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Mac Networking Tools

Tools for checking connectivity, analysing traffic, discovering devices and connecting to other computers on macOS.

Many useful network tools are already built into macOS. Start with the problem you're troubleshooting below. Only scan or capture traffic on networks you own or administer.

Part of the Network Engineer toolkit, which explains when you would use each tool.

What are you trying to do?

Connectivity

Check whether a computer or service responds, and how quickly.

  • pingBuilt into macOS

    Check whether a host or gateway is reachable and how long replies take.

    Terminal:ping example.com

    All versions of macOSApple documentation

Packet Analysis

Capture and examine network traffic in detail.

  • Wireshark icon
    Wireshark

    Network protocol analyser for capturing and inspecting traffic.

    Open SourceWin / Mac / Linux

  • tcpdump

    A command-line packet capture tool.

    Open SourceMac / Linux

  • TShark

    The command-line version of Wireshark.

    Open SourceWin / Mac / Linux

Network Discovery

Find hosts and services on networks you manage.

  • Nmap icon
    Nmap

    Network scanner that discovers hosts, ports and services.

    Open SourceWin / Mac / Linux

  • Angry IP Scanner

    A simpler graphical scanner, also available for Windows and Linux.

    Open SourceWin / Mac / Linux

DNS

Check how names resolve to addresses.

  • digBuilt into macOS

    Check how a name resolves and which DNS server answers.

    Terminal:dig example.com

    All versions of macOSApple documentation

Routing & Path Analysis

See each hop to a destination and where it fails.

  • tracerouteBuilt into macOS

    Find where along the path a connection slows down or fails.

    Terminal:traceroute example.com

    All versions of macOSApple documentation

  • MTR

    Combines ping and traceroute in one live view.

    Open SourceMac / Linux

Bandwidth Testing

Measure throughput between two machines you control.

  • iperf3

    Measures network bandwidth between two machines.

    Open SourceWin / Mac / Linux

Remote Access

Log in to servers and other computers securely.

  • sshBuilt into macOS

    Connect securely to servers and copy files with scp and sftp.

    Terminal:ssh user@server

    All versions of macOSApple documentationAbout OpenSSH

  • Tailscale icon
    Tailscale

    Private network that securely connects your devices anywhere.

    FreemiumWin / Mac / Linux / Android / iOS

File Transfer

Copy files to and from servers over SFTP or SCP.

  • rsync

    Efficient file copying and synchronisation.

    Open SourceMac / Linux

  • FileZilla

    A graphical FTP and SFTP client.

    Open SourceWin / Mac / Linux

More macOS tools