brew / rank 1238

Install inetutils with Homebrew, MacPorts, Nix, pacman, apt, dnf, zypper, apk, chocolatey, scoop, winget

GNU utilities for networking. Version 2.8 via Homebrew; verified from local package data. Also installable with debian: sudo apt install inetutils-ftp.

Install command Security notes

install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%

brew install inetutils

local Homebrew formula metadata

MacPortsverified · 94%

sudo port install inetutils

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

Linux

Nixverified · 92%

nix profile install nixpkgs#inetutils

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

Arch Linux pacmanverified · 92%

sudo pacman -S inetutils

Arch Linux sync databases · inetutils · source: geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com

Debian aptverified · 92%

sudo apt install inetutils-ftp

Debian stable package indexes · inetutils-ftp · source: deb.debian.org

Fedora dnfverified · 92%

sudo dnf install ftp

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

openSUSE zypperverified · 92%

sudo zypper install ftp

openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata · ftp · source: download.opensuse.org

Alpine Linux apkverified · 92%

sudo apk add gping

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

Windows

Chocolateyverified · 92%

choco install gping

Chocolatey community package catalog · gping · source: community.chocolatey.org

Scoopverified · 92%

scoop install main/gping

Scoop official bucket manifest trees · bucket/gping.json · source: api.github.com

Windows Package Managerverified · 92%

winget install --id orf.gping -e

Windows Package Manager source index · orf.gping · source: cdn.winget.microsoft.com

overview

Package summary

GNU utilities for networking

Project links

Homepage

Commands and aliases

ftp
ftpd
gdnsdomainname
gftp
ghostname
gifconfig
glogger
gping
gping6
grcp
grexec
grlogin
grsh
gtalk
gtelnet
gtftp
gtraceroute
gwhois
inetd
ping6
rcp
rexec
rexecd
rlogin
rlogind
rsh
rshd
syslogd
talk
talkd
telnetd
tftp

history

Project history and usage

GNU Inetutils is the GNU collection of traditional network clients, servers, and small administrative tools. It includes programs such as ftp, telnet, inetd, rsh, rlogin, tftp, talk, syslogd, ping, traceroute, whois, hostname, dnsdomainname, ifconfig, logger, and uucpd.

Project history

The GNU project presents Inetutils as a distribution of common networking utilities and servers. The manual says the individual utilities were originally derived from the 4.4BSD-Lite2 distribution, with later work integrating features from NetBSD, OpenBSD, FreeBSD, GNU/Linux, and GNU contributors.

Inetutils preserves old Unix networking commands in GNU form. That history is visible in its command mix: some tools, such as telnet, rsh, rlogin, rexec, and talk, are mostly historical or controlled-environment tools, while others, such as ping, traceroute, hostname, logger, and inetd, remain useful in diagnostics, compatibility testing, and stripped-down systems.

GNU release announcements continue to ship Inetutils as stable source tarballs with checksums, signatures, and mailing-list announcements. The 2.8 announcement in April 2026 described a release with 55 commits by five contributors since 2.7.

Adoption history

Inetutils is adopted mostly through operating-system packaging rather than as a standalone app brand. GNU provides the source releases and manual, while distributions decide which binaries to install, rename, prefix, or split because many names overlap with platform-native tools. The Homebrew package prefixes several commands with g, reflecting the GNU-on-macOS convention used to avoid replacing BSD userland tools.

How it is used

Users install Inetutils to get GNU implementations of classic network commands, to run inetd-style services, to test compatibility with legacy protocols, or to build environments that expect GNU command behavior. Security-sensitive deployments generally treat plaintext remote-login tools as legacy compatibility rather than preferred administration paths.

Why package nerds care

Inetutils is package-nerd bedrock: one source package produces a fleet of commands whose names collide with base-system tools, whose protocols carry decades of Unix history, and whose packaging choices reveal how each operating system balances GNU compatibility against native userland behavior.

It also illustrates why package metadata can be weird: the package is one GNU project, but downstream formulas and distro packages may expose only clients, only daemons, prefixed commands, or individual subpackages.

Timeline

1990s: GNU Inetutils lineage derives many utilities from 4.4BSD-Lite2 code.
2000: The GNU Inetutils manual copyright range begins in the published manual.
2021: GNU project page update documents the package as common GNU network programs.
2026: GNU Inetutils 2.8 stable release announced on info-gnu.

Related projects

BSD userlands are the original lineage for many commands. NetBSD, OpenBSD, FreeBSD, and GNU/Linux contributed later feature ideas. net-tools, iputils, OpenSSH, syslog implementations, and platform inetd replacements are adjacent packages that often overlap or supersede parts of Inetutils.

Sources

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:network,ftp

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

Command	Kind	Exposure	Note
`ftp`	executable	indexed executable	Discovered from the local executable index.
`ftpd`	executable	indexed executable	Discovered from the local executable index.
`gdnsdomainname`	executable	indexed executable	Discovered from the local executable index.
`gftp`	executable	indexed executable	Discovered from the local executable index.
`ghostname`	executable	indexed executable	Discovered from the local executable index.
`gifconfig`	executable	indexed executable	Discovered from the local executable index.
`glogger`	executable	indexed executable	Discovered from the local executable index.
`gping`	executable	indexed executable	Discovered from the local executable index.
`gping6`	executable	indexed executable	Discovered from the local executable index.
`grcp`	executable	indexed executable	Discovered from the local executable index.
`grexec`	executable	indexed executable	Discovered from the local executable index.
`grlogin`	executable	indexed executable	Discovered from the local executable index.
`grsh`	executable	indexed executable	Discovered from the local executable index.
`gtalk`	executable	indexed executable	Discovered from the local executable index.
`gtelnet`	executable	indexed executable	Discovered from the local executable index.
`gtftp`	executable	indexed executable	Discovered from the local executable index.
`gtraceroute`	executable	indexed executable	Discovered from the local executable index.
`gwhois`	executable	indexed executable	Discovered from the local executable index.
`inetd`	executable	indexed executable	Discovered from the local executable index.
`ping6`	executable	indexed executable	Discovered from the local executable index.
`rcp`	executable	indexed executable	Discovered from the local executable index.
`rexec`	executable	indexed executable	Discovered from the local executable index.
`rexecd`	executable	indexed executable	Discovered from the local executable index.
`rlogin`	executable	indexed executable	Discovered from the local executable index.
`rlogind`	executable	indexed executable	Discovered from the local executable index.
`rsh`	executable	indexed executable	Discovered from the local executable index.
`rshd`	executable	indexed executable	Discovered from the local executable index.
`syslogd`	executable	indexed executable	Discovered from the local executable index.
`talk`	executable	indexed executable	Discovered from the local executable index.
`talkd`	executable	indexed executable	Discovered from the local executable index.
`telnetd`	executable	indexed executable	Discovered from the local executable index.
`tftp`	executable	indexed executable	Discovered from the local executable index.
`tftpd`	executable	indexed executable	Discovered from the local executable index.
`traceroute`	executable	indexed executable	Discovered from the local executable index.
`uucpd`	executable	indexed executable	Discovered 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 version2.8

manager updated

local dataunknown

upstreamnot available

latest detectednot detected

okNo freshness warnings were generated.

install metadata

Package metadata

Package key	brew:inetutils
Version	2.8
Package manager	Homebrew
Homepage	https://www.gnu.org/software/inetutils/
Bottle	not recorded
Service	none 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%

inetutils-ftp 2:2.6-3+deb13u3

File Transfer Protocol client