Linux tcpdump Guide

Complete beginner-friendly guide to tcpdump on Linux, covering Arch Linux, CachyOS, and other distributions including network packet capture, traffic analysis, and network debugging.

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Table of Contents

1. tcpdump Installation
2. tcpdump Basics
3. Packet Capture
4. Filtering
5. Troubleshooting

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tcpdump Installation

Install tcpdump

Arch/CachyOS:

# Install tcpdump
sudo pacman -S tcpdump

Debian/Ubuntu:

sudo apt install tcpdump

Fedora:

sudo dnf install tcpdump

Verify Installation

Check tcpdump:

# Check version
tcpdump --version

# Check help
tcpdump --help

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tcpdump Basics

List Interfaces

View interfaces:

# List interfaces
tcpdump -D

# Or
ip link show

Basic Capture

Capture packets:

# Capture on interface
sudo tcpdump -i eth0

# Capture on any interface
sudo tcpdump -i any

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Packet Capture

Save to File

Save packets:

# Save to file
sudo tcpdump -i eth0 -w capture.pcap

# Read from file
tcpdump -r capture.pcap

Limit Packets

Limit capture:

# Capture 100 packets
sudo tcpdump -i eth0 -c 100

# Save and limit
sudo tcpdump -i eth0 -w capture.pcap -c 100

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Filtering

Filter by Host

Filter traffic:

# Filter by host
sudo tcpdump -i eth0 host 192.168.1.1

# Filter by source
sudo tcpdump -i eth0 src host 192.168.1.1

# Filter by destination
sudo tcpdump -i eth0 dst host 192.168.1.1

Filter by Port

Port filtering:

# Filter by port
sudo tcpdump -i eth0 port 80

# Filter by port range
sudo tcpdump -i eth0 portrange 20-100

Filter by Protocol

Protocol filtering:

# Filter TCP
sudo tcpdump -i eth0 tcp

# Filter UDP
sudo tcpdump -i eth0 udp

# Filter ICMP
sudo tcpdump -i eth0 icmp

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Troubleshooting

Permission Errors

Use sudo:

# tcpdump requires root
sudo tcpdump -i eth0

# Or add user to group
sudo usermod -aG wireshark $USER

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Summary

This guide covered tcpdump installation, packet capture, and network analysis for Arch Linux, CachyOS, and other distributions.

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Next Steps

• Network Utilities - Network tools
• nmap Guide - Network scanning
• Networking - Network setup
• tcpdump Documentation: man tcpdump

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This guide covers Arch Linux, CachyOS, and other Linux distributions. For distribution-specific details, refer to your distribution's documentation.