# mfontanini/libtins

High-level, multiplatform C++ network packet sniffing and crafting library.

Repository: https://github.com/mfontanini/libtins
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/libtins
Homepage: http://libtins.github.io/
Language: C++
License: BSD-2-Clause
License Family: permissive
Topics: network, packet-parsing, packet-analyser, packets, sniffing, pcap, libpcap
Last push: 2026-08-05T15:47:23+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 86/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 96, release rhythm 64, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 4666, "days_push": 28, "days_rel": 28, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 1}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1991, forks 401 (observed 2026-08-28T04:06:03.151811+00:00)

## What it is
libtins is a high-level, multiplatform C++ library for network packet sniffing, parsing, and crafting. It provides an efficient, endianness-independent API for building tools that send, receive, and manipulate network packets, with support for protocols like TCP/IP and IEEE 802.11.

## Use cases
- sniff and parse TCP packets on a network interface in C++
- craft and send custom network packets
- capture and analyze pcap packet captures
- decrypt WPA2 traffic from wireless captures
- build network security or monitoring tools
- cross-compile a packet sniffer for ARM/MIPS routers

## When to choose
- you need a fast, high-level C++ API for packet capture and injection
- you need cross-platform support including Windows, macOS, Linux, and BSD
- you need wireless (802.11/RadioTap) support and WPA2 decryption
- you want endianness-independent packet parsing for embedded devices

## When to avoid
- you need a scripting-language library (e.g., Python's Scapy)
- you only need passive packet analysis without crafting
- your project is not C++ or cannot link libpcap/openssl dependencies

## Facets
- artifact type: library
- maturity: stable
- function: parser, networking, security
- domain: networking, security, developer-tools
- platform: windows, bsd, cpp, cross-platform
- tags: packet-crafting, packet-sniffing, pcap, libpcap, network-analysis, 802-11, wpa2-decryption, linux, macos

## Member repositories
- mfontanini/libtins (main) score 86

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:06:03.151811+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T03:02:42.684916+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/mfontanini/libtins (fetched 2026-08-28T04:06:03.151811+00:00, sha a10a6d8c3a8e)
  - homepage: http://libtins.github.io/ (fetched 2026-08-29T10:42:29.076610+00:00, sha 5233ebd1019e)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.