arp-scan is a network scanning tool that uses the ARP protocol to discover and fingerprint IPv4 hosts on the local network. It is available for Linux, BSD, macOS and Solaris under the GPLv3 licence.

This is README.md for arp-scan version 1.10.1-git.

arp-scan uses the GNU automake and autoconf tools. The installation process from the latest github source is:

• git clone https://github.com/royhills/arp-scan.git to obtain the latest source code.
• cd arp-scan to enter the source code directory.
• autoreconf --install to generate a configure file (if you don't have autoreconf you can download a tarball instead as detailed below).
• ./configure to create a makefile for your system (see configuration options below).
• make to build the project.
• Optionally make check to verify that everything works as expected.
• make install to install (you'll need to be root or use sudo/doas for this part).

You will need these development tools and libraries:

• GNU automake and autoconf (if you don't have these, you can download the latest tarball which includes configure instead: arp-scan-1.10.0.tar.gz). Note that this might not be as up to date as the latest github development version.
• The make utility (tested with BSD make and GNU make).
• A C compiler (tested on gcc and clang, should work on any C compiler that supports C99).
• Libraries and include files for libpcap version 1.5 or later. All modern distros have a binary package, some split the package into libpcap runtime and libpcap-dev or libpcap-devel development packages, in which case you need to install the development version to build.
• libcap to build with POSIX.1e capabilities support on Linux. Most Linux distros come with runtime support by default and have a development package available. Linux has capabilities support since kernel version 2.6.24.

To run the Perl scripts arp-fingerprint and get-oui, you will also need the perl interpreter and the perl modules LWP::UserAgent and Text::CSV.

You can pass options to configure to control the build process. Run ./configure --help for a list of options. arp-scan has one package-specific configure option:

• --with-libcap[=auto/yes/no] Build with libcap POSIX.1e capabilities support [default=auto]

  With auto, configure will enable capability support if the libcap library and headers are installed. Specifying --with-libcap will enable support and --without-libpcap will disable it.

arp-scan is known to build and run on:

• Linux (should work on any distribution and all architectures).
• FreeBSD
• OpenBSD
• NetBSD
• DragonflyBSD
• macOS
• Solaris 10 (there are known problems with Solaris 11. If anyone cares please comment on issue #31).

It should be possible to build arp-scan on any OS that libpcap supports. If your OS supports libpcap but configure gives the error configure: error: Host operating system your-os-name is not supported please open an issue to request porting to your OS.

Many distributions provide binary packages for arp-scan These won't be as up to date as the latest source on github and may not be as up to date as the latest release, but they are more convenient and will be kept up to date by the package manager. So using a binary package is often a good choice if you don't need the latest features.

If you have installed a binary package and wonder if there are useful new features on github, use arp-scan --version to check the version you have then see the NEWS and ChangeLog files on github for details of what's changed.

The details on how to install an arp-scan binary package depend on your distribution.

If you are using a BSD operating system you may have the option of installing from a source ports collection as well as from a binary package.

Ports automate the building and installation of source code and manage updates like a binary package. They also give the flexibility of installing from source. A source port won't be as up to date as the latest github though, but it might sometimes be more up to date than the corresponding binary package.

The details on how to install an arp-scan source port depend on your distribution.

For usage information use:

arp-scan --help

For detailed information, see the manual pages: arp-scan(1), arp-fingerprint(1), get-oui(1) and mac-vendor(5).

See the arp-scan wiki at https://github.com/royhills/arp-scan/wiki

See CONTRIBUTING.md if you are interested in contributing to arp-scan. If you think you have found a security vulnerability, please see SECURITY.md.

• Please raise a github issue or create a pull request if you have any local patches that could be applicable upstream.
• If you are building on Linux, please build with libcap POSIX.1e capabilities support if you can. You may need to install the libcap development headers as well as the libpcap development headers before running configure.
• Note that Makefile.am contains an install-exec-hook that will install arp-scan with CAP_NET_RAW capabilities if it can, and failing that it will install it suid root.