wireshark - Man Page

Interactively dump and analyze network traffic

Synopsis

wireshark [ -i <capture interface>|- ] [ -f <capture filter> ] [ -Y <display filter> ] [ -w <outfile> ] [ options ] [ <infile> ]

wireshark -h|--help

wireshark -v|--version

Description

Wireshark is a GUI network protocol analyzer.  It lets you interactively browse packet data from a live network or from a previously saved capture file.  Wireshark's native capture file formats are pcapng format and pcap format; it can read and write both formats..  pcap format is also the format used by tcpdump and various other tools; tcpdump, when using newer versions of the libpcap library, can also read some pcapng files, and, on newer versions of macOS, can read all pcapng files and can write them as well.

Wireshark can also read / import the following file formats:

There is no need to tell Wireshark what type of file you are reading; it will determine the file type by itself. Wireshark is also capable of reading any of these file formats if they are compressed using gzip, LZ4, or Zstandard, if compiled with the appropriate support.  Wireshark recognizes this directly from the file; the '.gz' or other extension is not required for this purpose.

Like other protocol analyzers, Wireshark's main window shows 3 views of a packet.  It shows a summary line, briefly describing what the packet is.  A packet details display is shown, allowing you to drill down to exact protocol or field that you interested in.  Finally, a hex dump shows you exactly what the packet looks like when it goes over the wire.

In addition, Wireshark has some features that make it unique.  It can assemble all the packets in a TCP conversation and show you the ASCII (or EBCDIC, or hex) data in that conversation.  Display filters in Wireshark are very powerful; more fields are filterable in Wireshark than in other protocol analyzers, and the syntax you can use to create your filters is richer.  As Wireshark progresses, expect more and more protocol fields to be allowed in display filters.

Packet capturing is performed with the pcap library.  The capture filter syntax follows the rules of the pcap library.  This syntax is different from the display filter syntax.

Compressed file support uses (and therefore requires) the zlib library. If the zlib library is not present, Wireshark will compile, but will be unable to read compressed files.

The pathname of a capture file to be read can be specified with the -r option or can be specified as a command-line argument.

Options

Most users will want to start Wireshark without options and configure it from the menus instead.  Those users may just skip this section.

-a|--autostop  <capture autostop condition>

Specify a criterion that specifies when Wireshark is to stop writing to a capture file.  The criterion is of the form test:value, where test is one of:

duration:value Stop writing to a capture file after value seconds have elapsed. Floating point values (e.g. 0.5) are allowed.

files:value Stop writing to capture files after value number of files were written.

filesize:value Stop writing to a capture file after it reaches a size of value kB.  If this option is used together with the -b option, Wireshark will stop writing to the current capture file and switch to the next one if filesize is reached.  Note that the filesize is limited to a maximum value of 2 TB, although you might have problems viewing the file in the GUI before then if the number of packets exceeds 231 (2147483648).

packets:value Stop writing to a capture file after it contains value packets. Acts the same as -c<capture packet count>.

-b|--ring-buffer  <capture ring buffer option>

Cause Wireshark to run in "multiple files" mode.  In "multiple files" mode, Wireshark will write to several capture files.  When the first capture file fills up, Wireshark will switch writing to the next file and so on.

The created filenames are based on the filename given with the -w flag, the number of the file and on the creation date and time, e.g. outfile_00001_20240714120117.pcap, outfile_00002_20240714120523.pcap, ...

With the files option it’s also possible to form a "ring buffer". This will fill up new files until the number of files specified, at which point Wireshark will discard the data in the first file and start writing to that file and so on.  If the files option is not set, new files filled up until one of the capture stop conditions match (or until the disk is full).

The criterion is of the form key:value, where key is one of:

duration:value switch to the next file after value seconds have elapsed, even if the current file is not completely filled up. Floating point values (e.g. 0.5) are allowed.

files:value begin again with the first file after value number of files were written (form a ring buffer).  This value must be less than 100000. Caution should be used when using large numbers of files: some filesystems do not handle many files in a single directory well.  The files criterion requires one of the other criteria to be specified to control when to go to the next file.  It should be noted that each -b parameter takes exactly one criterion; to specify two criteria, each must be preceded by the -b option.

filesize:value switch to the next file after it reaches a size of value kB.  Note that the filesize is limited to a maximum value of 2 TB, although you might have problems viewing the file in the GUI before then if the number of packets exceeds 231 (2147483648).

interval:value switch to the next file when the time is an exact multiple of value seconds.

packets:value switch to the next file after it contains value packets.

Example: -b filesize:1000 -b files:5 results in a ring buffer of five files of size one megabyte each.

-B|--buffer-size  <capture buffer size>

Set capture buffer size (in MiB, default is 2 MiB).  This is used by the capture driver to buffer packet data until that data can be written to disk.  If you encounter packet drops while capturing, try to increase this size.  Note that, while Wireshark attempts to set the buffer size to 2 MiB by default, and can be told to set it to a larger value, the system or interface on which you’re capturing might silently limit the capture buffer size to a lower value or raise it to a higher value.

This is available on UNIX-compatible systems, such as Linux, macOS, \*BSD, Solaris, and AIX, with libpcap 1.0.0 or later, and on Windows. It is not available on UNIX-compatible systems with earlier versions of libpcap.

This option can occur multiple times.  If used before the first occurrence of the -i option, it sets the default capture buffer size. If used after an -i option, it sets the capture buffer size for the interface specified by the last -i option occurring before this option.  If the capture buffer size is not set specifically, the default capture buffer size is used instead.

-c  <capture packet count>

Set the maximum number of packets to read when capturing live data. Acts the same as -a packets:<capture packet count>.

-C  <configuration profile>

Start with the given configuration profile.

--capture-comment <comment>

When performing a capture file from the command line, with the -k flag, add a capture comment to the output file, if supported by the capture format.

This option may be specified multiple times.  Note that Wireshark currently only displays the first comment of a capture file.

-D|--list-interfaces

Print a list of the interfaces on which Wireshark can capture, and exit.  For each network interface, a number and an interface name, possibly followed by a text description of the interface, is printed. The interface name or the number can be supplied to the -i flag to specify an interface on which to capture.  The number can be useful on Windows systems, where the interfaces have long names that usually contain a GUID.

--display <X display to use>

Specifies the X display to use.  A hostname and screen (otherhost:0.0) or just a screen (:0.0) can be specified.  This option is not available under macOS or Windows.

-f  <capture filter>

Set the capture filter expression.

This option can occur multiple times.  If used before the first occurrence of the -i option, it sets the default capture filter expression. If used after an -i option, it sets the capture filter expression for the interface specified by the last -i option occurring before this option.  If the capture filter expression is not set specifically, the default capture filter expression is used if provided.

Pre-defined capture filter names, as shown in the GUI menu item Capture→Capture Filters, can be used by prefixing the argument with "predef:". Example: -f "predef:MyPredefinedHostOnlyFilter"

-F  <file format>

When performing a capture file from the command line, with the -k option, set the file format of the output capture file written using the -w option. In situations that require the pcapng format, such as capturing from multiple interfaces, this option will be overridden. The option -F without a value will list the available formats. The default is the pcapng format (unless the default has been changed in preferences.)

This does not support every format to which Wireshark can convert a file; this is intentional for security reasons. Capture in a supported format and then save the file in a different format if so desired.

--fullscreen

Start Wireshark in full screen mode (kiosk mode). To exit from fullscreen mode, open the View menu and select the Full Screen option. Alternatively, press the F11 key (or Ctrl + Cmd + F for macOS).

-g  <packet number>

After reading in a capture file using the -r flag, go to the given packet number.

-h|--help

Print the version number and options and exit.

-H

Hide the capture info dialog during live packet capture.

-i|--interface  <capture interface>|-

Set the name of the network interface or pipe to use for live packet capture.

Network interface names should match one of the names listed in "wireshark -D" (described above); a number, as reported by "tshark -D", can also be used.

If no interface is specified, Wireshark searches the list of interfaces, choosing the first non-loopback interface if there are any non-loopback interfaces, and choosing the first loopback interface if there are no non-loopback interfaces.  If there are no interfaces at all, Wireshark reports an error and doesn’t start the capture.

Pipe names should be either the name of a FIFO (named pipe) or "-" to read data from the standard input.  On Windows systems, pipe names must be of the form "\\.\pipe\pipename".  Data read from pipes must be in standard pcapng or pcap format. Pcapng data must have the same endianness as the capturing host.

"TCP@<host>:<port>" causes Wireshark to attempt to connect to the specified port on the specified host and read pcapng or pcap data.

This option can occur multiple times. When capturing from multiple interfaces, the capture file will be saved in pcapng format.

-I|--monitor-mode

Put the interface in "monitor mode"; this is supported only on IEEE 802.11 Wi-Fi interfaces, and supported only on some operating systems.

Note that in monitor mode the adapter might disassociate from the network with which it’s associated, so that you will not be able to use any wireless networks with that adapter.  This could prevent accessing files on a network server, or resolving host names or network addresses, if you are capturing in monitor mode and are not connected to another network with another adapter.

This option can occur multiple times.  If used before the first occurrence of the -i option, it enables the monitor mode for all interfaces. If used after an -i option, it enables the monitor mode for the interface specified by the last -i option occurring before this option.

-j

Use after -J to change the behavior when no exact match is found for the filter.  With this option select the first packet before.

-J  <jump filter>

After reading in a capture file using the -r flag, jump to the packet matching the filter (display filter syntax).  If no exact match is found the first packet after that is selected.

-k

Start the capture session immediately.  If the -i flag was specified, the capture uses the specified interface.  Otherwise, Wireshark searches the list of interfaces, choosing the first non-loopback interface if there are any non-loopback interfaces, and choosing the first loopback interface if there are no non-loopback interfaces; if there are no interfaces, Wireshark reports an error and doesn’t start the capture.

-l

Turn on automatic scrolling if the packet display is being updated automatically as packets arrive during a capture (as specified by the -S flag).

-L|--list-data-link-types

List the data link types supported by the interface and exit.

--list-time-stamp-types

List time stamp types supported for the interface. If no time stamp type can be set, no time stamp types are listed.

-o  <preference/recent setting>

Set a preference or recent value, overriding the default value and any value read from a preference/recent file.  The argument to the flag is a string of the form prefname:value, where prefname is the name of the preference/recent value (which is the same name that would appear in the preference/recent file), and value is the value to which it should be set. Since Ethereal 0.10.12, the recent settings replaces the formerly used -B, -P and -T flags to manipulate the GUI dimensions.

If prefname is "uat", you can override settings in various user access tables using the form "uat:uat filename:uat record".  uat filename must be the name of a UAT file, e.g. user_dlts.  uat_record must be in the form of a valid record for that file, including quotes.  For instance, to specify a user DLT from the command line, you would use

-o "uat:user_dlts:\"User 0 (DLT=147)\",\"cops\",\"0\",\"\",\"0\",\"\""
-p|--no-promiscuous-mode

Don’t put the interface into promiscuous mode.  Note that the interface might be in promiscuous mode for some other reason; hence, -p cannot be used to ensure that the only traffic that is captured is traffic sent to or from the machine on which Wireshark is running, broadcast traffic, and multicast traffic to addresses received by that machine.

This option can occur multiple times.  If used before the first occurrence of the -i option, no interface will be put into the promiscuous mode. If used after an -i option, the interface specified by the last -i option occurring before this option will not be put into the promiscuous mode.

-P <path setting>

Special path settings usually detected automatically.  This is used for special cases, e.g. starting Wireshark from a known location on an USB stick.

The criterion is of the form key:path, where key is one of:

persconf:path path of personal configuration files, like the preferences files.

persdata:path path of personal data files, it’s the folder initially opened.  After the very first initialization, the recent file will keep the folder last used.

-r|--read-file  <infile>

Read packet data from infile, can be any supported capture file format (including compressed files).  It’s not possible to use named pipes or stdin here, unlike TShark! To capture from a pipe or from stdin use -i -.

-R|--read-filter  <read (display) filter>

When reading a capture file specified with the -r flag, causes the specified filter (which uses the syntax of display filters, rather than that of capture filters) to be applied to all packets read from the capture file; packets not matching the filter are discarded.

-s|--snapshot-length  <capture snaplen>

Set the default snapshot length to use when capturing live data. No more than snaplen bytes of each network packet will be read into memory, or saved to disk.  A value of 0 specifies a snapshot length of 262144, so that the full packet is captured; this is the default.

This option can occur multiple times.  If used before the first occurrence of the -i option, it sets the default snapshot length. If used after an -i option, it sets the snapshot length for the interface specified by the last -i option occurring before this option.  If the snapshot length is not set specifically, the default snapshot length is used if provided.

-S

Automatically update the packet display as packets are coming in.

--temp-dir <directory>

Specifies the directory into which temporary files (including capture files) are to be written.  The default behavior on UNIX-compatible systems, such as Linux, macOS, \*BSD, Solaris, and AIX, is to use the environment variable $TMPDIR if set, and the system default, typically /tmp, if it is not.  On Windows, the %TEMP% environment variable is used, which typically defaults to %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\Temp.

--time-stamp-type <type>

Change the interface’s timestamp method. See --list-time-stamp-types.

--update-interval  <interval>

Set the length of time in milliseconds between new packet reports during a capture. Also sets the granularity of file duration conditions. The default value is 100ms.

-v|--version

Print the full version information and exit.

-w  <outfile>

Set the default capture file name, or '-' for standard output.

-X <eXtension options>

Specify an option to be passed to an Wireshark module.  The eXtension option is in the form extension_key:value, where extension_key can be:

lua_script:lua_script_filename tells Wireshark to load the given script in addition to the default Lua scripts.

lua_scriptnum:argument tells Wireshark to pass the given argument to the lua script identified by 'num', which is the number indexed order of the 'lua_script' command. For example, if only one script was loaded with '-X lua_script:my.lua', then '-X lua_script1:foo' will pass the string 'foo' to the 'my.lua' script.  If two scripts were loaded, such as '-X lua_script:my.lua' and '-X lua_script:other.lua' in that order, then a '-X lua_script2:bar' would pass the string 'bar' to the second lua script, namely 'other.lua'.

read_format:file_format tells Wireshark to use the given file format to read in the file (the file given in the -r command option).

stdin_descr:description tells Wireshark to use the given description when capturing from standard input (-i -).

-y|--linktype  <capture link type>

If a capture is started from the command line with -k, set the data link type to use while capturing packets.  The values reported by -L are the values that can be used.

This option can occur multiple times.  If used before the first occurrence of the -i option, it sets the default capture link type. If used after an -i option, it sets the capture link type for the interface specified by the last -i option occurring before this option.  If the capture link type is not set specifically, the default capture link type is used if provided.

-Y|--display-filter  <displaY filter>

Start with the given display filter.

-z  <statistics>

Get Wireshark to collect various types of statistics and display the result in a window that updates in semi-real time.

Some of the currently implemented statistics are:

-z help

Display all possible values for -z.

-z afp,srt[,filter]

Show Apple Filing Protocol service response time statistics.

-z conv,type[,filter]

Create a table that lists all conversations that could be seen in the capture.  type specifies the conversation endpoint types for which we want to generate the statistics; currently the supported ones are:

"eth"   Ethernet addresses
"fc"    Fibre Channel addresses
"fddi"  FDDI addresses
"ip"    IPv4 addresses
"ipv6"  IPv6 addresses
"ipx"   IPX addresses
"tcp"   TCP/IP socket pairs   Both IPv4 and IPv6 are supported
"tr"    Token Ring addresses
"udp"   UDP/IP socket pairs   Both IPv4 and IPv6 are supported

If the optional filter is specified, only those packets that match the filter will be used in the calculations.

The table is presented with one line for each conversation and displays the number of packets/bytes in each direction as well as the total number of packets/bytes.  By default, the table is sorted according to the total number of packets.

These tables can also be generated at runtime by selecting the appropriate conversation type from the menu "Tools/Statistics/Conversation List/".

-z dcerpc,srt,name-or-uuid,major.minor[,filter]

Collect call/reply SRT (Service Response Time) data for DCERPC interface name or uuid, version major.minor. Data collected is the number of calls for each procedure, MinSRT, MaxSRT and AvgSRT. Interface name and uuid are case-insensitive.

Example: -z dcerpc,srt,12345778-1234-abcd-ef00-0123456789ac,1.0 will collect data for the CIFS SAMR Interface.

This option can be used multiple times on the command line.

If the optional filter  is provided, the stats will only be calculated on those calls that match that filter.

Example: -z dcerpc,srt,12345778-1234-abcd-ef00-0123456789ac,1.0,ip.addr==1.2.3.4 will collect SAMR SRT statistics for a specific host.

-z dhcp,stat[,filter]

Show DHCP (BOOTP) statistics.

-z expert

Show expert information.

-z fc,srt[,filter]

Collect call/reply SRT (Service Response Time) data for FC.  Data collected is the number of calls for each Fibre Channel command, MinSRT, MaxSRT and AvgSRT.

Example: -z fc,srt will calculate the Service Response Time as the time delta between the First packet of the exchange and the Last packet of the exchange.

The data will be presented as separate tables for all normal FC commands, Only those commands that are seen in the capture will have its stats displayed.

This option can be used multiple times on the command line.

If the optional filter is provided, the stats will only be calculated on those calls that match that filter.

Example: -z "fc,srt,fc.id==01.02.03" will collect stats only for FC packets exchanged by the host at FC address 01.02.03 .

-z h225,counter[,filter]

Count ITU-T H.225 messages and their reasons.  In the first column you get a list of H.225 messages and H.225 message reasons which occur in the current capture file.  The number of occurrences of each message or reason is displayed in the second column.

Example: -z h225,counter

This option can be used multiple times on the command line.

If the optional filter is provided, the stats will only be calculated on those calls that match that filter.

Example: -z "h225,counter,ip.addr==1.2.3.4" will collect stats only for H.225 packets exchanged by the host at IP address 1.2.3.4 .

-z h225,srt[,filter]

Collect request/response SRT (Service Response Time) data for ITU-T H.225 RAS. Data collected is the number of calls of each ITU-T H.225 RAS Message Type, Minimum SRT, Maximum SRT, Average SRT, Minimum in Packet, and Maximum in Packet. You will also get the number of Open Requests (Unresponded Requests), Discarded Responses (Responses without matching request) and Duplicate Messages.

Example: -z h225,srt

This option can be used multiple times on the command line.

If the optional filter is provided, the stats will only be calculated on those calls that match that filter.

Example: -z "h225,srt,ip.addr==1.2.3.4" will collect stats only for ITU-T H.225 RAS packets exchanged by the host at IP address 1.2.3.4 .

-z io,stat

Collect packet/bytes statistics for the capture in intervals of 1 second. This option will open a window with up to 5 color-coded graphs where number-of-packets-per-second or number-of-bytes-per-second statistics can be calculated and displayed.

This option can be used multiple times on the command line.

This graph window can also be opened from the Analyze:Statistics:Traffic:IO-Stat menu item.

-z ldap,srt[,filter]

Collect call/reply SRT (Service Response Time) data for LDAP.  Data collected is the number of calls for each implemented LDAP command, MinSRT, MaxSRT and AvgSRT.

Example: -z ldap,srt will calculate the Service Response Time as the time delta between the Request and the Response.

The data will be presented as separate tables for all implemented LDAP commands, Only those commands that are seen in the capture will have its stats displayed.

This option can be used multiple times on the command line.

If the optional filter is provided, the stats will only be calculated on those calls that match that filter.

Example: use -z "ldap,srt,ip.addr==10.1.1.1" will collect stats only for LDAP packets exchanged by the host at IP address 10.1.1.1 .

The only LDAP commands that are currently implemented and for which the stats will be available are: BIND SEARCH MODIFY ADD DELETE MODRDN COMPARE EXTENDED

-z megaco,srt[,filter]

Collect request/response SRT (Service Response Time) data for MEGACO. (This is similar to -z smb,srt).  Data collected is the number of calls for each known MEGACO Command, Minimum SRT, Maximum SRT and Average SRT.

Example: -z megaco,srt

This option can be used multiple times on the command line.

If the optional filter is provided, the stats will only be calculated on those calls that match that filter.

Example: -z "megaco,srt,ip.addr==1.2.3.4" will collect stats only for MEGACO packets exchanged by the host at IP address 1.2.3.4 .

-z mgcp,srt[,filter]

Collect request/response SRT (Service Response Time) data for MGCP. (This is similar to -z smb,srt).  Data collected is the number of calls for each known MGCP Type, Minimum SRT, Maximum SRT and Average SRT.

Example: -z mgcp,srt

This option can be used multiple times on the command line.

If the optional filter is provided, the stats will only be calculated on those calls that match that filter.

Example: -z "mgcp,srt,ip.addr==1.2.3.4" will collect stats only for MGCP packets exchanged by the host at IP address 1.2.3.4 .

-z mtp3,msus[,<filter>]

Show MTP3 MSU statistics.

-z multicast,stat[,<filter>]

Show UDP multicast stream statistics.

-z rpc,programs

Collect call/reply SRT data for all known ONC-RPC programs/versions. Data collected is the number of calls for each protocol/version, MinSRT, MaxSRT and AvgSRT.

-z rpc,srt,name-or-number,version[,<filter>]

Collect call/reply SRT (Service Response Time) data for program name/version or number/version. Data collected is the number of calls for each procedure, MinSRT, MaxSRT and AvgSRT. Program name is case-insensitive.

Example: -z rpc,srt,100003,3 will collect data for NFS v3.

This option can be used multiple times on the command line.

If the optional filter is provided, the stats will only be calculated on those calls that match that filter.

Example: -z rpc,srt,nfs,3,nfs.fh.hash==0x12345678 will collect NFS v3 SRT statistics for a specific file.

-z scsi,srt,cmdset[,<filter>]

Collect call/reply SRT (Service Response Time) data for SCSI commandset <cmdset>.

Commandsets are 0:SBC   1:SSC  5:MMC

Data collected is the number of calls for each procedure, MinSRT, MaxSRT and AvgSRT.

Example: -z scsi,srt,0 will collect data for SCSI BLOCK COMMANDS (SBC).

This option can be used multiple times on the command line.

If the optional filter is provided, the stats will only be calculated on those calls that match that filter.

Example: -z scsi,srt,0,ip.addr==1.2.3.4 will collect SCSI SBC SRT statistics for a specific iscsi/ifcp/fcip host.

-z sip,stat[,filter]

This option will activate a counter for SIP messages.  You will get the number of occurrences of each SIP Method and of each SIP Status-Code.  Additionally you also get the number of resent SIP Messages (only for SIP over UDP).

Example: -z sip,stat

This option can be used multiple times on the command line.

If the optional filter is provided, the stats will only be calculated on those calls that match that filter.

Example: -z "sip,stat,ip.addr==1.2.3.4" will collect stats only for SIP packets exchanged by the host at IP address 1.2.3.4 .

-z smb,srt[,filter]

Collect call/reply SRT (Service Response Time) data for SMB.  Data collected is the number of calls for each SMB command, MinSRT, MaxSRT and AvgSRT.

Example: -z smb,srt

The data will be presented as separate tables for all normal SMB commands, all Transaction2 commands and all NT Transaction commands. Only those commands that are seen in the capture will have their stats displayed. Only the first command in a xAndX command chain will be used in the calculation.  So for common SessionSetupAndX + TreeConnectAndX chains, only the SessionSetupAndX call will be used in the statistics. This is a flaw that might be fixed in the future.

This option can be used multiple times on the command line.

If the optional filter is provided, the stats will only be calculated on those calls that match that filter.

Example: -z "smb,srt,ip.addr==1.2.3.4" will collect stats only for SMB packets exchanged by the host at IP address 1.2.3.4 .

-z voip,calls

This option will show a window that shows VoIP calls found in the capture file. This is the same window shown as when you go to the Statistics Menu and choose VoIP Calls.

Example: -z voip,calls

-z wlan,stat[,<filter>]

Show IEEE 802.11 network and station statistics.

-z wsp,stat[,<filter>]

Show WSP packet counters.

Dissection Options

-d  <layer type>==<selector>,<decode-as protocol>

Like Wireshark’s Decode As... feature, this lets you specify how a layer type should be dissected.  If the layer type in question (for example, tcp.port or udp.port for a TCP or UDP port number) has the specified selector value, packets should be dissected as the specified protocol.

Example 1. Decode As Port

-d tcp.port==8888,http will decode any traffic running over TCP port 8888 as HTTP.

See the tshark(1) manual page for more examples.

--disable-all-protocols

Disable dissection of all protocols.

--disable-protocol <proto_name>[,<proto_name>,...]

Disable dissection of proto_name. Use a proto_name of ALL to override your chosen profile’s default enabled protocol list and temporarily disable all protocols.

--disable-heuristic <short_name>

Disable dissection of heuristic protocol.

--enable-protocol <proto_name>[,<proto_name>,...]

Enable dissection of proto_name. Use a proto_name of ALL to override your chosen profile’s default disabled protocol list and temporarily enable all protocols which are enabled by default.

If a protocol is implicated in both --disable-protocol and --enable-protocol, the protocol is enabled. This allows you to temporarily disable all protocols but a list of exceptions. Example: --disable-protocol ALL --enable-protocol eth,ip

--enable-heuristic <short_name>

Enable dissection of heuristic protocol.

-K  <keytab>

Load kerberos crypto keys from the specified keytab file. This option can be used multiple times to load keys from several files.

Example: -K krb5.keytab

-n

Disable network object name resolution (such as hostname, TCP and UDP port names); the -N option might override this one.

-N  <name resolving flags>

Turn on name resolving only for particular types of addresses and port numbers, with name resolving for other types of addresses and port numbers turned off.  This option (along with -n) can be specified multiple times; the last value given overrides earlier ones. This option and -n override the options from the preferences, including preferences set via the -o option. If both -N and -n options are not present, the values from the preferences are used, which default to -N dmN.

The argument is a string that may contain the letters:

d to enable resolution from captured DNS packets

g to enable IP address geolocation information lookup from configured MaxMind databases

m to enable MAC address resolution

n to enable network address resolution

N to enable using external resolvers (e.g., DNS) for network address resolution; no effect without n also enabled.

s to enable address resolution using SNI information found in captured handshake packets

t to enable transport-layer port number resolution

v to enable VLAN IDs to names resolution

--only-protocols <protocols>

Only enable dissection of these protocols, comma separated. Disable everything else.

-t  (a|ad|adoy|d|dd|e|r|u|ud|udoy)[.[N]]|.[N]

Set the format of the packet timestamp displayed in the default time column.  The format can be one of:

a absolute: The absolute time, as local time in your time zone, is the actual time the packet was captured, with no date displayed

ad absolute with date: The absolute date, displayed as YYYY-MM-DD, and time, as local time in your time zone, is the actual time and date the packet was captured

adoy absolute with date using day of year: The absolute date, displayed as YYYY/DOY, and time, as local time in your time zone, is the actual time and date the packet was captured

d delta: The delta time is the time since the previous packet was captured

dd delta_displayed: The delta_displayed time is the time since the previous displayed packet was captured

e epoch: The time in seconds since epoch (Jan 1, 1970 00:00:00)

r relative: The relative time is the time elapsed between the first packet and the current packet

u UTC: The absolute time, as UTC, is the actual time the packet was captured, with no date displayed

ud UTC with date: The absolute date, displayed as YYYY-MM-DD, and time, as UTC, is the actual time and date the packet was captured

udoy UTC with date using day of year: The absolute date, displayed as YYYY/DOY, and time, as UTC, is the actual time and date the packet was captured

.[N] Set the precision: N is the number of decimals (0 through 9). If using "." without N, automatically determine precision from trace.

The default format is relative with precision based on capture format.

-u <s|hms>

Specifies how packet timestamp formats in -t which are relative times (i.e.  relative, delta, and delta_displayed) are displayed.  Valid choices are:

s for seconds

hms for hours, minutes, and seconds

The default format is seconds.

Diagnostic Options

--log-level <level>

Set the active log level. Supported levels in lowest to highest order are "noisy", "debug", "info", "message", "warning", "critical", and "error". Messages at each level and higher will be printed, for example "warning" prints "warning", "critical", and "error" messages and "noisy" prints all messages. Levels are case insensitive.

--log-fatal <level>

Abort the program if any messages are logged at the specified level or higher. For example, "warning" aborts on any "warning", "critical", or "error" messages.

--log-domains <list>

Only print messages for the specified log domains, e.g. "GUI,Epan,sshdump". List of domains must be comma-separated. Can be negated with "!" as the first character (inverts the match).

--log-debug <list>

Force the specified domains to log at the "debug" level. List of domains must be comma-separated. Can be negated with "!" as the first character (inverts the match).

--log-noisy <list>

Force the specified domains to log at the "noisy" level. List of domains must be comma-separated. Can be negated with "!" as the first character (inverts the match).

--log-fatal-domains <list>

Abort the program if any messages are logged for the specified log domains. List of domains must be comma-separated.

--log-file <path>

Write log messages and stderr output to the specified file.

Interface

The Wireshark User’s Guide contains a description of the user interface. It also may be installed locally along with Wireshark. Pressing the F1 key will attempt to open the guide locally if present, falling back to the online guide if not.

Capture Filter Syntax

See the manual page of pcap-filter(7) or, if that doesn’t exist, tcpdump(8), or, if that doesn’t exist, https://wiki.wireshark.org/CaptureFilters.

Display Filter Syntax

For a complete table of protocol and protocol fields that are filterable in Wireshark see the wireshark-filter(4) manual page.

Files

These files contain various Wireshark configuration settings.

Preferences

The preferences files contain global (system-wide) and personal preference settings.  If the system-wide preference file exists, it is read first, overriding the default settings.  If the personal preferences file exists, it is read next, overriding any previous values.  Note: If the command line flag -o is used (possibly more than once), it will in turn override values from the preferences files.

The preferences settings are in the form prefname:value, one per line, where prefname is the name of the preference and value is the value to which it should be set; white space is allowed between : and value.  A preference setting can be continued on subsequent lines by indenting the continuation lines with white space.  A # character starts a comment that runs to the end of the line:

# Vertical scrollbars should be on right side?
# TRUE or FALSE (case-insensitive).
gui.scrollbar_on_right: TRUE

The global preferences file is looked for in the wireshark directory under the share subdirectory of the main installation directory.  On macOS, this would typically be /Application/Wireshark.app/Contents/Resources/share; on other UNIX-compatible systems, such as Linux, \*BSD, Solaris, and AIX, this would typically be /usr/share/wireshark/preferences for system-installed packages and /usr/local/share/wireshark/preferences for locally-installed packages; on Windows, this would typically be C:\Program Files\Wireshark\preferences.

On UNIX-compatible systems, the personal preferences file is looked for in $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/wireshark/preferences, (or, if $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/wireshark does not exist while $HOME/.wireshark does exist, $HOME/.wireshark/preferences); this is typically $HOME/.config/wireshark/preferences.  On Windows, the personal preferences file is looked for in %APPDATA%\Wireshark\preferences (or, if %APPDATA% isn’t defined, %USERPROFILE%\Application Data\Wireshark\preferences).

Note: Whenever the preferences are saved by using the Save button in the Edit:Preferences dialog box, your personal preferences file will be overwritten with the new settings, destroying any comments and unknown/obsolete settings that were in the file.

Recent

The recent file contains personal settings (mostly GUI related) such as the current Wireshark window size.  The file is saved at program exit and read in at program start automatically.  Note: The command line flag -o may be used to override settings from this file.

The settings in this file have the same format as in the preferences files, and the same directory as for the personal preferences file is used.

Note: Whenever Wireshark is closed, your recent file will be overwritten with the new settings, destroying any comments and unknown/obsolete settings that were in the file.

Disabled (Enabled) Protocols

The disabled_protos files contain system-wide and personal lists of protocols that have been disabled, so that their dissectors are never called.  The files contain protocol names, one per line, where the protocol name is the same name that would be used in a display filter for the protocol:

http
tcp     # a comment

If a protocol is listed in the global disabled_protos file it cannot be enabled by the user. Thus it is not displayed in the Analyze::Enabled Protocols dialog box.

The global disabled_protos file uses the same directory as the global preferences file.

The personal disabled_protos file uses the same directory as the personal preferences file.

The disabled_protos files list only protocols that are enabled by default but have been disabled; protocols that are disabled by default (such as some postdissectors) are not listed. There are analogous enabled_protos files for protocols that are disabled by default but have been enabled.

Note: Whenever the disabled protocols list is saved by using the Save button in the Analyze:Enabled Protocols dialog box, your personal disabled protocols file will be overwritten with the new settings, destroying any comments that were in the file.

Heuristic Dissectors

The heuristic_protos files contain system-wide and personal lists of heuristic dissectors and indicate whether they are enabled or disabled. The files contain heuristic dissector unique short names, one per line, followed by a comma and 0 for disabled and 1 for enabled:

quic,1
rtcp_stun,1
rtcp_udp,1
rtp_stun,0
rtp_udp,0
tls_tcp,1

The global heuristic_protos file uses the same directory as the global preferences file.

The personal heuristic_protos file uses the same directory as the personal preferences file.

Name Resolution (hosts)

Entries in hosts files in the global and personal preferences directory are used to resolve IPv4 and IPv6 addresses before any other attempts are made to resolve them. The file has the standard hosts file syntax; each line contains one IP address and name, separated by whitespace. The personal hosts file, if present, overrides the one in the global directory.

Capture filter name resolution is handled by libpcap on UNIX-compatible systems, such as Linux, macOS, \*BSD, Solaris, and AIX, and Npcap or WinPcap on Windows.  As such the Wireshark personal hosts file will not be consulted for capture filter name resolution.

Name Resolution (subnets)

If an IPv4 address cannot be translated via name resolution (no exact match is found) then a partial match is attempted via the subnets file. Both the global subnets file and personal subnets files are used if they exist.

Each line of this file consists of an IPv4 address, a subnet mask length separated only by a / and a name separated by whitespace. While the address must be a full IPv4 address, any values beyond the mask length are subsequently ignored.

An example is:

# Comments must be prepended by the # sign! 192.168.0.0/24 ws_test_network

A partially matched name will be printed as "subnet-name.remaining-address". For example, "192.168.0.1" under the subnet above would be printed as "ws_test_network.1"; if the mask length above had been 16 rather than 24, the printed address would be "ws_test_network.0.1".

Name Resolution (ethers)

The ethers files are consulted to correlate 6-byte hardware addresses to names.  First the personal ethers file is tried and if an address is not found there the global ethers file is tried next.

Each line contains one hardware address and name, separated by whitespace.  The digits of the hardware address are separated by colons (:), dashes (-) or periods (.).  The same separator character must be used consistently in an address.  The following three lines are valid lines of an ethers file:

ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff          Broadcast
c0-00-ff-ff-ff-ff          TR_broadcast
00.00.00.00.00.00          Zero_broadcast

The global ethers file is looked for in the /etc directory on UNIX-compatible systems, such as Linux, macOS, \*BSD, Solaris, and AIX, and in the main installation directory (for example, C:\Program Files\Wireshark) on Windows systems.

The personal ethers file is looked for in the same directory as the personal preferences file.

Capture filter name resolution is handled by libpcap on UNIX-compatible systems and Npcap or WinPcap on Windows.  As such the Wireshark personal ethers file will not be consulted for capture filter name resolution.

Name Resolution (manuf)

The manuf file is used to match the 3-byte vendor portion of a 6-byte hardware address with the manufacturer’s name; it can also contain well-known MAC addresses and address ranges specified with a netmask.  The format of the file is similar the ethers files, except that entries such as:

00:00:0C      Cisco     Cisco Systems, Inc

can be provided, with the 3-byte OUI and both an abbreviated and long name for a vendor, and entries such as:

00-00-0C-07-AC/40     All-HSRP-routers

can be specified, with a MAC address and a mask indicating how many bits of the address must match.  The above entry, for example, has 40 significant bits, or 5 bytes, and would match addresses from 00-00-0C-07-AC-00 through 00-00-0C-07-AC-FF.  The mask need not be a multiple of 8.

A global manuf file is looked for in the same directory as the global preferences file, and a personal manuf file is looked for in the same directory as the personal preferences file.

In earlier versions of Wireshark, official information from the IEEE Registration Authority was distributed in this format as the global manuf file. This information is now compiled in to speed program startup, but the internal information can be written out in this format with tshark -G manuf.

In addition to the manuf file, another file with the same format, wka, is looked for in the global directory. This file is distributed with Wireshark, and contains data about well-known MAC adddresses and address ranges assembled from various non IEEE but respected sources.

Name Resolution (services)

The services file is used to translate port numbers into names. Both the global services file and personal services files are used if they exist.

The file has the standard services file syntax; each line contains one (service) name and one transport identifier separated by white space.  The transport identifier includes one port number and one transport protocol name (typically tcp, udp, or sctp) separated by a /.

An example is:

mydns       5045/udp     # My own Domain Name Server mydns       5045/tcp     # My own Domain Name Server

In earlier versions of Wireshark, official information from the IANA Registry was distributed in this format as the global services file. This information is now compiled in to speed program startup, but the internal information can be written out in this format with tshark -G services.

Name Resolution (ipxnets)

The ipxnets files are used to correlate 4-byte IPX network numbers to names.  First the global ipxnets file is tried and if that address is not found there the personal one is tried next.

The format is the same as the ethers file, except that each address is four bytes instead of six. Additionally, the address can be represented as a single hexadecimal number, as is more common in the IPX world, rather than four hex octets. For example, these four lines are valid lines of an ipxnets file:

C0.A8.2C.00              HR
c0-a8-1c-00              CEO
00:00:BE:EF              IT_Server1
110f                     FileServer3

The global ipxnets file is looked for in the /etc directory on UNIX-compatible systems, such as Linux, macOS, \*BSD, Solaris, and AIX, and in the main installation directory (for example, C:\Program Files\Wireshark) on Windows systems.

The personal ipxnets file is looked for in the same directory as the personal preferences file.

Name Resolution (ss7pcs)

The ss7pcs file is used to translate SS7 point codes to names. It is read from the personal configuration directory.

Each line in this file consists of one network indicator followed by a dash followed by a point code in decimal and a node name separated by whitespace. An example is:

2-1234 MyPointCode1
Name Resolution (vlans)

The vlans file is used to translate VLAN tag IDs into names. It is read from the personal configuration directory.

Each line in this file consists of one VLAN tag ID separated by whitespace from a name.  An example is:

123    Server-Lan
2049   HR-Client-LAN
Capture Filters

The cfilters files contain system-wide and personal capture filters. Each line contains one filter, starting with the string displayed in the dialog box in quotation marks, followed by the filter string itself:

"HTTP" port 80
"DCERPC" port 135

The global cfilters file uses the same directory as the global preferences file.

The personal cfilters file uses the same directory as the personal preferences file.  It is written through the Capture:Capture Filters dialog.

If the global cfilters file exists, it is used only if the personal cfilters file does not exist; global and personal capture filters are not merged.

Display Filters

The dfilters files contain system-wide and personal display filters. Each line contains one filter, starting with the string displayed in the dialog box in quotation marks, followed by the filter string itself:

"HTTP" http
"DCERPC" dcerpc

The global dfilters file uses the same directory as the global preferences file.

The personal dfilters file uses the same directory as the personal preferences file.  It is written through the Analyze:Display Filters dialog.

If the global dfilters file exists, it is used only if the personal dfilters file does not exist; global and personal display filters are not merged.

Display Filter Macros

The dmacros files contain system-wide and personal display filter macros. Each line contains one filter, starting with the string displayed in the dialog box in quotation marks, followed by the macro expression itself:

"private_ipv6" ipv6 && $1 == fc00::/7
"private_ethernet" $1[0] & 0x0F == 2
"private_ipv4" $1 == 192.168.0.0/16 or $1 == 172.16.0.0/12 or $1 == 10.0.0.0/8

The global dmacros file uses the same directory as the global preferences file.

The personal dmacros file uses the same directory as the personal preferences file.  It is written through the Analyze:Display Filter Macros dialog.

If the global dmacros file exists, it is used only if the personal dmacros file does not exist; global and personal display filters are not merged.

Prior to Wireshark 4.4, a dfilter_macros file with a somewhat different syntax was used. That file is looked for at startup if a dmacros file is not found and used to migrate to the new format.

Color Filters (Coloring Rules)

The colorfilters files contain system-wide and personal color filters. Each line contains one filter, starting with the string displayed in the dialog box, followed by the corresponding display filter.  Then the background and foreground colors are appended:

# a comment
@tcp@tcp@[59345,58980,65534][0,0,0]
@udp@udp@[28834,57427,65533][0,0,0]

The global colorfilters file uses the same directory as the global preferences file.

The personal colorfilters file uses the same directory as the personal preferences file.  It is written through the View:Coloring Rules dialog.

If the global colorfilters file exists, it is used only if the personal colorfilters file does not exist; global and personal color filters are not merged.

Plugins

Wireshark looks for plugins in both a personal plugin folder and a global plugin folder.

On UNIX-compatible systems, such as Linux, macOS, \*BSD, Solaris, and AIX, the global plugin directory is lib/wireshark/plugins/ (on some systems substitute lib64 for lib) under the main installation directory (for example, /usr/local/lib/wireshark/plugins/). The personal plugin directory is $HOME/.local/lib/wireshark/plugins.

On macOS, if Wireshark is installed as an application bundle, the global plugin folder is instead %APPDIR%/Contents/PlugIns/wireshark.

On Windows, the global plugin folder is plugins/ under the main installation directory (for example, C:\Program Files\Wireshark\plugins\). The personal plugin folder is %APPDATA%\Wireshark\plugins (or, if %APPDATA% isn’t defined, %USERPROFILE%\Application Data\Wireshark\plugins).

Lua plugins are stored in the plugin folders; compiled plugins are stored in subfolders of the plugin folders, with the subfolder name being the Wireshark minor version number (X.Y). There is another hierarchical level for each Wireshark plugin type (libwireshark, libwiretap and codecs).  For example, the location for a libwireshark plugin foo.so (foo.dll on Windows) would be PLUGINDIR/X.Y/epan (libwireshark used to be called libepan; the other folder names are codecs and wiretap).

Note

On UNIX-compatible systems, Lua plugins (but not binary plugins) may also be placed in $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/wireshark/plugins, (or, if $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/wireshark does not exist while $HOME/.wireshark does exist, $HOME/.wireshark/plugins.)

Note that a dissector plugin module may support more than one protocol; there is not necessarily a one-to-one correspondence between dissector plugin modules and protocols.  Protocols supported by a dissector plugin module are enabled and disabled in the same way as protocols built into Wireshark.

Environment Variables

WIRESHARK_CONFIG_DIR

This environment variable overrides the location of personal configuration files.  On UNIX-compatible systems, such as Linux, macOS, \*BSD, Solaris, and AIX, it defaults to $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/wireshark (or, if that directory doesn’t exist but $HOME/.wireshark does exist, $HOME/.wireshark); this is typically $HOME/.config/wireshark.  On Windows, it defaults to %APPDATA%\Wireshark (or, if %APPDATA% isn’t defined, %USERPROFILE%\Application Data\Wireshark).  Available since Wireshark 3.0.

WIRESHARK_DEBUG_WMEM_OVERRIDE

Setting this environment variable forces the wmem framework to use the specified allocator backend for all allocations, regardless of which backend is normally specified by the code. This is mainly useful to developers when testing or debugging. See README.wmem in the source distribution for details.

WIRESHARK_RUN_FROM_BUILD_DIRECTORY

This environment variable causes the plugins and other data files to be loaded from the build directory (where the program was compiled) rather than from the standard locations.  It has no effect when the program in question is running with root (or setuid) permissions on UNIX-compatible systems, such as Linux, macOS, \*BSD, Solaris, and AIX.

WIRESHARK_DATA_DIR

This environment variable causes the various data files to be loaded from a directory other than the standard locations.  It has no effect when the program in question is running with root (or setuid) permissions on UNIX-compatible systems.

WIRESHARK_EXTCAP_DIR

This environment variable causes the various extcap programs and scripts to be run from a directory other than the standard locations.  It has no effect when the program in question is running with root (or setuid) permissions on UNIX-compatible systems.

WIRESHARK_PLUGIN_DIR

This environment variable causes the various plugins to be loaded from a directory other than the standard locations.  It has no effect when the program in question is running with root (or setuid) permissions on UNIX-compatible systems.

ERF_RECORDS_TO_CHECK

This environment variable controls the number of ERF records checked when deciding if a file really is in the ERF format.  Setting this environment variable a number higher than the default (20) would make false positives less likely.

IPFIX_RECORDS_TO_CHECK

This environment variable controls the number of IPFIX records checked when deciding if a file really is in the IPFIX format.  Setting this environment variable a number higher than the default (20) would make false positives less likely.

WIRESHARK_ABORT_ON_DISSECTOR_BUG

If this environment variable is set, Wireshark will call abort(3) when a dissector bug is encountered.  abort(3) will cause the program to exit abnormally; if you are running Wireshark in a debugger, it should halt in the debugger and allow inspection of the process, and, if you are not running it in a debugger, it will, on some OSes, assuming your environment is configured correctly, generate a core dump file. This can be useful to developers attempting to troubleshoot a problem with a protocol dissector.

WIRESHARK_ABORT_ON_TOO_MANY_ITEMS

If this environment variable is set, Wireshark will call abort(3) if a dissector tries to add too many items to a tree (generally this is an indication of the dissector not breaking out of a loop soon enough). abort(3) will cause the program to exit abnormally; if you are running Wireshark in a debugger, it should halt in the debugger and allow inspection of the process, and, if you are not running it in a debugger, it will, on some OSes, assuming your environment is configured correctly, generate a core dump file.  This can be useful to developers attempting to troubleshoot a problem with a protocol dissector.

WIRESHARK_QUIT_AFTER_CAPTURE

Cause Wireshark to exit after the end of the capture session.  This doesn’t automatically start a capture; you must still use -k to do that.  You must also specify an autostop condition, e.g.  -c or -a duration:....  This means that you will not be able to see the results of the capture after it stops; it’s primarily useful for testing.

WIRESHARK_LOG_LEVEL

This environment variable controls the verbosity of diagnostic messages to the console. From less verbose to most verbose levels can be critical, warning, message, info, debug or noisy. Levels above the current level are also active. Levels critical and error are always active.

WIRESHARK_LOG_FATAL

Sets the fatal log level. Fatal log levels cause the program to abort. This level can be set to Error, critical or warning. Error is always fatal and is the default.

WIRESHARK_LOG_DOMAINS

This environment variable selects which log domains are active. The filter is given as a case-insensitive comma separated list. If set only the included domains will be enabled. The default domain is always considered to be enabled. Domain filter lists can be preceded by '!' to invert the sense of the match.

WIRESHARK_LOG_DEBUG

List of domains with debug log level. This sets the level of the provided log domains and takes precedence over the active domains filter. If preceded by '!' this disables the debug level instead.

WIRESHARK_LOG_NOISY

Same as above but for noisy log level instead.

Authors

Wireshark would not be the powerful, featureful application it is without the generous contributions of hundreds of developers.

A complete list of authors can be found in the AUTHORS file in Wireshark’s source code repository and at https://www.wireshark.org/about.html#authors.

See Also

wireshark-filter(4), tshark(1), editcap(1), pcap(3), dumpcap(1), mergecap(1), text2pcap(1), pcap-filter(7) or tcpdump(8)

Notes

This is the manual page for Wireshark 4.4.1. The latest version of Wireshark can be found at https://www.wireshark.org/.

HTML versions of the Wireshark project man pages are available at https://www.wireshark.org/docs/man-pages/.

The Wireshark’s User Guide is available at https://www.wireshark.org/docs/wsug_html_chunked/.

Referenced By

androiddump(1), biblesync(7), busctl(1), capinfos(1), captype(1), ciscodump(1), dpauxmon(1), dumpcap(1), editcap(1), etwdump(1), extcap(4), falcodump(1), mergecap(1), mmdbresolve(1), radecode(1), randpktdump(1), rawshark(1), reordercap(1), sdjournal(1), socket(7), sshdump(1), tcprewrite(1), text2pcap(1), tshark(1), udpdump(1), wifidump(1), wireshark-filter(4).

2024-10-10