> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.hivenet.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Agent network and firewall basics

> What the Hivenet Agent does and how to avoid connection issues

## **What the Hivenet Agent is**

The Hivenet Agent is a lightweight network tool that:

* Helps your instance discover and connect with others on the network
* Manages secure tunnels for HTTPS endpoints
* Enables peer-to-peer communication without needing a central gateway

If your instance’s public URL isn’t working—or if SSH fails unexpectedly—the Agent might be blocked or misconfigured.

## **Which ports the Agent needs**

To work correctly, the Agent uses:

* **Port 4001 (TCP/UDP)** – For peer discovery and swarm networking
* **Port 4443 (TCP)** – For secure tunneling and HTTPS exposure

These should be open on your machine or network if you're running the Agent directly or using advanced features.

## **When you need to open these ports**

Most users don’t need to manually open ports unless:

* You're behind a corporate firewall or router with strict rules
* You're contributing resources (via Contribute) or hosting long-running HTTPS endpoints
* You want to ensure the best-case network performance with external tools

<Tip>
  Test your setup on a mobile hotspot to see if network restrictions are the cause.
</Tip>

## **How to check if the Agent is working**

| Where you are running         | What to do                                             |
| :---------------------------- | :----------------------------------------------------- |
| **Inside a Compute instance** | Open the logs:\`journalctl -u hivenet-agent --no-pager |

<Note>
  Root is disabled on all Compute containers. Commands that require sudo will fail.
</Note>

## **Firewall troubleshooting tips**

* Allow outgoing connections on ports 4001 and 4443
* Temporarily disable firewall apps or try switching to a less restricted network
* Restart the instance and check if the error persists