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Install pwnat with Homebrew, Nix

Proxy server that works behind a NAT. Version 0.3.0 via Homebrew; verified 2026-09-13. Also installable with nix: nix profile install nixpkgs#pwnat.

Install commandSecurity notes

install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install pwnat

local Homebrew formula metadata

Linux

Nixverified · 92%
nix profile install nixpkgs#pwnat

nixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/pw/pwnat/package.nix · source: api.github.com

overview

Package summary

Proxy server that works behind a NAT

Commands and aliases

  • pwnat

history

Project history and usage

pwnat is a client-server proxy and tunneling tool designed to establish direct communication when both endpoints are behind separate NAT devices, without port forwarding or a third-party relay.

Project history

Samy Kamkar developed pwnat from earlier work including chownat and Daniel Meekins's udptunnel. Its technique accompanied the paper “Autonomous NAT Traversal,” presented at the IEEE P2P 2010 conference.

Adoption history

pwnat has remained a specialized networking utility rather than a general-purpose proxy standard. It is distributed by Homebrew and Nix and has attracted sustained interest as an unusual demonstration of NAT behavior.

How it is used

One endpoint runs `pwnat -s` as the server and another uses `pwnat -c` to expose a local port connected through the tunnel to a selected remote host and port. The official documentation notes uses including SSH, HTTP, VPN, IRC, FTP, and game traffic.

Why package nerds care

Package enthusiasts value pwnat as a compact implementation of an unconventional NAT-traversal technique and as an example of research software that became an installable Unix utility.

Timeline

  • 2010: Samy Kamkar published the pwnat project page and presented the associated NAT-traversal research at IEEE P2P 2010.
  • 2022: The official repository published the v0.3.0 release.

Related projects

  • The official project identifies chownat and udptunnel as predecessors. It contrasts its technique with mediated or negotiated traversal systems such as STUN, TURN, ICE, and UPnP.

Sources

  • Official project page: https://samy.pl/pwnat
  • Official repository: https://github.com/samyk/pwnat

security posture

Risk level: blue

broad file, network, media, or database tool signal.

Risk classifier

blue risk · medium confidence · tool

Why

  • broad file, network, media, or database tool signal

Signals

  • text:server

Install behavior

  • No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
  • Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 12 platform targets.

Recommended review

Before unattended agent use, check whether the tool reads plaintext credentials, writes remote state, publishes artifacts, or shells out to plugins.

executables

Installed executables

CommandKindExposureNote
pwnatcliglobal executable

freshness

Version and freshness

These signals separate page generation age, package-manager activity, and upstream release comparison. Version lag is warned only when an evidence URL and comparable versions are present.

page generated2026-09-19
manager version0.3.0
manager updated2026-09-13
local dataok
upstreamcurrent
latest detectedv0.3.0

https://github.com/samyk/pwnat

  • okNo freshness warnings were generated.

install metadata

Package metadata

Package keybrew:pwnat
Version0.3.0
Package managerHomebrew
Package manager pagehttps://formulae.brew.sh/formula/pwnat
Homepagehttps://samy.pl/pwnat/
Repositoryhttps://github.com/samyk/pwnat
Upstream docshttps://samy.pl/pwnat/
LicenseGPL-3.0-or-later
Source archivehttps://github.com/samyk/pwnat/archive/refs/tags/v0.3.0.tar.gz
Last updated2026-09-13T12:52:28Z
Pulseupdated
Bottleavailable (on arm64_big_sur, arm64_linux, arm64_monterey, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, arm64_ventura, big_sur, monterey, sonoma, ventura, x86_64_linux)
Homebrew post-installnot defined
Servicenone declared

registry facts

Source database details

Source DatabaseHomebrew formula API
Taphomebrew/core
Full Namepwnat
Version Scheme0
Revision0
Head VersionHEAD
Bottle Stable Root URLhttps://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core
Deprecatedno
Disabledno
Keg Onlyno
URL Keys
  • head
  • stable

source database matches

Other package-manager records

Matches are pulled from external package-manager indexes and kept separate from local Automic Vault package links.

Nix95%

pwnat

nix profile install nixpkgs#pwnat
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Pwnat
nixpkgs package indexes · api.github.com · nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/pw/pwnat/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1

package graph

Links come from deterministic package relationships, av.db category and tag curation, ecosystem matches, and package hub membership.

Same workflow

  • connectShares pkgdb curated category or tags: cli, networking, proxy, tunneling.
  • sing-boxShares pkgdb curated category or tags: cli, networking, proxy.
  • proxychains-ngShares pkgdb curated category or tags: cli, networking, proxy.
  • mihomoShares pkgdb curated category or tags: cli, networking, proxy.
  • libproxyShares pkgdb curated category or tags: cli, networking, proxy.
  • corkscrewShares pkgdb curated category or tags: cli, networking, proxy, tunneling.

source trail

Generated from repository data

This page is generated by av-web from the private package SQLite artifact built by scripts/generate-pkg-sqlite.py.

Used sources

  • Geiger risk classifier
  • cross-ecosystem install command graph
  • curated package history
  • external package-manager database matches
  • package relationship graph
  • package version freshness
  • package-page enrichment
  • pkg.so package database
  • pkgdb category and tag curation