# Install netcat with Homebrew, dnf, Nix, apt, pacman, scoop, zypper
Utility for managing network connections. Version 0.7.1 via Homebrew; verified from local package data. Also installable with debian: sudo apt install netcat-traditional.
## Install
```sh
sudo av install brew:netcat
```
Additional install commands:
### macOS
- Homebrew (100%):
```sh
brew install netcat
```
Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata
### Linux
- dnf (92%):
```sh
sudo dnf install netcat
```
Evidence: Fedora Rawhide package metadata: netcat from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/07190dc5ae9f35ae73866675fed6d95fe6e8d9fe22c9d7cdf85862cb2ed24a4c-primary.xml.zst
- Nix (92%):
```sh
nix profile install nixpkgs#netcat
```
Evidence: nixpkgs package indexes: netcat from https://raw.githubusercontent.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/master/pkgs/top-level/all-packages.nix
- Debian apt (92%):
```sh
sudo apt install netcat-traditional
```
Evidence: Debian stable package indexes: netcat-traditional from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz
- pacman (92%):
```sh
sudo pacman -S openbsd-netcat
```
Evidence: Arch Linux sync databases: openbsd-netcat from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz
- zypper (92%):
```sh
sudo zypper install netcat-openbsd
```
Evidence: openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: netcat-openbsd from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/50b07339cb64c8ed4091bdbabddadc1ff5737b090e478818a195b40d8a3292861a879139b4a3987c31109699fde9fbf4a716367ddf4eef77da75f96e3193d6ed-primary.xml.zst
### Windows
- Scoop (92%):
```sh
scoop install main/netcat
```
Evidence: Scoop official bucket manifest trees: bucket/netcat.json from https://api.github.com/repos/ScoopInstaller/Main/git/trees/master?recursive=1
## Package facts
- **Package key:** brew:netcat
- **Package manager:** Homebrew
- **Version:** 0.7.1
- **Source summary:** Utility for managing network connections
- **Homepage:**
- **Generated:** 2026-08-03T19:37:03+00:00
## Executables
- nc (alias)
- netcat (alias)
## Install behavior
- Bottle: not available
## Freshness
- Page generated: 2026-08-03
- Package-manager version: 0.7.1
## Project history and usage
Homebrew's netcat formula packages GNU Netcat 0.7.1, a GPL implementation of the classic nc-style tool for reading and writing TCP/UDP connections. Its own homepage frames it as both a scriptable back-end and a network debugging/exploration utility, with outbound and inbound connections, tunneling, and port-scanning features.
### Project history
GNU Netcat is separate from the original Hobbit netcat lineage. The GNU project page records active development milestones in 2002, including a beta label starting with version 0.4 on May 15, 2002, and a core rewrite beginning around version 0.3 on May 2, 2002. The downloads page lists 0.7.1 as the current version and gives its release date as January 11, 2004; that long-stable release is what Homebrew distributes.
### Adoption history
The package's adoption is mostly legacy and compatibility-driven rather than fast-moving. On July 1, 2026, the Homebrew formula page showed 12,774 installs over 365 days and 790 installs over 30 days, evidence that people still install this GNU variant even though many systems also ship OpenBSD nc, Nmap ncat, or other netcat-compatible tools.
### How it is used
Package nerds use it for quick socket plumbing: listen on a port, connect to a host and port, test TCP/UDP reachability, move bytes between shell pipelines and sockets, or build small ad hoc tunnels. The important packaging detail is that behavior and flags vary across netcat implementations, so installing brew:netcat is often a way to get the old GNU semantics intentionally instead of relying on the platform-provided nc.
### Why package nerds care
This is a small but historically important compatibility package: not glamorous, not actively evolving, but useful when scripts expect GNU Netcat's option set. Its significance is mostly in being one of the archetypal Unix network Swiss-army-knife tools and a source of recurring packaging confusion because nc/netcat names are shared by several implementations.
### Timeline
- 2002-05-02: GNU netcat 0.3 development and a core rewrite were announced on the project news page.
- 2002-05-15: GNU Netcat entered beta status with version 0.4.
- 2004-01-11: GNU Netcat 0.7.1 was released.
- 2026-07-01: Homebrew listed stable version 0.7.1 and 12,774 installs over 365 days.
### Related projects
- OpenBSD netcat
- Nmap ncat
- socat
### Sources
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## Security Notes
broad file, network, media, or database tool signal.
- **Geiger risk:** blue / medium
- broad file, network, media, or database tool signal
## Other Package-Manager Records
- Debian apt - netcat-traditional - 1.10-50: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: netcat-traditional from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | TCP/IP swiss army knife | http://www.stearns.org/nc/
- Nix - netcat: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: netcat from https://raw.githubusercontent.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/master/pkgs/top-level/all-packages.nix
- Ubuntu apt - netcat-traditional - 1.10-48: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: netcat-traditional from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | TCP/IP swiss army knife | http://www.stearns.org/nc/
- dnf - netcat - 1.238-2.fc45: normalized package name match | Fedora Rawhide package metadata: netcat from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/07190dc5ae9f35ae73866675fed6d95fe6e8d9fe22c9d7cdf85862cb2ed24a4c-primary.xml.zst | OpenBSD netcat to read and write data across connections using TCP or UDP | https://man.openbsd.org/nc.1
- pacman - openbsd-netcat - 1.238_1-1: normalized package name match | Arch Linux sync databases: openbsd-netcat from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz | TCP/IP swiss army knife. OpenBSD variant. | https://salsa.debian.org/debian/netcat-openbsd
- zypper - netcat-openbsd - 1.229-1.5: normalized package name match | openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: netcat-openbsd from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/50b07339cb64c8ed4091bdbabddadc1ff5737b090e478818a195b40d8a3292861a879139b4a3987c31109699fde9fbf4a716367ddf4eef77da75f96e3193d6ed-primary.xml.zst | TCP/IP swiss army knife | https://www.openbsd.org/cgi-bin/cvsweb/src/usr.bin/nc/
- Scoop - main/netcat: normalized package name match | Scoop official bucket manifest trees: bucket/netcat.json from https://api.github.com/repos/ScoopInstaller/Main/git/trees/master?recursive=1
- dnf - nmap-ncat - 7.92-12.fc45: installed executable or alias match | Fedora Rawhide package metadata: nmap-ncat from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/07190dc5ae9f35ae73866675fed6d95fe6e8d9fe22c9d7cdf85862cb2ed24a4c-primary.xml.zst | Nmap's Netcat replacement | http://nmap.org/
## Combined YAML source
View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/netcat.yml](https://github.com/mxcl/pkgdb/blob/main/combined/netcat.yml)
## Sources
- pkg.so package database
- Geiger risk classifier
- curated package history
- pkgdb category and tag curation
- external package-manager database matches
- cross-ecosystem install command graph