<div align="center"> <!-- mcp-name: io.github.bx33661/wireshark-mcp -->
<img src="Logo.png" width="150" alt="Wireshark MCP" style="margin-top: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px;">
<h1>Wireshark MCP</h1>
Give your AI assistant a packet analyzer.
Drop a .pcap file, ask questions in plain English β get answers backed by real tshark data.
<p style="margin-top: 15px;"> <a href="https://github.com/bx33661/Wireshark-MCP/actions/workflows/ci.yml"> <img src="https://img.shields.io/github/actions/workflow/status/bx33661/Wireshark-MCP/ci.yml?style=flat-square&logo=github&label=CI" alt="CI"> </a> <a href="https://github.com/bx33661/Wireshark-MCP/releases/latest"> <img src="https://img.shields.io/github/v/release/bx33661/Wireshark-MCP?style=flat-square&logo=github&color=24292f" alt="GitHub Release"> </a> <a href="https://pypi.org/project/wireshark-mcp/"> <img src="https://img.shields.io/pypi/v/wireshark-mcp?style=flat-square&logo=pypi&color=0066cc" alt="PyPI"> </a> <a href="https://pypi.org/project/wireshark-mcp/"> <img src="https://img.shields.io/pypi/pyversions/wireshark-mcp?style=flat-square&logo=python" alt="Python"> </a> <a href="LICENSE"> <img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/License-MIT-green.svg?style=flat-square" alt="MIT License"> </a> </p>
<p> <a href="README.md"><b>English</b></a> β’ <a href="README_zh.md"><b>δΈζ</b></a> β’ <a href="https://github.com/bx33661/Wireshark-MCP/releases"><b>Changelog</b></a> β’ <a href="CONTRIBUTING.md"><b>Contributing</b></a> </p> </div>
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What is this?
An MCP server that wraps tshark (and optional Wireshark suite tools) into a structured analysis interface. Works with Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code, and 18+ other MCP clients.
You: "Find all DNS queries going to suspicious domains in this capture."
Claude: [calls wireshark_extract_dns_queries β wireshark_detect_dns_tunnel]
"Found repeated high-entropy DNS queries consistent with tunneling: ..."---
Install
Prerequisites: Python 3.10+ and Wireshark with tshark on PATH.
pip install wireshark-mcp
wireshark-mcp install # auto-configures all detected MCP clientsRestart your AI client β done.
Run wireshark-mcp doctor if anything looks off. See docs/manual-configuration.md for manual setup or platform-specific notes.
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Quick Start
Point your AI client at a .pcap file and try:
Analyze capture.pcap using the Wireshark MCP tools.
Start with wireshark_open_file, then run wireshark_quick_analysis.
Write findings to report.md.---
Tools
51 tools, each backed by real tshark output β organized into categories:
| Category | Highlights | Count | |----------|-----------|:-----:| | Entry & Workflow | wireshark_open_file, wireshark_quick_analysis | 2 | | Packet Analysis | Packet list, details, bytes, context, stream follow, search, file info | 8 | | Data Extraction | HTTP requests, DNS queries, arbitrary fields, object export | 4 | | Statistics | Protocol hierarchy, endpoints, conversations, I/O graph, expert info, service response time, flow graph | 7 | | Security & Anomaly | Credential scan, port scan, DNS tunnel, DoS, beaconing, exfiltration, protocol anomalies, YARA | 8 | | Protocol Analysis | wireshark_analyze_protocol (20 protocols), TCP health, ARP spoofing | 3 | | Decrypt & Dissection | TLS/WPA decrypt, decryption check, decode-as, protocol preferences | 5 | | Forensics & Enrichment | TLS fingerprints, file signature scan, GeoIP | 3 | | File Ops, Capture & Suite | Live capture, interfaces, merge, filter-save, editcap trim/split/dedup/time-shift, frame extract, text2pcap, capabilities | 11 |
One tool covers 20 protocols rather than 20 tools covering one each: wireshark_analyze_protocol takes a protocol argument (tls_handshakes, mqtt, modbus, s7comm, zigbee, wifi, rtp, kerberos, β¦) and applies the right fields and display filter for it. The field names are the point β s7comm.param.item.dbnum is not something a caller should have to guess, and a wrong guess returns an empty result that reads like a clean capture.
The server starts with only tshark required. Optional tools (capinfos, mergecap, editcap, dumpcap, text2pcap) are auto-detected and enable extra features when present.
Context cost
The tool list travels in the prompt prefix of every request your client sends, so its size is a fixed per-request cost. The default surface is ~21 KB β about 9 KB of parameter schema, 5 KB of descriptions, and 3 KB of read/write annotations β and it is byte-identical across restarts so clients can cache the prefix rather than re-reading it each session.
If your client never captures live traffic or writes pcaps, --profile advertises less:
| Profile | Tools | Payload | Drops | |---------|:-----:|:-------:|-------| | full (default) | 51 | ~21 KB | nothing | | analysis | 41 | ~17 KB | live capture, interface listing, all file-writing tools | | core | 33 | ~14 KB | the above, plus decryption, dissection overrides, and low-level views |
wireshark-mcp serve --profile coreEvery profile still contains every tool the bundled prompts, resources, skill files, and protocol recommendations can point the model at, so reducing the surface never leaves it chasing a tool that is not there.
Tool results are bounded too, since a result stays in the conversation for the rest of the session. Output over 8000 characters is truncated head-and-tail with a marker, and the tool's offset / limit / display_filter parameters are the way to page through the rest. Raise or lower the ceiling with:
export WIRESHARK_MCP_MAX_RESULT_CHARS=16000Every tool also declares whether it reads or writes, so clients can auto-approve the 40 read-only analysis tools and still prompt for the 11 that create files (live capture, merge, filter-save, editcap, text2pcap, frame extract, object export).
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Documentation
| Topic | Link | |-------|------| | Platform setup (macOS/Linux/Windows) | docs/platform-validation.md | | Manual client configuration | docs/manual-configuration.md | | Prompt templates | docs/prompt-engineering.md | | Release checklist | docs/release-checklist.md | | Contributing | CONTRIBUTING.md | | Changelog | GitHub Releases | | Security policy | SECURITY.md |
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Development
pip install -e ".[dev]"
pytest tests/ -v
ruff check src/ tests/See CONTRIBUTING.md for the full guide.
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<div align="center"> <sub><a href="LICENSE">MIT License</a> Β· <a href="https://github.com/bx33661/Wireshark-MCP/issues">Report a Bug</a></sub> </div>
