macOS
Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install rinetdlocal Homebrew formula metadata
brew / rank 9354
Install rinetd with Homebrew, apk, apt, Nix
Internet TCP redirection server. Version 0.73 via Homebrew; verified 2026-09-12. Also installable with debian: sudo apt install rinetd.
install
Additional install commands
Linux
Alpine Linux apkverified · 92%
sudo apk add rinetdAlpine Linux edge package indexes · rinetd · source: dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org
Debian aptverified · 92%
sudo apt install rinetdDebian stable package indexes · rinetd · source: deb.debian.org
Nixverified · 92%
nix profile install nixpkgs#rinetdnixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/ri/rinetd/package.nix · source: api.github.com
overview
Package summary
Internet TCP redirection server
Project links
Commands and aliases
- rinetd
history
Project history and usage
rinetd is a lightweight daemon that redirects TCP or UDP connections from configured listening addresses and ports to destination addresses and ports.
Project history
Thomas Boutell originally created rinetd as a user-mode TCP port-redirection server, with copyright history beginning in 1997. Its single-process, nonblocking-I/O design allowed many forwarded connections without one process per connection.
Sam Hocevar subsequently became a maintainer of the active implementation. The maintained fork added IPv6, UDP forwarding, source-address binding, and build-system modernization; the original Boutell repository is archived and explicitly directs users to Hocevar's version.
Adoption history
rinetd has remained available in Debian-family repositories, Homebrew, Nix, Alpine, and other Unix package collections. Its small footprint and plain-text configuration made it a durable choice for straightforward forwarding jobs.
How it is used
Define forwarding rules in `/etc/rinetd.conf`, then run rinetd as a daemon. Rules map a bind address and port to a destination address and port; the configuration also supports allow/deny rules and logging. Use `-c` to select another configuration file and SIGHUP to reload it.
Why package nerds care
rinetd is a classic single-purpose Unix daemon: a small C program, one configuration file, a manual page, and no control-plane service. It is often packaged where a full proxy, firewall framework, or SSH tunnel would be unnecessarily complex.
Timeline
- 1997: Thomas Boutell's original rinetd copyright history began.
- 2011: Sam Hocevar began the maintained successor release line.
- 2017: The maintained release added IPv6 and UDP support.
- 2021: rinetd 0.73 was released.
- 2020s: The original repository was archived in favor of Sam Hocevar's maintained version.
Related projects
- The maintained repository supersedes Thomas Boutell's archived `boutell/rinetd` repository. Its use cases overlap with firewall NAT rules, `socat`, SSH forwarding, and general-purpose TCP proxies.
Sources
security posture
Risk level: orange
broad file, network, media, or database tool signal. formula declares a Homebrew service.
Risk classifier
orange risk · medium confidence · infrastructure
Why
- broad file, network, media, or database tool signal
- formula declares a Homebrew service
Signals
- metadata:service
- text:server
Install behavior
- No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
- Formula metadata declares a service or daemon block.
- Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 6 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.
local files
Configuration and credential file locations
These source-backed paths show where this package keeps local settings or durable credentials. Automic Vault can use them as review targets for secret scanning, migration, and command approval.
Configuration files
Config paths the tool may read or write during local use.
- Unix
/etc/rinetd.conf
executables
Installed executables
| Command | Kind | Exposure | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
rinetd | cli | global 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 version0.73
manager updated2026-09-12
local dataok
upstreamnot checked
latest detectednot detected
https://github.com/samhocevar/rinetd
- infoNo cached GitHub release or tag data was available.https://github.com/samhocevar/rinetdnone confidence
install metadata
Package metadata
| Package key | brew:rinetd |
|---|---|
| Version | 0.73 |
| Package manager | Homebrew |
| Package manager page | https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/rinetd |
| Homepage | https://github.com/samhocevar/rinetd |
| Repository | https://github.com/samhocevar/rinetd |
| License | GPL-2.0-or-later |
| Source archive | https://github.com/samhocevar/rinetd/releases/download/v0.73/rinetd-0.73.tar.bz2 |
| Last updated | 2026-09-12T10:37:11Z |
| Pulse | updated |
| Bottle | available (on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, sonoma, x86_64_linux) |
| Homebrew post-install | not defined |
| Service | declared |
registry facts
Source database details
| Source Database | Homebrew formula API |
|---|---|
| Tap | homebrew/core |
| Full Name | rinetd |
| Version Scheme | 0 |
| Revision | 1 |
| Head Version | HEAD |
| Bottle Stable Root URL | https://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core |
| Deprecated | no |
| Disabled | no |
| Keg Only | no |
| URL Keys |
|
source database matches
Other package-manager records
Matches are pulled from external package-manager indexes and kept separate from local Automic Vault package links.
Debian apt95%
rinetd 0.73-2
Internet TCP/UDP redirection server
https://github.com/samhocevar/rinetd
sudo apt install rinetd- Section: net
- Architecture: amd64
- 2 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Rinetd
Nix95%
rinetd
nix profile install nixpkgs#rinetd- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Rinetd
Ubuntu apt95%
rinetd 0.73-1
Internet TCP/UDP redirection server
https://github.com/samhocevar/rinetd
sudo apt install rinetd- Section: universe/net
- Architecture: amd64
- 3 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Rinetd
apk95%
rinetd 0.73-r0
TCP/UDP port redirector
https://github.com/samhocevar/rinetd
sudo apk add rinetd- License: GPL-2.0-only
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: rinetd
- 1 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Rinetd
apk95%
rinetd-doc 0.73-r0
TCP/UDP port redirector (documentation)
https://github.com/samhocevar/rinetd
sudo apk add rinetd-doc- License: GPL-2.0-only
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: rinetd
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Rinetd
apk95%
rinetd-openrc 0.73-r0
TCP/UDP port redirector (OpenRC init scripts)
https://github.com/samhocevar/rinetd
sudo apk add rinetd-openrc- License: GPL-2.0-only
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: rinetd
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Rinetd
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.
Combined YAML source
View the package source record on GitHub.
Used sources
- Geiger risk classifier
- cross-ecosystem install command graph
- curated configuration and credential file locations
- 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