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I am looking for a packet sniffer / inspector which runs natively on OS X (Cocoa) and not with some sort of compatibility layer like X.

Ideally I am looking for an application with the following qualities:

  • native (Cocoa) interface
  • ability to inspect packet data
  • inspect packet data as XML, or RAW formats
  • free
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"Decent" is fairly subjective; are there specific features you require of your packet sniffing program? – Ian C.♦ Jun 13 '11 at 22:28
why you didn't use wireshark on mac? – Am1rr3zA Jun 13 '11 at 22:52
@Am1rr3zA: because its not native. I have updated my question to be more specific btw. – Nippysaurus Jun 14 '11 at 6:40
try tcpdump. :) 1. Free (already in you Mac), has native Cocoa (read Terminal.app) interface :), can inspect packet data and really VERY robust, can filter by any criteria, can save packet data, etc. man tcpdump. – jm666 Jun 14 '11 at 7:48
@jm666: Sounds good, will give it a shot. Very cheeky regarding Terminal.app as a cocoa app :p lol – Nippysaurus Jun 14 '11 at 22:32

1 Answer

up vote 4 down vote

Packet Peeper is a free, native OS X application for packet sniffing. Not quite as robust as Wireshark (but what is really).

There's also Cocoa Packet Analyzer, which appears to have a nifty plugin framework for extending its capabilities, but I've never used it. It's donation-ware.

KisMAC may also be of interest. Not so much a sniffer as a wireless stumbling tool. I've used it successfully to tune my wireless network in a congested neighbourhood.

Edit: based on your updated desired features I'd say try Packet Peeper. It fulfills both your requirements.

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