---
description: Create WAF custom rules in the Cloudflare dashboard.
title: Create a custom rule in the dashboard
image: https://developers.cloudflare.com/og-docs.png
---

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# Create a custom rule in the dashboard

Last updated Aug 24, 2026|Copy as Markdown|[View as Markdown](https://docs-durable-objects-instance-replaced-errors.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/waf/custom-rules/create-dashboard/index.md)|[Agent setup](https://docs-durable-objects-instance-replaced-errors.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/agent-setup/)

1. In the Cloudflare dashboard, go to the **Security rules** page.  
[Go to **Security rules** ↗](https://dash.cloudflare.com/?to=/:account/:zone/security/security-rules)
2. To create a new empty rule, select **Create rule** \> **Custom rules**. To duplicate an existing rule, select the three dots next to it > **Duplicate**.
3. Enter a descriptive name for the rule in **Rule name**.  
![Custom rule creation page in the Cloudflare dashboard](https://docs-durable-objects-instance-replaced-errors.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/cdn-cgi/image/onerror=redirect,width=870,height=535,format=webp/_astro/firewall-custom-rule-create.tVXiVklq.png)
4. Under **When incoming requests match**, use the **Field** drop-down list to choose an HTTP property. For each request, the value of the property you choose for **Field** is compared to the value you specify for **Value** using the operator selected in **Operator**.
5. Under **Then take action**, select the rule action in the **Choose action** dropdown. For example, selecting _Block_ tells Cloudflare to refuse requests that match the conditions you specified.
6. (Optional) If you selected the _Block_ action, you can [configure a custom response](#configure-a-custom-response-for-blocked-requests).
7. To save and deploy your rule, select **Deploy**. If you are not ready to deploy your rule, select **Save as Draft**.

## Configure a custom response for blocked requests

Note

This feature is only available on Pro plans and above.

When you select the _Block_ action in a rule you can optionally define a custom response.

The custom response has three settings:

* **With response type**: Choose a content type or the default WAF block response from the list. The available custom response types are the following:

| Dashboard value | API value          |
| --------------- | ------------------ |
| Custom HTML     | "text/html"        |
| Custom Text     | "text/plain"       |
| Custom JSON     | "application/json" |
| Custom XML      | "text/xml"         |
* **With response code**: Choose an HTTP status code for the response, in the range 400-499\. The default response code is 403.
* **Response body**: The body of the response. Configure a valid body according to the response type you selected. The maximum field size is 2 KB.

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