(server-expose)=
# How to expose Incus to the network

By default, Incus can be used only by local users through a Unix socket and is not accessible over the network.

To expose Incus to the network, you must configure it to listen to addresses other than the local Unix socket.
To do so, set the {config:option}`server-core:core.https_address` server configuration option.

For example, to allow access to the Incus server on port `8443`, enter the following command:

    incus config set core.https_address=:8443

To allow access through a specific IP address, use `ip addr` to find an available address and then set it.
For example:

```{terminal}
:input: ip addr

1: lo: <LOOPBACK,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 65536 qdisc noqueue state UNKNOWN group default qlen 1000
    link/loopback 00:00:00:00:00:00 brd 00:00:00:00:00:00
    inet 127.0.0.1/8 scope host lo
       valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever
    inet6 ::1/128 scope host
       valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever
2: enp5s0: <BROADCAST,MULTICAST,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 1500 qdisc mq state UP group default qlen 1000
    link/ether 10:66:6a:e3:f3:3f brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff
    inet 10.68.216.12/24 metric 100 brd 10.68.216.255 scope global dynamic enp5s0
       valid_lft 3028sec preferred_lft 3028sec
    inet6 fd42:e819:7a51:5a7b:1266:6aff:fee3:f33f/64 scope global mngtmpaddr noprefixroute
       valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever
    inet6 fe80::1266:6aff:fee3:f33f/64 scope link
       valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever
3: incusbr0: <NO-CARRIER,BROADCAST,MULTICAST,UP> mtu 1500 qdisc noqueue state DOWN group default qlen 1000
    link/ether 10:66:6a:8d:f3:72 brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff
    inet 10.64.82.1/24 scope global incusbr0
       valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever
    inet6 fd42:f4ab:4399:e6eb::1/64 scope global
       valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever
:input: incus config set core.https_address=10.68.216.12
```

All remote clients can then connect to Incus and access any image that is marked for public use.

(server-authenticate)=
## Authenticate with the Incus server

To be able to access the remote API, clients must authenticate with the Incus server.
There are several authentication methods; see {ref}`authentication` for detailed information.

The recommended method is to add the client's TLS certificate to the server's trust store through a trust token.
To authenticate a client using a trust token, complete the following steps:

1. On the server, enter the following command:

       incus config trust add <client_name>

   The command generates and prints a token that can be used to add the client certificate.
1. On the client, add the server with the following command:

       incus remote add <remote_name> <token>

   % Include content from [../authentication.md](../authentication.md)
```{include} ../authentication.md
    :start-after: <!-- Include start NAT authentication -->
    :end-before: <!-- Include end NAT authentication -->
```

See {ref}`authentication` for detailed information and other authentication methods.
