nmap/npcap
Nmap Project's Windows packet capture and transmission library observed · 2026-08-28
Health v2 · maintenance only
83/100
- Activity 84
- Release rhythm 71
- Longevity 100
Flags: no_license
How is this computed?
round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10) — computed 2026-09-02. Adoption (stars, forks) is never an input.
- gap_med: 61.0
- age_days: 4124
- days_rel: 119
- days_push: 97
- n_releases_24m: 9
Adoption not part of the score
3580 stars · 592 forks observed · 2026-08-28
What it is AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, 2026-08-29, confidence not recorded
Npcap is the Nmap Project's packet capture and injection library for Microsoft Windows, implementing the portable Pcap API via a custom NDIS kernel driver and a Windows build of libpcap. It is a modernized, actively maintained replacement for the discontinued WinPcap library, supporting loopback capture, raw 802.11 monitor mode, and raw packet sending.
Use cases
- capture raw network packets on Windows
- sniff loopback traffic between local services
- capture Wi-Fi traffic in monitor mode
- inject raw packets from Windows applications
- build network analysis tools like Wireshark or Nmap on Windows
- port WinPcap-based software to a maintained library
When to choose
- you need Pcap API packet capture or injection on Windows
- you need loopback or raw 802.11 capture that WinPcap lacks
- you are building or maintaining network tools (Nmap, Wireshark) on Windows
- you need an actively maintained WinPcap replacement with security fixes
When to avoid
- you are on Linux or macOS, which already ship libpcap
- you need a permissively licensed library for redistribution without an OEM agreement
- you need userspace-only capture without installing a kernel driver
Facets
library · maturity active
networking security developer-tools networking security developer-tools windows windows c cpp packet-capture packet-injection libpcap winpcap kernel-driver ndis wireshark nmap loopback-capture monitor-mode
5 sources
- readme: https://github.com/nmap/npcap · fetched 2026-08-28 · 3e87ae552459
- homepage: https://npcap.com · fetched 2026-08-29 · fcf4b5e8edf6
- site_page: https://npcap.com/guide · fetched 2026-08-29 · c5f360e8c944
- site_page: https://npcap.com/guide/npcap-devguide.html · fetched 2026-08-29 · c942b98b8979
- site_page: https://npcap.com/changelog · fetched 2026-08-29 · 3b92f7c0c70c
Member repositories
| Repository | Role | Health v2 |
|---|---|---|
| nmap/npcap | main | 83 |
For agents
Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00 · Report a problem