Automic VaultAutomic Vault

brew

Install flow-tools with Homebrew, dnf, MacPorts

Collect, send, process, and generate NetFlow data reports. Version 0.68.5.1 via Homebrew; verified 2026-06-19.

Install commandSecurity notes

install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install flow-tools

local Homebrew formula metadata

MacPortsverified · 94%
sudo port install flow-tools

MacPorts ports tree · net/flow-tools/Portfile · source: api.github.com

overview

Package summary

Collect, send, process, and generate NetFlow data reports

Commands and aliases

  • flow-capture
  • flow-cat
  • flow-dscan
  • flow-expire
  • flow-export
  • flow-fanout
  • flow-filter
  • flow-gen
  • flow-header
  • flow-import
  • flow-log2rrd
  • flow-mask
  • flow-merge
  • flow-nfilter
  • flow-print
  • flow-receive
  • flow-report
  • flow-rpt2rrd
  • flow-rptfmt
  • flow-send
  • flow-split
  • flow-stat
  • flow-tag
  • flow-xlate

history

Project history and usage

flow-tools is a suite of command-line programs and a library for collecting, processing, storing, filtering, replaying, and reporting on NetFlow export data.

Project history

The archived upstream README says flow-tools was originally written by Mark Fullmer while he was working at Ohio State University, with documentation, functionality, and feedback from Steve Romig and the OSU network security group. It also credits OARnet and the Ohio ITEC with funding work on version 8 PDU support and other features.

The project's older changelog shows an established pre-Git release history through the early 2000s, including 0.65, 0.66, 0.67, and 0.68 releases. The source now lives in the Google Code archive, preserving the code, SGML man pages, examples, and historical changelog.

Adoption history

flow-tools circulated as a Unix network-operations package for sites collecting Cisco and Juniper NetFlow exports. The changelog records fixes and requested features from universities, network operators, and backbone users, reflecting use in operational traffic accounting and troubleshooting environments.

How it is used

The toolset is composed of small Unix-style commands such as flow-capture, flow-cat, flow-report, flow-filter, flow-print, flow-send, and flow-gen. Official man-page sources describe deployments on one server or split across multiple servers for larger flow-collection setups.

Common use cases include collecting router exports, concatenating short capture windows into longer report windows, filtering records, generating top-talkers and AS reports, tagging customer networks, exporting to other formats, and replaying or generating NetFlow data for tests.

Why package nerds care

For package maintainers, flow-tools is a classic example of a mature C networking utility suite: many small binaries, generated man pages, sample configuration files, and long-lived ABI/protocol assumptions around NetFlow versions. It remains relevant in package indexes because NetFlow workflows often depend on stable old command names.

Timeline

  • 2003: flow-tools 0.65, 0.66, and 0.67 appear in the historical changelog.
  • 2005: flow-tools 0.68 is released with report post-processing helpers and many portability and NetFlow handling fixes.
  • 2016: Google Code archive preserves the upstream source repository snapshot.

Related projects

  • The official documentation frames flow-tools around NetFlow exports from Cisco and Juniper routers and includes import/export support for cflowd-style data.

security posture

Risk level: green

narrow executable package without higher-risk signals.

Risk classifier

green risk · low confidence · appliance

Why

  • narrow executable package without higher-risk signals

Signals

  • metadata:no-higher-risk-signals

Install behavior

  • No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
  • Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 6 platform targets.

Recommended review

Before unattended agent use, check whether the tool reads plaintext credentials, writes remote state, publishes artifacts, or shells out to plugins.

executables

Installed executables

CommandKindExposureNote
flow-capturecliglobal executable
flow-catcliglobal executable
flow-dscancliglobal executable
flow-expirecliglobal executable
flow-exportcliglobal executable
flow-fanoutcliglobal executable
flow-filtercliglobal executable
flow-gencliglobal executable
flow-headercliglobal executable
flow-importcliglobal executable
flow-log2rrdcliglobal executable
flow-maskcliglobal executable
flow-mergecliglobal executable
flow-nfiltercliglobal executable
flow-printcliglobal executable
flow-receivecliglobal executable
flow-reportcliglobal executable
flow-rpt2rrdcliglobal executable
flow-rptfmtcliglobal executable
flow-sendcliglobal executable
flow-splitcliglobal executable
flow-statcliglobal executable
flow-tagcliglobal executable
flow-xlatecliglobal executable

freshness

Version and freshness

These signals separate page generation age, package-manager activity, and upstream release comparison. Version lag is warned only when an evidence URL and comparable versions are present.

page generated2026-07-08
manager version0.68.5.1
manager updated2026-06-19
local dataok
upstreamnot checked
latest detectednot detected

https://code.google.com/archive/p/flow-tools/

install metadata

Package metadata

Package keybrew:flow-tools
Version0.68.5.1
Package managerHomebrew
Package manager pagehttps://formulae.brew.sh/formula/flow-tools
Homepagehttps://code.google.com/archive/p/flow-tools/
Repositoryhttps://code.google.com/archive/p/flow-tools/source/default/source
Upstream docshttps://code.google.com/archive/p/flow-tools
LicenseBSD-2-Clause
Source archivehttps://storage.googleapis.com/google-code-archive-downloads/v2/code.google.com/flow-tools/flow-tools-0.68.5.1.tar.bz2
Last updated2026-06-19T12:30:40-07:00
Pulseupdated
Bottleavailable (on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, sonoma, x86_64_linux)
Homebrew post-installnot defined
Servicenone declared

registry facts

Source database details

Source DatabaseHomebrew formula API
Taphomebrew/core
Full Nameflow-tools
Version Scheme0
Revision0
Bottle Stable Root URLhttps://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core
Deprecatedno
Disabledno
Keg Onlyno
URL Keys
  • stable

source database matches

Other package-manager records

Matches are pulled from external package-manager indexes and kept separate from local Automic Vault package links.

dnf95%

flow-tools 0.68.5.1-46.fc44

Tool set for working with NetFlow data

http://code.google.com/p/flow-tools/

sudo dnf install flow-tools
  • License: LicenseRef-Callaway-BSD
  • Category: Unspecified
  • Architecture: i686
  • Source Package: flow-tools
  • 9 dependencies
  • 5 provides
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Flow Tools
Fedora Rawhide package metadata · dl.fedoraproject.org · Fedora Rawhide package metadata: flow-tools from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst
dnf95%

flow-tools-devel 0.68.5.1-46.fc44

Development files for flow-tools

http://code.google.com/p/flow-tools/

sudo dnf install flow-tools-devel
  • License: LicenseRef-Callaway-BSD
  • Category: Unspecified
  • Architecture: i686
  • Source Package: flow-tools
  • 3 dependencies
  • 1 provides
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Flow Tools
Fedora Rawhide package metadata · dl.fedoraproject.org · Fedora Rawhide package metadata: flow-tools-devel from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst
dnf95%

flow-tools-docs 0.68.5.1-46.fc44

HTML and other redundant docs for flow-tools

http://code.google.com/p/flow-tools/

sudo dnf install flow-tools-docs
  • License: LicenseRef-Callaway-BSD
  • Category: Unspecified
  • Architecture: x86_64
  • Source Package: flow-tools
  • 1 dependencies
  • 1 provides
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Flow Tools
Fedora Rawhide package metadata · dl.fedoraproject.org · Fedora Rawhide package metadata: flow-tools-docs from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst
dnf95%

flow-tools-rrdtool 0.68.5.1-46.fc44

Scripts for flow-tools to build rrd graphs

http://code.google.com/p/flow-tools/

sudo dnf install flow-tools-rrdtool
  • License: LicenseRef-Callaway-BSD
  • Category: Unspecified
  • Architecture: x86_64
  • Source Package: flow-tools
  • 3 dependencies
  • 1 provides
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Flow Tools
Fedora Rawhide package metadata · dl.fedoraproject.org · Fedora Rawhide package metadata: flow-tools-rrdtool from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst
MacPorts95%

flow-tools

sudo port install flow-tools
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Flow Tools
MacPorts ports tree · api.github.com · MacPorts ports tree: net/flow-tools/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1

package graph

Links come from deterministic package relationships, av.db category and tag curation, ecosystem matches, and package hub membership.

Related tools

  • flowPackage name indicates the same formula family.

Same workflow

  • fprobeShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, netflow, networking, traffic-analysis.
  • ndpiShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, networking, traffic-analysis.
  • yconalyzerShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, networking, traffic-analysis.
  • libprotoidentShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, networking, traffic-analysis.
  • nfdumpShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, netflow, networking, traffic-analysis.
  • darkstatShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, networking, traffic-analysis.

source trail

Generated from repository data

This page is generated by av-web from the private package SQLite artifact built by scripts/generate-pkg-sqlite.py.

Used sources

  • Geiger risk classifier
  • Nucleus package database
  • av.db category and tag curation
  • cross-ecosystem install command graph
  • curated package history
  • external package-manager database matches
  • package relationship graph
  • package version freshness
  • package-page enrichment