steveturner / java_pcap_file_utilities

Pure java library for manipulating PCAP and PCAPNG file formats.

What is this?

Java-pcap is a java implementation of PCAP and PCAPNG file format. This library provides classes and methods required to read both PCAP and PCAPNG file format and write out the PCAPNG file format.

How do I build this library?

You can build it using gradle via:

./gradlew jar

This will result in a file:

build/libs/java-pcap-<VERSION>.jar

How do I use this library?

A quick and dirty way is to simply use the jar from command line:

java -jar build/libs/java-pcap-<VERSION>.jar dump <PCAP_FILE>

This will read the pcap or pcapng file provided and print out the details from that file.

Full command line options are printed if you provide no arguments:

java -jar build/libs/java-pcap-<VERSION>.jar

Can I contribute to this library?

Yes, please do. Follow the normal github guidelines around pull requests and we will consider your submission and merge the code back into the library when approved.

What are the APIs for reading a PCAP or PCAPNG file?

The simplest example of a loop that reads entire block inside the pcap or pcapng file is as follows:

File f = ...;
try (IPcapInput in = Pcap.openForReading(f)) {
    Block b;
    while ( (b=in.nextBlock()) != null ) {
        ... // do something with a block
    }
}

For a more detailed example, see the simple file creation and reading in a unit test under:

src/test/java/com/silabs.pcap/PcapTest.java

Documentation

• Javadoc

References

• Description of the PCAP format
• Description of the PCAPNG format

License

This library was originally developed by Silicon Labs. It is now provided as open source, licensed by Apache 2.0 license.