Download PCAPNG Analyzer

One file for Windows, macOS or Linux - no installer and no Docker. It runs on your own computer and opens in your browser, and your capture files never leave your machine. The Free tier needs no license key; a Pro key unlocks the rest in the same download.

Download the latest release

Downloads are hosted on GitHub. Pick the file for your system:

System	File
Windows 10 or 11 (x64)	`pcapng-analyzer-<version>-windows-x64.zip`
macOS 11 or later (Apple Silicon and Intel)	`pcapng-analyzer-<version>-macos-universal.zip`
Linux x86-64	`pcapng-analyzer-<version>-linux-x64.tar.gz`
Linux 64-bit ARM	`pcapng-analyzer-<version>-linux-arm64.tar.gz`

Download or Docker?

The download is for you, on your own computer: it runs while its window is open. For a server that several people reach from their own browsers, or an install that runs all the time, use the Docker image instead. Both are the same app, with the same Free tier and the same Pro features.

Or install it with Scoop or Homebrew

If you already use one of these package managers, it's the easiest route: there are no security prompts to click through, and updating is a single command.

# Windows, with Scoop
scoop bucket add pcapng-analyzer https://github.com/stumat1/scoop-pcapng-analyzer
scoop install pcapng-analyzer/pcapng-analyzer

# macOS or Linux, with Homebrew
brew install stumat1/pcapng-analyzer/pcapng-analyzer

Then run pcapng-analyzer in a terminal, or on Windows start PCAPNG Analyzer from the Start menu. To update, stop the app and run scoop update pcapng-analyzer or brew upgrade pcapng-analyzer.

Windows

Download the windows-x64.zip file, right-click it and choose Extract All.
Open the extracted folder and double-click pcapng-analyzer.exe.
Windows warns you that it's an unrecognised app (see below). Click More info, then Run anyway.
A console window opens and shows where the app is running, and your browser opens on it, already signed in. Leave the window open while you use the app; close it to stop.

Why does Windows warn about it?

The Windows download isn't code-signed yet, so Microsoft SmartScreen shows "Windows protected your PC" the first time you run each new version. That's expected for an unsigned program, not a sign that something is wrong with it. If you'd like to check the file first, compare it with the published checksum.

If Smart App Control is on (some new Windows 11 installs), it blocks the app with no "Run anyway" button. Right-click the downloaded .zip, choose Properties, tick Unblock, click OK, and extract it again. If it's still blocked, use the Docker setup instead.

macOS

Download the macos-universal.zip file. Safari unzips it for you; otherwise double-click it in Finder.
Open Terminal and run the app from the unzipped folder (change the version number to match yours):
```
cd ~/Downloads/pcapng-analyzer-2.5.0-macos-universal
./pcapng-analyzer
```
Your browser opens on the app, already signed in. Leave Terminal open while you use it; press Ctrl+C there to stop.

"Apple could not verify" the app?

The macOS download isn't notarised by Apple yet, so macOS blocks it the first time. Open System Settings → Privacy & Security, scroll down and click Open Anyway next to the message about pcapng-analyzer, then run it again. Or, in Terminal, from the same folder:

xattr -d com.apple.quarantine pcapng-analyzer

Linux

Any distribution from about 2019 onwards works: it needs glibc 2.28 or later, so Debian 10, Ubuntu 20.04, RHEL/Rocky/Alma 8, Fedora 29 or newer.

tar xzf pcapng-analyzer-*-linux-x64.tar.gz
cd pcapng-analyzer-*-linux-x64
./pcapng-analyzer

(Use linux-arm64 on 64-bit ARM, such as a Raspberry Pi 4 or 5 with a 64-bit OS.) Your browser opens on the app, already signed in. If it doesn't, open the sign-in link the app prints. If it won't start at all, make it executable with chmod +x pcapng-analyzer.

The browser that opens when the app starts is signed in for you, so there's no password to set up. Any other browser asks you to sign in: the username is admin, and the password is in admin-password.txt in the data folder. The app's window shows exactly where that file is.

Changing the password in Settings removes the file. If you forget the new one, stop the app and run it once from a terminal with --reset-admin-password. It writes a fresh password to the same file and exits; then start the app as usual.

The app only accepts connections from your own computer. Other machines on your network can't reach it.

Entering a Pro license key

Settings → License → paste the key you were emailed → Activate - the same as in Docker, and the self-hosting guide explains what each message means. A key works on one install at a time. No key yet? Pro has a 14-day free trial.

Where your data lives

System	Data folder
Windows	`%LOCALAPPDATA%\PCAPNG Analyzer`
macOS	`~/Library/Application Support/PCAPNG Analyzer`
Linux	`~/.local/share/pcapng-analyzer`

It holds the database, the captures you've analysed, your settings and the log. To back it up, stop the app and copy the whole folder. Deleting or replacing the program doesn't touch it.

Updating to a new version

When a new version is out, the app shows a notice with a link to it. Download the new file, stop the app, and replace the old pcapng-analyzer program with the new one. Your data folder is kept, and nothing needs migrating by hand. Installed with Scoop or Homebrew? The notice gives you its update command instead.

To know about new versions, the app asks GitHub once a day for the latest version number. That request carries nothing about you, your license or your captures, and you can turn it off in Settings → Updates. See security & privacy for exactly what it sends.

Checking your download

Every release lists the SHA-256 checksum of each file on its GitHub page and in SHA256SUMS.txt. To check yours:

Get-FileHash pcapng-analyzer-*-windows-x64.zip    # Windows (PowerShell)
shasum -a 256 pcapng-analyzer-*-macos-universal.zip   # macOS
sha256sum pcapng-analyzer-*-linux-x64.tar.gz          # Linux

Removing it

Delete the folder you extracted. To remove your captures and settings too, delete the data folder - only once you're sure you don't need them.

Need help?

Email [email protected] - include your license key (if you have one) and, if something's broken, the log file logs/app.log from the data folder. Refunds: your first Pro payment is refunded in full within 14 days, no questions asked, same email address.