macOS
Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install libtracelocal Homebrew formula metadata
brew / rank 6047
Install libtrace with Homebrew, Nix
Library for trace processing supporting multiple inputs. Version 4.0.34 via Homebrew; verified from local package data. Also installable with nix: nix profile install nixpkgs#libtrace.
install
Additional install commands
Linux
Nixverified · 92%
nix profile install nixpkgs#libtracenixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/li/libtrace/package.nix · source: api.github.com
overview
Package summary
Library for trace processing supporting multiple inputs
Project links
Commands and aliases
- traceconvert
- tracediff
- traceends
- tracefilter
- tracemcast
- tracemerge
- tracepktdump
- tracereplay
- tracereport
- tracertstats
- tracesplit
- tracesplit_dir
- tracestats
- tracesummary
- tracetop
- tracetopends
- traceucast
history
Project history and usage
libtrace is a C library and suite of trace tools for processing live and offline network packet captures across multiple trace and interface formats.
Project history
The libtrace README states that the code was originally developed by the University of Waikato WAND research group and was primarily designed for the real-time interface to the Waikato DAG Capture Point software. It later grew beyond that original environment to support a range of trace and interface formats.
The repository records copyright for University of Waikato code through 2022 and for later code and documentation contributed by Shane Alcock from 2023 through 2026. The 4.0 series introduced a parallel packet-processing API for multithreaded workloads.
Adoption history
libtrace's adoption is strongest in network measurement, packet-trace analysis, and research tooling rather than broad desktop use. Its command-line utilities, including traceconvert, tracefilter, tracemerge, tracereport, tracesplit, tracestats, and tracesummary, made it useful as both a library and a practical trace-processing toolkit.
How it is used
Users employ libtrace to read, filter, convert, replay, summarize, and report on traffic captures from offline files or live interfaces. Developers link against the library when they need one API over multiple capture formats and, in the 4.0 line, when they need parallel packet processing.
Why package nerds care
For packet-analysis package nerds, libtrace is interesting because it is not just another pcap wrapper: it comes from a university measurement environment, carries a family of trace* command-line tools, and preserves support for specialized capture systems alongside common packet formats.
Timeline
- 2007-2022: University of Waikato copyright range shown in the README for code through version 4.0.20.
- 2017: GitHub releases page lists libtrace 4.0.2 as a public 4.0-series release.
- 2023: README records Shane Alcock copyright for newer code and documentation beginning in 2023.
- 2026: GitHub releases page lists Libtrace 4.0.33 on June 10, 2026.
Related projects
- Waikato DAG Capture Point software is the original environment named by the README.
- libpacketdump, wandio, libwandder, and related LibtraceTeam repositories sit in the same packet-trace tooling ecosystem.
- pcap-oriented tools such as tcpdump and Wireshark are adjacent consumers or producers of traffic capture data, though libtrace focuses on programmatic trace processing.
Sources
security posture
Risk level: green
library-like package without higher-risk signals.
Risk classifier
green risk · low confidence · appliance
Why
- library-like package without higher-risk signals
Signals
- metadata:library-like
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
traceconvert | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
tracediff | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
traceends | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
tracefilter | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
tracemcast | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
tracemerge | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
tracepktdump | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
tracereplay | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
tracereport | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
tracertstats | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
tracesplit | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
tracesplit_dir | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
tracestats | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
tracesummary | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
tracetop | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
tracetopends | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
traceucast | 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 version4.0.34
manager updated
local dataunknown
upstreamnot available
latest detectednot detected
- okNo freshness warnings were generated.
install metadata
Package metadata
| Package key | brew:libtrace |
|---|---|
| Version | 4.0.34 |
| Package manager | Homebrew |
| Homepage | https://github.com/LibtraceTeam/libtrace |
| Repository | https://github.com/LibtraceTeam/libtrace |
| 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.
Nix95%
libtrace
nix profile install nixpkgs#libtrace- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libtrace
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 package history
- external package-manager database matches
- pkg.so package database
- pkgdb category and tag curation