# Install netwatch with Homebrew, Nix, pacman, scoop

Cross-platform realtime network diagnostics TUI. Version 0.28.1 via Homebrew; verified 2026-07-29. Also installable with nix: nix profile install nixpkgs#netwatch.

## Install

```sh
sudo av install brew:netwatch
```

Additional install commands:

### macOS

- Homebrew (100%):

```sh
brew install netwatch
```

  Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata

### Linux

- Nix (92%):

```sh
nix profile install nixpkgs#netwatch
```

  Evidence: nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/ne/netwatch/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1

- pacman (92%):

```sh
sudo pacman -S netwatch
```

  Evidence: Arch Linux sync databases: netwatch from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz

### Windows

- Scoop (92%):

```sh
scoop install main/netwatch
```

  Evidence: Scoop official bucket manifest trees: bucket/netwatch.json from https://api.github.com/repos/ScoopInstaller/Main/git/trees/master?recursive=1

## Package facts

- **Package key:** brew:netwatch
- **Package manager:** Homebrew
- **Version:** 0.28.1
- **Source summary:** Cross-platform realtime network diagnostics TUI
- **Homepage:** <https://www.netwatchlabs.com/labs/netwatch>
- **Repository:** <https://github.com/matthart1983/netwatch>
- **Last updated:** 2026-07-29T00:35:23Z
- **Generated:** 2026-08-03T19:37:03+00:00

## Executables

- netwatch (alias)

## Install behavior

- Bottle: not available

## Freshness

- Page generated: 2026-08-03
- Package-manager version: 0.28.1
## Project history and usage

NetWatch is a young Rust terminal tool for live network diagnostics and forensics. Its upstream README positions it as a zero-config binary for seeing live network activity, mapping connections to processes, decoding protocols, and preserving incident evidence from a terminal workflow.

### Project history

The public project is centered on matthart1983/netwatch and the NetWatch Labs site. GitHub showed the repository at roughly 2.2k stars, 84 forks, 282 commits, and 60 releases when researched on 2026-07-01. Homebrew listed stable version 0.25.9, matching the active cadence visible in the GitHub releases page.

### Adoption history

Adoption looks like a fast-moving specialist tool rather than a long-established Unix utility. Homebrew analytics reported 275 install-on-request events over 30, 90, and 365 day windows, which suggests Homebrew adoption was concentrated in a single early window. The upstream README also exposes crates.io and release badges and mentions Terminal Trove recognition, so its early spread appears to be through Rust/terminal-tool circles and security/networking communities.

### How it is used

Package users install it as a single binary and run `netwatch` for interface stats, connection views, and configuration, or `sudo netwatch` for packet capture and health probes. The README documents a TLS inspection workflow using `SSLKEYLOGFILE` for traffic the operator controls, plus tabs for dashboard, connections, interfaces, packets, stats, topology, timeline, processes, and optional insights.

The package-nerd angle is that NetWatch bundles several tasks people often split across `iftop`, `lsof`, `ss`, `tcpdump`, Wireshark, and ad hoc shell pipelines: per-process network attribution, libpcap capture, protocol decoding, TLS keylog-file decryption, JA4-oriented threat hunting, and evidence bundle export.

### Why package nerds care

NetWatch is notable less as a foundational package and more as part of the 2025-2026 wave of Rust TUI observability tools: one static-ish terminal binary with polished UX, Homebrew packaging, Cargo install path, and security-oriented defaults.

### Timeline

- 2026-06-27: GitHub releases page showed v0.25.9.
- 2026-07-01: Homebrew formula API reported stable 0.25.9 and 275 install-on-request events in the 365-day analytics window.

### Related projects

- SysWatch and DiskWatch are listed by upstream as sibling tools with the same TUI style.
- NetWatch Cloud, netwatch-agent, netwatch-sdk, and netwatch-dashboard are related projects referenced from the upstream README.

### Sources

- <https://formulae.brew.sh/api/formula/netwatch.json>
- <https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/netwatch>
- <https://github.com/matthart1983/netwatch>
- <https://github.com/matthart1983/netwatch/releases>
- <https://raw.githubusercontent.com/matthart1983/netwatch/main/README.md>
- <https://www.netwatchlabs.com/>


## Security Notes

No matching local secret-handling manifest was found for netwatch. Nucleus package metadata is still published here so future coverage has a stable package URL.


## Other Package-Manager Records

- Nix - netwatch: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/ne/netwatch/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1
- pacman - netwatch - 1.3.1_2-4: normalized package name match | Arch Linux sync databases: netwatch from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz | monitor network connections | http://www.slctech.org/~mackay/NETWATCH/netwatch.html
- Scoop - main/netwatch: normalized package name match | Scoop official bucket manifest trees: bucket/netwatch.json from https://api.github.com/repos/ScoopInstaller/Main/git/trees/master?recursive=1


## Combined YAML source

View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/netwatch.yml](https://github.com/mxcl/pkgdb/blob/main/combined/netwatch.yml)


## Sources

- pkg.so package database
- curated package history
- pkgdb category and tag curation
- external package-manager database matches
- cross-ecosystem install command graph