---
name: "kismet"
section: "1"
platform: "linux"
package: "kismet"
version: "2016.07.R1-1+b1"
release: "Debian 10 (Buster)"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/kismet"
---

# kismet(1)

Wireless sniffing and monitoring

## NAME

**kismet** – Wireless sniffing and monitoring

## SYNOPSIS

*kismet* \[server-options\] \[**--**\] \[client-options\]

*kismet\_server* \[**-nqs**\] \[**-t** *title*\] \[**-f** *config-file*\] \[**-c** *capture-source*\] \[**-C** *enable-capture-sources*\] \[**-l** *log-types*\] \[**-d** *dump-type*\] \[**-m** *max-packets-per-file*\] \[**-g** *gpshost:port*\] \[**-p** *listen-port*\] \[**-a** *allowed-hosts*\] \[**-N** *server-name*\]

*kismet\_client* \[**-qr**\] \[**-f** *config-file*\] \[**-s** *serverhost:port*\] \[**-g** *gui-type*\] \[**-c** *display-columns*\]

## DESCRIPTION

**Kismet** is an 802.11 layer2 wireless network detector, sniffer, and intrusion detection system.  Kismet will work with any wireless card which supports raw monitoring (rfmon) mode, and can sniff 802.11b, 802.11a, and 802.11g traffic.

**kismet** identifies networks by passively collecting packets and detecting standard named networks, detecting (and given time, decloaking) hidden networks, and inferring the presence of nonbeaconing networks via data traffic.\
 **kismet** supports logging to the wtapfile packet format (readable by tcpdump and ethereal) and saves detected network information as plaintext, CSV, and XML. **kismet** is capable of using any GPS supported by **gpsd** and logs and plots network data.

**kismet** is divided into three basic programs, **kismet\_server** **kismet\_client** and **gpsmap**

## USAGE

**kismet** handles automatically starting **kismet\_server** and **kismet\_client.**\
 **kismet** is installed as suid-root by default. It will drop privs to the user specified in  **kismet.conf** immediately after binding and configuring the capture source.

## KISMET\_SERVER

**kismet\_server** captures, dissects, and logs packets and GPS data.  It is capable of running in \`headless' mode with no display.  Multiple clients (on multiple computers) can be connected to a single server.

- **-I**

  Set the initial channel for a channel source (source:channel)

- **-x**

  Forcibly enable the channel hopper

- **-X**

  Forcibly disable the channel hopper

- **-t**

  Set the title used for the %t field of the logfile template (Default: Kismet)

- **-n**

  Disable all logging

- **-f**

  Use an alternate config file

- **-c**

  Override capture source lines (type,interface,name).  Refer to [kismet.conf(5)](/kismet.conf/5.md) for more information. Multiple capture source options can be specified for multiple sources.  All sources provided here are automatically enabled unless an enable list is also supplied.

- **-C**

  Comma-separated list to override what capture sources are enabled.

- **-l**

  Override logging types, comma separated (dump, cisco, weak, csv, xml, gps)

- **-m**

  Override maximum packets logged per file

- **-q**

  Override sound option and run in quiet mode

- **-g**

  Override GPS host:port

- **-p**

  Override port to listen on for clients

- **-a**

  Override list of client IPs or network/mask blocks (comma separated) allowed to connect

- **-s**

  Run in silent mode (no console status information)

- **-N**

  Override server name for this instance of Kismet

- **-v**

  Print version

- **-h**

  Help

## KISMET\_CLIENT

**kismet\_client** is a ncurses and panels interface which connects to the server and displays detected  networks, statistics, network details, etc.

- **-f**

  Use an alternate config file

- **-u**

  Use an alternate UI config file

- **-q**

  Override sound option and run in quiet mode

- **-s**

  Override server host:port

- **-r**

  Attempt to automatically reestablish the connection if the server terminates

- **-g**

  Override UI type (curses, panel)

- **-c**

  Override list of columns to display (comma separated)

- **-v**

  Print version

- **-h**

  Help

## GPSMAP

**gpsmap** reads GPS and Network XML datafiles and plots networks on downloaded maps or user-supplied images (such as satellite photos).

## SEE ALSO

[kismet\_drone(1)](/kismet_drone/1.md), [gpsmap(1)](/gpsmap/1.md), [kismet.conf(5)](/kismet.conf/5.md), [kismet\_ui.conf(5)](/kismet_ui.conf/5.md), [kismet\_drone.conf(5)](/kismet_drone.conf/5.md)