# Install tcptunnel with Homebrew

TCP port forwarder. Version 0.8 via Homebrew; verified from local package data.

## Install

```sh
sudo av install brew:tcptunnel
```

Additional install commands:

### macOS

- Homebrew (100%):

```sh
brew install tcptunnel
```

  Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata

## Package facts

- **Package key:** brew:tcptunnel
- **Package manager:** Homebrew
- **Version:** 0.8
- **Source summary:** TCP port forwarder
- **Homepage:** <https://vakuumverpackt.de/tcptunnel/>
- **Repository:** <https://github.com/vakuum/tcptunnel>
- **Generated:** 2026-08-03T19:37:03+00:00

## Executables

- tcptunnel (alias)

## Install behavior

- Bottle: not available

## Freshness

- Page generated: 2026-08-03
- Package-manager version: 0.8
## Project history and usage

tcptunnel is a small TCP port forwarder by Clemens Fuchslocher. It listens on a local TCP port and forwards received data to a remote host, making it a simple utility for redirecting TCP-based protocols.

### Project history

The official homepage and ChangeLog date the first public release to 2000-08-15. Later entries show the portability-driven shape of the project: HP-UX and SunOS support in 2000, Windows support in 2004, renewed cleanup and fork-based concurrency in 2010, Cygwin fork support in 2013, and Mac OS X support in version 0.8.

### Adoption history

The supplied package metadata shows Homebrew packaging, and the README explicitly thanks a Homebrew pull request for Mac OS X installation instructions. The official homepage also provided source and Windows binary downloads, so the tool was distributed both as a small upstream tarball and as a package-manager formula.

### How it is used

The official documentation describes redirecting TCP-based protocols such as HTTP, IRC, NNTP, SSH, and SMTP. The CLI exposes local and remote port settings, remote host, bind and client address controls, buffer size, forked concurrency, logging, and stay-alive behavior.

### Why package nerds care

tcptunnel is the kind of package that remains useful because it is minimal: install it, bind a local port, and forward bytes. It matters in the package-nerd niche as a compact alternative when a full proxy, SSH tunnel setup, or larger networking toolkit would be unnecessary.

### Timeline

- 2000-08-15: tcptunnel 0.1 first public release.
- 2000-09-14: 0.1g added HP-UX and SunOS support.
- 2004-12-28: 0.2 added Windows support.
- 2010-09-21: Added fork-based concurrent client handling.
- 2013-10-27: 0.8 added Mac OS X support and a buffer-size option.

### Related projects

- The official page frames tcptunnel around TCP-based protocols including HTTP, IRC, NNTP, SSH, and SMTP; Cygwin and MinGW appear as Windows build environments in the README.

### Sources

- <https://github.com/vakuum/tcptunnel#readme>
- <https://raw.githubusercontent.com/vakuum/tcptunnel/master/ChangeLog>
- <https://vakuumverpackt.de/tcptunnel/>
- input source_facts.package-manager


## Security Notes

narrow executable package without higher-risk signals.

- **Geiger risk:** green / low
- narrow executable package without higher-risk signals


## Combined YAML source

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


## Sources

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