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libpcap for Mac

Portable library for network traffic capture

Quick answer: libpcap is a networking tool for macOS. Install it with brew install libpcap. It is distributed under the BSD-3-Clause licence. It has 611 Homebrew installs in the last 30 days.

What libpcap is

libpcap is a networking tool for macOS: portable library for network traffic capture.

It is distributed as a Homebrew formula, which builds or pours a binary and puts it on your PATH. It is distributed under the BSD-3-Clause licence.

How to install libpcap

  1. Open Terminal (press ⌘ + Space and type “Terminal”).
  2. If Homebrew is not installed yet, run the installer below once.
  3. Run brew install libpcap.

Homebrew installer, if you need it:

Prefer a graphical installer? Download it from the official site. MacPicks never hosts or mirrors binaries — the Homebrew command always pulls from the vendor's own release.

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Frequently asked questions

How do I install libpcap on Mac?

Run brew install libpcap in Terminal. This requires Homebrew; if you do not have it, install it first with the command below.

Is libpcap open source?

Yes — Homebrew distributes it under the BSD-3-Clause licence.

Does libpcap run on Apple silicon?

Homebrew publishes this formula for macOS. If upstream does not ship an Apple silicon build, Rosetta 2 handles the Intel binary.

How popular is libpcap?

It was installed 611 times in the last 30 days according to Homebrew analytics, ranking #1376 in this catalogue.

What version of libpcap is current?

The latest packaged version is 1.11.0.