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Netsh bridge

Use netsh bridge commands to create and manage a network bridge of at least two network adapters. The network bridge shares the network connectivity and resources of one network adapter with the other.

Note

  • This command is available beginning with 2023-09 Cumulative Update for Windows 11, version 22H2 (KB5030310).

  • The netsh bridge commands is not available on Windows Server 2022 and earlier.

Netsh bridge commands

The available commands are:

Command Description
help Display a list of commands for the netsh bridge context.
list List all available bridges by their unique bridge GUIDs.
show adapter List all network adapters that can be bridged and network adapters that already form a bridge.
create Create a bridge using least two network adapters.
add Add a network adapter to an existing bridge.
remove Remove a bridged network adapter from an existing bridge.
remove all from Remove all bridged network adapters from an existing bridge and destroy the bridge.
destroy Remove all bridged network adapters from an existing bridge and destroy the bridge.

Netsh bridge syntax

netsh bridge list

netsh bridge show adapter

netsh bridge create [<Adapter ID 1> <Adapter ID 2>]

netsh bridge add [<Adapter ID>] to [<Bridge GUID>]

netsh bridge remove [<Adapter ID>] from [<Bridge GUID>]

netsh bridge remove all from [<Bridge GUID>]

netsh bridge destroy [<Bridge GUID>]

Netsh bridge help

The help command provides more detailed information about the supported netsh bridge commands.

Netsh bridge help parameters

Parameter Description
<command> Shows information about the commands.

Netsh bridge help examples

The following command is an example of the command to show all supported Netsh bridge commands.

netsh bridge help

The following output shows the supported commands and their descriptions.

The following commands are available:
Commands in this context:
?       - Display a list of commands
help    - Display a list of commands
list    - Display all available created bridges.
show    - Displays information (i.e. adapter).
add     - Add a network adapter onto an existing bridge
create  - Create a bridge with two user-provided network adapters.
destroy - Remove ALL bridged network adapters from the existing bridge and destroy the bridge.
remove  - Remove network adapter from a bridge, and destroy the bridge automatically when all network adapters are removed.
dump    - Displays a configuration script.
set     - Sets configuration information

Netsh bridge list bridge

Command lists all available created bridges, identified by their unique bridge GUIDs.

Netsh bridge list bridge examples

The following command is an example of this command and its expected result:

netsh bridge list

The following output lists the bridge GUIDs for each configured bridge.


```output
-------------------------------------------------------------
GUID                                Bridge Name
-------------------------------------------------------------
{Uniquely generated Bridge GUID}    Network Bridge
-------------------------------------------------------------

Netsh bridge show adapter

The command shows the bridgeable network adapters and any network adapters that form a bridge.

Each adapter is identified with its unique ID, which can be adapter GUID or interface index (namely, IfIndex) or Adapter Name.

Netsh bridge show adapter examples

The following command is an example of this command.

netsh bridge show adapter

The following output lists network adapters that can be added to a bridge, and any network adapters already in a bridge.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
IfIndex GUID                        Adapter Name        IsBridged Bridgeable Compatibility
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1       <Wi-Fi Interface GUID>      Wi-Fi                   No        Yes      disabled
4       <Ethernet Interface GUID>   Ethernet                No        Yes      disabled
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Netsh bridge create bridge

Creates a bridge of at least two network adapters joining onto the bridge. Providing two network adapters are required as parameters for the command. A successfully created bridge is identified with its unique bridge GUID and can be confirmed using the command netsh bridge list.

Netsh bridge create bridge parameters

Parameter Description Requirement
Adapter ID Uniquely identifies a network adapter that can join a bridge, and can be acquired from command netsh bridge show adapters. An adapter ID can be either of followings: GUID or Adapter Name, or IfIndex Required

Netsh bridge create bridge examples

Example 1: Create a bridge of two network adapters by IfIndex

The following command is an example of this command providing IfIndex parameters.

netsh bridge create 1 4

The following output shows the bridge GUID for the newly created bridge, confirming the interface indexes used.

Successfully added adapter 1 onto the bridge.
Successfully added adapter 4 onto the bridge.

Example 2: Create a bridge of two network adapters by adapter GUID

The following command is an example of this command providing Adapter GUID parameters.

netsh bridge create [<Wi-Fi Interface GUID>] [<Ethernet Interface GUID>]

The following output shows the bridge GUID for the newly created bridge, confirming the adapter GUIDs used.

Successfully added adapter <Wi-Fi Interface GUID> onto the bridge.
Successfully added adapter <Ethernet Interface GUID> onto the bridge.

Example 3: Create a bridge of two network adapters by adapter name

The following command is an example of this command providing Adapter Name parameters.

netsh bridge create "Wi-Fi" "Ethernet"

The output shows the bridge GUID for the newly created bridge, confirming the adapter names used.

Successfully added adapter Wi-Fi onto the bridge.
Successfully added adapter Ethernet onto the bridge.

Netsh bridge add

This command adds a bridgeable network adapter to an existing bridge.

Netsh bridge add parameters

Parameter Description Requirement
Adapter ID An adapter ID can be either of followings: Adapter GUID or Adapter Name, or IfIndex. The parameter uniquely identifies the network adapter that can join a bridge, and can be found from command netsh bridge show adapters. Required
Bridge GUID GUID uniquely identifies the bridge found from command netsh bridge list. Required

Netsh bridge add examples

The following command is an example of this command.

netsh bridge add [<Adapter ID>] to [<Bridge GUID>]

The following output confirms the operation was successful for the adapter ID and bridge GUID.

Successfully added adapter <Adapter ID> to <Bridge GUID>

Netsh bridge remove

Removes a bridged network adapter from an existing bridge.

Netsh bridge remove parameters

Parameter Description Requirement
Adapter ID An adapter ID can be either of followings: GUID or Adapter Name, or IfIndex. The parameter uniquely identifies the network adapter that can join a bridge, and can be found from command netsh bridge show adapters. Required
Bridge GUID GUID uniquely identifies the bridge acquired from command netsh bridge list. Required

Netsh bridge remove examples

The following command is an example of this command.

netsh bridge remove [<Adapter ID>] from [<Bridge GUID>]

The following output confirms the adapter was successfully removed.

Successfully removed adapter <Adapter ID> from bridge.

Netsh bridge remove all from

Removes all bridged network adapters from an existing bridge and destroys the bridge.

Netsh bridge remove all from parameters

Parameter Description Requirement
Bridge GUID Specifies the GUID to be removed. You can identify the bridge using the command netsh bridge list. Required

Netsh bridge remove all examples

The following command is an example of this command.

netsh bridge remove all from [<Bridge GUID>]

The output confirms the bridge was successfully destroyed for the bridge GUID.

Successfully destroyed bridge <Bridge GUID>.

Netsh bridge destroy

Removes all bridged network adapters from an existing bridge and then destroys the bridge.

Netsh bridge destroy parameters

Parameter Description Requirement
Bridge GUID Specifies the GUID to be removed. You can identify the bridge using the command netsh bridge list. Required

Netsh bridge destroy examples

The following command is an example of this command.

netsh bridge destroy [<Bridge GUID>]

The output confirms the bridge was successfully destroyed for the bridge GUID.

Successfully destroyed bridge <Bridge GUID>.