# Install synscan with Homebrew

Asynchronous half-open TCP portscanner. Version 5.02 via Homebrew; verified 2026-06-25.

## Install

```sh
sudo av install brew:synscan
```

Additional install commands:

### macOS

- Homebrew (100%):

```sh
brew install synscan
```

  Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata

## Package facts

- **Package key:** brew:synscan
- **Package manager:** Homebrew
- **Version:** 5.02
- **Source summary:** Asynchronous half-open TCP portscanner
- **Homepage:** <https://digit-labs.org/files/tools/synscan/>
- **Last updated:** 2026-06-25T13:38:09+02:00
- **Generated:** 2026-08-03T19:37:03+00:00

## Executables

- sslog (alias)
- synscan (alias)

## Install behavior

- Bottle: not available

## Freshness

- Page generated: 2026-08-03
- Package-manager version: 5.02
## Project history and usage

synscan is a small security CLI: an asynchronous half-open TCP port scanner packaged by Homebrew for users who want a fast SYN-scan tool outside larger scanner suites.

### Project history

The official digit-labs page describes Synscan as an asynchronous half-open TCP port scanner that sends TCP packets with the SYN flag to blocks of destination addresses as fast as the host interface and kernel can support.

The same page records a compact lineage: Synscan versions up to 3.9b6 were based on version 1.6 by psychoid/tCl, while Synscan 5.0 was a complete rewrite with a cleaner codebase, efficiency improvements, checksum fixes, adjustable scan timing, and a simpler design intended to allow future IPv6 support.

### Adoption history

The input package facts show Homebrew packaging for `synscan`. Upstream also lists releases as tarballs and says the tool was known to compile on Linux, xBSD, Mac OS X, and Solaris, which explains why a portable Unix package manager would carry it.

### How it is used

synscan is used from the command line to perform half-open TCP port scans against ranges of destination addresses. Its companion executable `sslog` is also listed in the Homebrew-derived input facts.

The tool sits in the older Unix security-tool tradition: focused source tarballs, direct packet behavior, and terse CLI usage rather than a large service or framework.

### Why package nerds care

Package nerds care about synscan because it is the kind of sharp, single-purpose network tool that package managers preserve even when its upstream surface is just a small project page and release tarballs.

Its portability notes across Linux, BSD, macOS, and Solaris make it a good example of formula maintenance for low-level networking code.

### Timeline

- Pre-5.0: Synscan versions through 3.9b6 were based on version 1.6 by psychoid/tCl.
- 5.0: Synscan was rewritten with efficiency, checksum, timing, and design changes.
- 5.02: The digit-labs page lists synscan-5.02.tar.gz as the newest non-beta release.

### Related projects

- The official page points to the earlier bindshell.net synscan page and credits version 1.6 by psychoid/tCl as the base for older releases.
- In package taxonomies, synscan is adjacent to other TCP port scanners and packet-level security utilities.

### Sources

- <https://www.digit-labs.org/files/tools/synscan/>
- input source_facts.executables and source_facts.package-manager


## Security Notes

broad file, network, media, or database tool signal.

- **Geiger risk:** blue / medium
- broad file, network, media, or database tool signal


## Combined YAML source

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


## Sources

- pkg.so package database
- Geiger risk classifier
- curated package history
- pkgdb category and tag curation
- cross-ecosystem install command graph