Create Wi-Fi Hotspot on Linux using nmcli

create-hotspot.md

Create a Wi-Fi hotspot on Linux using nmcli

Original post : https://unix.stackexchange.com/a/310699

nmcli con add type wifi ifname wlan0 con-name Hostspot autoconnect yes ssid Hostspot
nmcli con modify Hostspot 802-11-wireless.mode ap 802-11-wireless.band bg ipv4.method shared
nmcli con modify Hostspot wifi-sec.key-mgmt wpa-psk
nmcli con modify Hostspot wifi-sec.psk "veryveryhardpassword1234"
nmcli con up Hostspot

Note

If after reboot nmcli con up Hotspot doesn't work

Use this command instead to start Hotspot

UUID=$(grep uuid /etc/NetworkManager/system-connections/Hotspot | cut -d= -f2)
nmcli con up uuid $UUID

Thank you all, especially abhishekmj303 for this argument (802-11-wireless-security.pmf 1)

Excellent!
In some cases, you may need:

echo 1 > /proc/sys/net/ipv4/ip_forward
iptables -t nat -A POSTROUTING -o eth0 -j MASQUERADE

reference on https://owlhowto.com/how-to-create-a-wifi-hotspot-on-debian-12/

using this to auto create hotspot on boot

nmcli con mod Hostspot connection.autoconnect yes

reference on https://owlhowto.com/how-to-create-a-wifi-hotspot-on-debian-12/

using this to auto create hotspot on boot

nmcli con mod Hostspot connection.autoconnect yes

Let me get this, it's possible to create hotspot without being connected to a WiFi?

yes, you can create without it

(I hope this is not annoying) Is it possible to run the hotspot on a rasbperry pi 5, and then connect to it? I can host the hotspot just fine, but when I try to connect it refuses because the hotspot has no internet. (It has no internet, not the network is not found.) Is there a way that you can connect to a network without internet using Raspbian lite?

@Vllben had the same problem on a raspberry pi 4 with Raspbian 12 (bookworm) and had to setup the nftables firewall accordingly for the client to be able to use the raspberry's internet connection:

sudo nft add table nat
sudo nft 'add chain nat postrouting { type nat hook postrouting priority 100 ; }'
sudo nft add rule nat postrouting masquerade

See https://wiki.nftables.org/wiki-nftables/index.php/Performing_Network_Address_Translation_(NAT)

In archlinux to share the wired internet via wifi, the dnsmasq packet is required for the network to lift properly.

It is also possible to create the network in a single command.

$ IFNAME="wlan0" && CON_NAME="MATARIFE" && PASSWD="password" && nmcli c add type wifi ifname $IFNAME con-name $CON_NAME autoconnect yes ssid $CON_NAME 802-11-wireless.mode ap 802-11-wireless.band bg ipv4.method shared wifi-sec.key-mgmt wpa-psk wifi-sec.psk "$PASSWD"

And then just lift the network.

$ nmcli con up $CON_NAME

We check that the wired network is sharing the internet via wifi.

$ nmcli d s | grep ^$IFNAME
wlan0          wifi      connected     MATARIFE

I also have a script that automates the procedure. For more information I also have a post on my Telegram channel dedicated to the topic.

I tried this method I reached till lift the network but when I run this command "nmcli con up $CON_NAME" I got an error saying -

Error: Connection activation failed: No suitable device found for this connection (device eno1 not available because profile is not compatible with device (mismatching interface name)).

Can you please help

Thanks! :-)

as an improvement for that command

IFNAME="wlan0" && CON_NAME="wifi name" && PASSWD="12345678" && nmcli c add type wifi ifname $IFNAME con-name "$CON_NAME" autoconnect yes ssid "$CON_NAME" 802-11-wireless.mode ap 802-11-wireless.band bg ipv4.method shared wifi-sec.key-mgmt wpa-psk wifi-sec.psk "$PASSWD"

if the wifi name has spaces it will work

same goes for the second command

nmcli con up "$CON_NAME"

I'm using a macbook.
When I try to connect to Hostspot, I keep getting prompted that WPA password is required.
Even though I used the correct password, the display does not disappear.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think adding the following uses WPA2:

nmcli con modify Hostspot wifi-sec.group ccmp
nmcli con modify Hostspot wifi-sec.pairwise ccmp

and for WPA3 maybe something like this:

nmcli con modify Hostspot wifi-sec.key-mgmt sae

(Note: intentional misspelling of hotspot as Hostspot to match OP)