What uses port 8000
python manage.py runserver, python3 -m http.server, uvicorn examples and many other tools default to port 8000. Like 8080, it is an unofficial “alternate HTTP” port. Django’s runserver is single-process and not hardened, so production uses gunicorn or uvicorn behind nginx.
Should port 8000 be open to the internet?
Restrict access. Only open this port to known networks or users, for example your office IP, a VPN or behind authentication.
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Django only accepts other hosts after you add them to
ALLOWED_HOSTSand bind to all interfaces:python manage.py runserver 0.0.0.0:8000.
Check what is listening on port 8000
sudo ss -ltnp 'sport = :8000'sudo lsof -nP -iTCP:8000 -sTCP:LISTENGet-NetTCPConnection -LocalPort 8000 -State Listen
netstat -ano | findstr :8000No output means nothing is listening. If a service should be, check that it is running and which address it binds to: 127.0.0.1 only accepts local connections, 0.0.0.0 or :: accepts them on every interface.
Fix “address already in use” on port 8000
Another process already holds the port. Find it with the commands above, then stop that service properly, or end the process:
sudo kill $(sudo lsof -t -iTCP:8000 -sTCP:LISTEN)Stop-Process -Id (Get-NetTCPConnection -LocalPort 8000 -State Listen).OwningProcessAllow port 8000 from trusted networks only
The examples allow 8000 only from 10.0.0.0/8; replace it with your own private network, office IP or VPN range.
sudo ufw allow from 10.0.0.0/8 to any port 8000 proto tcp
# Close it again:
sudo ufw delete allow from 10.0.0.0/8 to any port 8000 proto tcpsudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-rich-rule='rule family="ipv4" source address="10.0.0.0/8" port port="8000" protocol="tcp" accept'
sudo firewall-cmd --reloadNew-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "Development server (Django, Python) 8000/TCP" -Direction Inbound -Protocol TCP -LocalPort 8000 -Action Allow -RemoteAddress 10.0.0.0/8On AWS, Google Cloud and Azure, also allow the port in the security group or network firewall rules; host firewalls and cloud firewalls are separate.
Test port 8000 from another machine
nc -zv example.com 8000Test-NetConnection example.com -Port 8000Related ports
- Port 8080 (HTTP alternate): the most common alternate HTTP port, used by proxies, app servers and dev tools.
- Port 5000 (Flask / development servers): the default port of the Flask development server and several other tools.
- Port 3000 (Development server / Grafana): the default port of many development servers and of Grafana.
- Port 80 (HTTP): the default port for HTTP, unencrypted web traffic.
More development servers ports
4200 (Angular dev server) , 5173 (Vite dev server) , 8888 (Jupyter) , 9000 (PHP-FPM / MinIO / SonarQube) , 9418 (Git protocol) . See all ports in the port lookup.
Sources
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Frequently asked questions
What is port 8000 used for?
Port 8000 is a common port for development servers, including Django and Python’s http.server. python manage.py runserver, python3 -m http.server, uvicorn examples and many other tools default to port 8000. Like 8080, it is an unofficial “alternate HTTP” port. Django’s runserver is single-process and not hardened, so production uses gunicorn or uvicorn behind nginx.
Is it safe to open port 8000?
Only open this port to known networks or users, for example your office IP, a VPN or behind authentication. Allow it only from the networks that need it, as in the firewall examples on this page.
How do I check if port 8000 is open?
On the server, list listening sockets with "sudo ss -ltnp 'sport = :8000'" on Linux or "sudo lsof -nP -i :8000" on macOS. From another machine, run "nc -zv host 8000" or, on Windows, "Test-NetConnection host -Port 8000". Connection refused means nothing is listening; a timeout means a firewall is dropping the traffic.