pkg.soopen package index

brew / rank 7679

Install dnstop with Homebrew, apk, apt, dnf, MacPorts, Nix

Console tool to analyze DNS traffic. Version 20140915 via Homebrew; verified from local package data. Also installable with debian: sudo apt install dnstop.

Install commandSecurity notes

install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install dnstop

local Homebrew formula metadata

MacPortsverified · 94%
sudo port install dnstop

MacPorts ports tree · net/dnstop/Portfile · source: api.github.com

Linux

Alpine Linux apkverified · 92%
sudo apk add dnstop

Alpine Linux edge package indexes · dnstop · source: dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org

Debian aptverified · 92%
sudo apt install dnstop

Debian stable package indexes · dnstop · source: deb.debian.org

Fedora dnfverified · 92%
sudo dnf install dnstop

Fedora Rawhide package metadata · dnstop · source: dl.fedoraproject.org

Nixverified · 92%
nix profile install nixpkgs#dnstop

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

overview

Package summary

Console tool to analyze DNS traffic

Commands and aliases

  • dnstop

history

Project history and usage

dnstop is a curses-style libpcap tool for watching DNS traffic tables from a live interface or packet capture. It is the DNS equivalent of a focused top-like view: small, old, and still useful when a resolver or network segment is producing strange query traffic.

Project history

The Measurement Factory publicity page says dnstop was written with research into large amounts of bogus traffic received by root DNS servers and was originally presented at NANOG26. The project site and README describe the core feature set: tables for source and destination addresses, query types, response codes, opcodes, and domain levels.

The man page is dated March 21, 2008 and names Duane Wessels, Mark Foster, Jose Nazario, and other contributors. In 2018, the official source page was updated to point to the GitHub repository as the maintained source location while keeping the old source directory for tarballs and individual files.

Adoption history

dnstop spread early through operator communities. The official source page lists portability notes for Mac OS X with fink, FreeBSD Ports, NetBSD Packages, Gentoo Portage, Debian unstable, EPEL, Linux source builds, and Solaris. The publicity page preserves 2002 and 2003 operator feedback from people running it on DNS, mail, FreeBSD, and Solaris systems.

How it is used

Users run dnstop on a network device or read a tcpdump savefile. It can filter for unknown TLD leakage, RFC1918 PTR leakage, REFUSED, SERVFAIL, NXDOMAIN, and other DNS patterns, then switch between live tables interactively or print top entries from a capture in non-interactive mode.

Why package nerds care

dnstop is the kind of small C network utility that package maintainers like because it has a clear job and few moving parts: libpcap plus a terminal UI. Its significance is historical as much as practical: it came from root-DNS measurement work and became a standard packaged tool for DNS traffic triage.

Timeline

  • 2002: dnstop presented at NANOG26 according to the official publicity page.
  • 2003: Publicity page records operator adoption feedback after the root-DNS traffic research.
  • 2008: dnstop manual page dated March 21, 2008.
  • 2018: Official source page updated to point to the GitHub repository.
  • 2026: GitHub repository metadata shows continued maintenance activity.

Related projects

  • tcpdump and libpcap are the closest technical relatives: dnstop reads live captures or pcap savefiles. DNS measurement work at The Measurement Factory is the historical context, and DNS-OARC-style operator tooling is the cultural neighborhood.

security posture

Risk level: green

narrow executable package without higher-risk signals.

Risk classifier

green risk · low confidence · appliance

Why

  • narrow executable package without higher-risk signals

Signals

  • metadata:no-higher-risk-signals

Install behavior

  • No Homebrew bottle metadata was recorded.

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
dnstopexecutableindexed executableDiscovered from the local executable index.

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 generated2026-08-03
manager version20140915
manager updated
local dataunknown
upstreamnot available
latest detectednot detected
  • okNo freshness warnings were generated.

install metadata

Package metadata

Package keybrew:dnstop
Version20140915
Package managerHomebrew
Homepagehttp://dns.measurement-factory.com/tools/dnstop/index.html
Bottlenot recorded
Servicenone declared

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%

dnstop 20240820-1

console tool to analyze DNS traffic

http://dns.measurement-factory.com/tools/dnstop/

sudo apt install dnstop
  • Section: net
  • Architecture: amd64
  • 4 dependencies
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Dnstop
Debian stable package indexes · deb.debian.org · Debian stable package indexes: dnstop from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz
Nix95%

dnstop

nix profile install nixpkgs#dnstop
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Dnstop
nixpkgs package indexes · api.github.com · nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/dn/dnstop/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1
Ubuntu apt95%

dnstop 20120611-2build5

console tool to analyze DNS traffic

http://dns.measurement-factory.com/tools/dnstop/

sudo apt install dnstop
  • Section: universe/net
  • Architecture: amd64
  • 4 dependencies
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Dnstop
Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes · archive.ubuntu.com · Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: dnstop from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz
apk95%

dnstop 20140915-r8

A DNS traffic capture utility

http://dns.measurement-factory.com/tools/dnstop/

sudo apk add dnstop
  • License: BSD-3-Clause
  • Architecture: x86_64
  • Source Package: dnstop
  • 1 dependencies
  • 1 provides
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Dnstop
Alpine Linux edge package indexes · dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org · Alpine Linux edge package indexes: dnstop from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/main/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz
apk95%

dnstop-doc 20140915-r8

A DNS traffic capture utility (documentation)

http://dns.measurement-factory.com/tools/dnstop/

sudo apk add dnstop-doc
  • License: BSD-3-Clause
  • Architecture: x86_64
  • Source Package: dnstop
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Dnstop
Alpine Linux edge package indexes · dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org · Alpine Linux edge package indexes: dnstop-doc from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/main/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz
dnf95%

dnstop 20140915-29.git20240708.fc45

Displays information about DNS traffic on your network

http://dns.measurement-factory.com/tools/dnstop/

sudo dnf install dnstop
  • License: BSD-3-Clause
  • Category: Unspecified
  • Architecture: x86_64
  • Source Package: dnstop
  • 5 dependencies
  • 1 provides
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Dnstop
Fedora Rawhide package metadata · dl.fedoraproject.org · Fedora Rawhide package metadata: dnstop from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/07190dc5ae9f35ae73866675fed6d95fe6e8d9fe22c9d7cdf85862cb2ed24a4c-primary.xml.zst
MacPorts95%

dnstop

sudo port install dnstop
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Dnstop
MacPorts ports tree · api.github.com · MacPorts ports tree: net/dnstop/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/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.

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
  • pkg.so package database
  • pkgdb category and tag curation