60 Linux Networking Commands and Scripts

Recently, I wanted to test network throughput via command line with at least 3 tools. For the life of me, I couldn’t remember iperf. Not being able to remember previously used command line tools is frustrating and something we can all relate to. So I made a go-to list of network tools for myself. Then, I thought, why not turn this list into a blog post? So I spent an hour or two compiling this running list of Linux networking commands and scripts. I look forward to most suggestions, as I know there is always something missing or a new script to try.

Linux networking commands and scripts

This list of Linux networking commands and scripts will receive ongoing updates, similar to the other lists on this blog…

1. Area 2 – Downloading almost everything. Torrents included.
2. earwatch – Ethernet Activity Monitor.
3. bummon – Bandwidth monitor and rate estimator.
4. bwm-ng – Live network bandwidth monitor.
5. curl – Transferring data with URL. (or try httpie,
6. darkstat – Captures network traffic, usage statistics.
7. dhclient – Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol Client
8. You – Query DNS servers for information.
9. dstat – Replacement for vmstat, iostat, mpstat, netstat and ifstat.
10. ethtool – Utility to control network drivers and hardware.
11. full of security – Gateway Routing Daemon.
12. host – DNS lookup utility.
13. hopping – TCP / IP packet assembler / analyzer.
14. ibmonitor – Shows bandwidth and total data transferred.
15. ifstat – Report network interface bandwidth.
16. iftop – Display bandwidth usage.
17. ip (PDF file) – A command with more features that ifconfig (net-tools).
18. iperf3 – Network bandwidth measurement tool. (above screenshot Stacklinux VPS,
19. iproute2 – Collection of utilities for controlling TCP / IP.
20. iptables – Control network traffic.
21. iptraf – An IP network monitor.
22. iputils – Set of small useful utilities for Linux networking.
23. and in – A new nl80211 based CLI configuration utility for wireless devices.
24. whois (whois) – The client for the whois service.
25. “Lassof-Eye” – Reveal information about your network socket.
26. mtr – Network Diagnostic Tool.
27. net-tools – Utilities include: arp, hostname, ifconfig, netstatrarp, route, plipconfig, slattach, mii-tool, iptunnel and ipmadr.
28. NCAT – Improved re-implementation of the venerable netcat.
29. netcat – Networking utility to read/write network connections.
30. nethogs – A small ‘Net Top’ tool.
31. netperf – Network bandwidth test.
32. netplan Netplan is a utility to easily configure networking on a Linux system.
33. netsniff-ng – Swiss Army Knife for daily Linux network plumbing.
34. netwatch – Monitoring of network connections.
35. NGREP — grep is applied at the network layer.
36. nload – Display network usage.
37. nmap – Network discovery and security auditing.
38. NMCLI – A command-line tool for controlling NetworkManager and reporting network status.
39. NMTUI – Provides a text interface for configuring networking by controlling network manager,
40. nslookup – Query Internet name servers interactively.
41. humming – send icmp echo_request to network host.
42. way – Show/manipulate IP routing tables.
43. slurm – Network load monitor.
44. Snort – Network intrusion detection and prevention system.
45. smoking – Monitors your network latency.
46. astonished Establishes two bidirectional byte streams and transfers data between them.
47. speedometer – Measure and display the rate of data across the network.
48. speedtest-cli – test internet bandwidth using speedtest.net
49. ss – Utility for checking sockets.
50. SSHO – Secure system administration and file transfer over unsecured networks.
51. tcpdump – Command line packet analyzer.
52. tcptrack – Displays information about TCP connections on network interfaces.
53. telnet – User interface for the TELNET protocol.
54. tracepath – Functions similar to traceroute.
55. traceroute – Print the route packet trace on the network host.
56. vnstat – Network traffic monitor.
57. websocket – Connection forwarder to/from web sockets, in the style of society.
58. wget – Recovering files using HTTP, HTTPS, FTP and FTPS.
59. Wireless Tools for Linux – Contains iwconfig, iwlist, iwspy, iwpriv and irename.
60. wireshark – Network Protocol Analyzer.