---
description: Create custom rules for load balancer routing.
title: Custom rules
image: https://developers.cloudflare.com/og-docs.png
---

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# Custom rules

Last updated Aug 24, 2026|Copy as Markdown|[View as Markdown](https://e8aee267.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/learning-paths/application-security/firewall/custom-rules/index.md)|[Agent setup](https://e8aee267.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/agent-setup/)

Custom rules allow you to control incoming traffic by filtering requests to a zone. They work as customized web application firewall (WAF) rules that you can use to perform actions like _Block_ or _Managed Challenge_ on incoming requests. You can also use the _Skip_ action in a custom rule to [skip one or more Cloudflare security features](https://e8aee267.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/waf/custom-rules/skip/).

In the [new security dashboard](https://e8aee267.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/security/), custom rules are one of the available types of [security rules](https://e8aee267.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/security/rules/). Security rules perform security-related actions on incoming requests that match specified filters.

Like other rules evaluated by Cloudflare's [Ruleset Engine](https://e8aee267.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/ruleset-engine/), custom rules have the following basic parameters:

* An [expression](https://e8aee267.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/ruleset-engine/rules-language/expressions/) that specifies the criteria you are matching traffic on using the [Rules language](https://e8aee267.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/ruleset-engine/rules-language/).
* An [action](https://e8aee267.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/ruleset-engine/rules-language/actions/) that specifies what to perform when there is a match for the rule.

The [custom rules documentation](https://e8aee267.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/waf/custom-rules/) includes examples for common use cases.

## Skip rules

You can skip one or more Cloudflare security features using a custom rule [configured with the _Skip_ action](https://e8aee267.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/waf/custom-rules/skip/). These rules are also known as skip rules. Refer to [Skip options](https://e8aee267.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/waf/custom-rules/skip/options/) for more information on the features you can skip.

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