The tool incorporates several performance optimizations, including:
Error: "Permission denied"
→ Run with sudo or add user to pcap group.
No packets captured
→ Check interface name (pktool list-interfaces).
→ Verify filter syntax: pktool capture -f "tcp" --dry-run. pktool v2.0
High CPU usage during replay
→ Use --pps to limit packet rate.
Unsupported link type
→ v2.0 supports Ethernet, Linux SLL, NULL, and 802.11 (monitor mode). Others fall back to raw hexdump. pktool monitor -i eth0
pktool monitor -i eth0
Shows: per‑protocol rates, top talkers, TCP flags, real‑time graphs.
Download from releases page or use:
winget install pktool
No tool is perfect. As of v2.0, the following are acknowledged limitations:
The public roadmap for v2.1 (planned for Q4 2025) includes: or classic tcpdump style.
While v1.x only understood Ethernet, ARP, IP, TCP, and UDP, pktool v2.0 ships with a plugin-based decoder library supporting over 150 protocols out-of-the-box, including:
Each decoded packet can be displayed in human-readable YAML, JSON, or classic tcpdump style.