 'route_example_2'
        option interface 'vpn'
        option target '0.0.0.0/0'
        option table '100'
        option gateway '10.72.197.110'

vpn is the logical interface name of the parent interface
0.0.0.0/0 is the subnet address all includes all IPs, because we use a subnet we don't need to use netmask
100 is the specific table number, if you want it to be shown as a name, add it to /etc/iproute2/rt_tables

This is a persistent equivalent to the runtime command:

ip route add default via 10.72.197.110 table 100

Name	Type	Required	Default	Description
`interface`	string	yes	(none)	Specifies the logical interface name of the parent (or master) interface this route belongs to; must refer to one of the defined `interface` sections
`target`	ip address	yes	(none)	Network address
`netmask`	netmask	no	(none)	Route netmask. If omitted, `255.255.255.255` is assumed which makes `target` a host address
`gateway`	ip address	no	(none)	Network gateway. If omitted, the `gateway` from the parent interface is taken if any, otherwise creates a `link` scope route; if set to `0.0.0.0` no gateway will be specified for the route
`metric`	number	no	`0`	Specifies the route metric to use
`mtu`	number	no	interface MTU	Defines a specific MTU for this route
`table`	routing table	no	`main`	Defines the table ID to use for the route. The ID can be either a numeric table index ranging from 0 to 65535 or a symbolic alias declared in `/etc/iproute2/rt_tables`. The special aliases local (255), main (254) and default (253) are recognized as well
`source`	ip address	no	(none)	The preferred source address when sending to destinations covered by the target
`onlink`	boolean	no	`0`	When enabled gateway is on link even if the gateway does not match any interface prefix
`type`	string	no	`unicast`	One of the types outlined in the routing types table below
`proto`	routing protocol	no	`static`	Defines the protocol ID to use for the route. The ID can be either a numeric value ranging from 0 to 255 or a symbolic alias declared in `/etc/iproute2/rt_protos`.
`disabled`	boolean	no	`0`	Specifies if the static route should be set or not, available since OpenWrt >= 21.02.

IPv6 routes can be specified as well by defining one or more route6 sections.

A minimal example looks like this:

config route6
        option interface 'lan'
        option target '2001:0DB8:100:F00:BA3::1/64'
        option gateway '2001:0DB8:99::1'

lan is the logical interface name of the parent interface
2001:0DB8:100:F00:BA3::1/64 is the routed IPv6 subnet in CIDR notation
2001:0DB8:99::1 specifies the IPv6 gateway for this route

Name	Type	Required	Default	Description
`interface`	string	yes	(none)	Specifies the logical interface name of the parent (or master) interface this route belongs to; must refer to one of the defined `interface` sections
`target`	ipv6 address	yes	(none)	IPv6 network address
`gateway`	ipv6 address	no	(none)	IPv6 gateway. If omitted, the `gateway` from the parent interface is taken
`metric`	number	no	`0`	Specifies the route metric to use
`mtu`	number	no	interface MTU	Defines a specific MTU for this route
`table`	routing table	no	`main`	Defines the table ID to use for the route. The ID can be either a numeric table index ranging from 0 to 65535 or a symbolic alias declared in /etc/iproute2/rt_tables. The special aliases local (255), main (254) and default (253) are recognized as well
`source`	ip address	no	(none)	The route source address in source-address dependent routes. It's called “from” in the ip command.
`onlink`	boolean	no	`0`	When enabled gateway is on link even if the gateway does not match any interface prefix
`type`	string	no	`unicast`	One of the types outlined in the Routing Types table below
`proto`	routing protocol	no	`static`	Defines the protocol ID to use for the route. The ID can be either a numeric value ranging from 0 to 255 or a symbolic alias declared in /etc/iproute2/rt_protos.
`disabled`	boolean	no	`0`	Specifies if the static route should be set or not, available since OpenWrt >= 21.02.

Routing types

Type	Description
`unicast`	the route entry describes real paths to the destinations covered by the route prefix.
`local`	the destinations are assigned to this host. The packets are looped back and delivered locally.
`broadcast`	the destinations are broadcast addresses. The packets are sent as link broadcasts.
`multicast`	a special type used for multicast routing. It is not present in normal routing tables.
`unreachable`	these destinations are unreachable. Packets are discarded and the ICMP message host unreachable is generated. The local senders get an EHOSTUNREACH error.
`prohibit`	these destinations are unreachable. Packets are discarded and the ICMP message communication administratively prohibited is generated. The local senders get an EACCES error.
`blackhole`	these destinations are unreachable. Packets are discarded silently. The local senders get an EINVAL error.
`anycast`	the destinations are anycast addresses assigned to this host. They are mainly equivalent to local with one difference: such addresses are invalid when used as the source address of any packet.

Static routes

IPv4 routes

Options for IPv4 routes

IPv6 routes

Options for IPv6 routes

Routing types