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tcpick command in Linux

The tcpick command in Linux is a packet sniffer that allows users to capture and analyze network traffic. It can be used to intercept packets flowing through a network interface, helping with debugging and security analysis. Tcpick provides various options to filter captured packets based on protocols, ports, and IP addresses. It can display packet information such as source and destination IP addresses, ports, and packet payloads. With tcpick, users can monitor live network traffic in real-time and save captured packets to a file for later analysis. This powerful tool is commonly used by network administrators and security professionals for troubleshooting network issues and detecting suspicious activity.

Terminal window
tcpick [options] [filter]
OptionDescription
-hDisplay help message.
-VOutput version information.
-i Specify the network interface to use.
-p Specify the port to filter on.
-w Write the output to a file.
-F Specify a filter expression.
-T Specify the traffic type (ascii, hex, etc).
-r Read from a previously saved file.
-cColorize the output.
-s Set the size of the capture buffer.
-AEnable ASCII presentation of data.
-BEnable multiple sessions displaying in ascii mode.
-DDisplay packet time instead of relative time.
ParameterDescription
filterFilter to apply when capturing network traffic.

Capture packets from a specific network interface

Section titled “Capture packets from a specific network interface”
Terminal window
sudo tcpick -i eth0

Capture packets from network interface eth0.

Terminal window
tcpick -T

Display only TCP packets from the captured data.

Terminal window
tcpick -C -o output.pcap

Save the captured packets to a file named output.pcap.

Terminal window
sudo tcpick -i eth0 src host 192.168.1.1

Capture packets from source IP address 192.168.1.1 from network interface eth0.

Terminal window
tcpick -P -yP -i eth0 port 80

Display only HTTP traffic from packets captured on network interface eth0.

Terminal window
tcpick -i eth0 port 443

Monitor network traffic on port 443 on network interface eth0.

Capture and display packets in ASCII format

Section titled “Capture and display packets in ASCII format”
Terminal window
tcpick -C -C

Capture and display packets in ASCII format.

Terminal window
tcpick -C -yP -T -i eth0 port 80 or port 443

Extract URLs from captured HTTP and HTTPS packets on network interface eth0.


To use the tcpick command in Linux, execute the following command:

Terminal window
tcpick --help

What are some common options used with tcpick?

Section titled “What are some common options used with tcpick?”

Some common options used with tcpick include:

Terminal window
tcpick -i eth0 -C -t -y -w output.pcap

How can I capture network traffic with tcpick?

Section titled “How can I capture network traffic with tcpick?”

To capture network traffic with tcpick, you can use the following command:

Terminal window
tcpick -i eth0

How do I specify a specific port with tcpick?

Section titled “How do I specify a specific port with tcpick?”

To specify a specific port with tcpick, use the -p option followed by the port number. For example:

Terminal window
tcpick -i eth0 -p 80

How can I use tcpick to display the payload of captured packets?

Section titled “How can I use tcpick to display the payload of captured packets?”

To display the payload of captured packets with tcpick, you can use the -y option. Here’s an example:

Terminal window
tcpick -i eth0 -y

How do I save captured packets to a file with tcpick?

Section titled “How do I save captured packets to a file with tcpick?”

To save captured packets to a file with tcpick, use the -w option followed by the output file name. For example:

Terminal window
tcpick -i eth0 -w output.pcap

Can I filter captured packets by IP address with tcpick?

Section titled “Can I filter captured packets by IP address with tcpick?”

Yes, you can filter captured packets by IP address using the -A and -B options. Here’s an example:

Terminal window
tcpick -i eth0 -A 192.168.1.100 -B 192.168.1.200

How can I extract HTTP traffic from captured packets using tcpick?

Section titled “How can I extract HTTP traffic from captured packets using tcpick?”

To extract HTTP traffic from captured packets with tcpick, you can use the -o option. For example:

Terminal window
tcpick -i eth0 -o http
  • Capture network traffic
  • Display captured data in different formats
  • Filter captured data
  • Save captured data to a file
  • Replay captured data
  • Extract data from captured files