Automic VaultAutomic Vault

brew

Install netcat with Homebrew, apt, dnf, Nix, pacman, scoop, zypper

Utility for managing network connections. Version 0.7.1 via Homebrew; verified from local package data.

Install commandSecurity notes

install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install netcat

local Homebrew formula metadata

Linux

Debian aptverified · 92%
sudo apt install netcat-traditional

Debian stable package indexes · netcat-traditional · source: deb.debian.org

Fedora dnfverified · 92%
sudo dnf install netcat

Fedora Rawhide package metadata · netcat · source: dl.fedoraproject.org

Nixverified · 92%
nix profile install nixpkgs#netcat

nixpkgs package indexes · netcat · source: raw.githubusercontent.com

Arch Linux pacmanverified · 92%
sudo pacman -S openbsd-netcat

Arch Linux sync databases · openbsd-netcat · source: geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com

openSUSE zypperverified · 92%
sudo zypper install netcat-openbsd

openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata · netcat-openbsd · source: download.opensuse.org

Windows

Scoopverified · 92%
scoop install main/netcat

Scoop official bucket manifest trees · bucket/netcat.json · source: api.github.com

overview

Package summary

Utility for managing network connections

Commands and aliases

  • nc
  • netcat

history

Project history and usage

Homebrew's netcat formula packages GNU Netcat 0.7.1, a GPL implementation of the classic nc-style tool for reading and writing TCP/UDP connections. Its own homepage frames it as both a scriptable back-end and a network debugging/exploration utility, with outbound and inbound connections, tunneling, and port-scanning features.

Project history

GNU Netcat is separate from the original Hobbit netcat lineage. The GNU project page records active development milestones in 2002, including a beta label starting with version 0.4 on May 15, 2002, and a core rewrite beginning around version 0.3 on May 2, 2002. The downloads page lists 0.7.1 as the current version and gives its release date as January 11, 2004; that long-stable release is what Homebrew distributes.

Adoption history

The package's adoption is mostly legacy and compatibility-driven rather than fast-moving. On July 1, 2026, the Homebrew formula page showed 12,774 installs over 365 days and 790 installs over 30 days, evidence that people still install this GNU variant even though many systems also ship OpenBSD nc, Nmap ncat, or other netcat-compatible tools.

How it is used

Package nerds use it for quick socket plumbing: listen on a port, connect to a host and port, test TCP/UDP reachability, move bytes between shell pipelines and sockets, or build small ad hoc tunnels. The important packaging detail is that behavior and flags vary across netcat implementations, so installing brew:netcat is often a way to get the old GNU semantics intentionally instead of relying on the platform-provided nc.

Why package nerds care

This is a small but historically important compatibility package: not glamorous, not actively evolving, but useful when scripts expect GNU Netcat's option set. Its significance is mostly in being one of the archetypal Unix network Swiss-army-knife tools and a source of recurring packaging confusion because nc/netcat names are shared by several implementations.

Timeline

  • 2002-05-02: GNU netcat 0.3 development and a core rewrite were announced on the project news page.
  • 2002-05-15: GNU Netcat entered beta status with version 0.4.
  • 2004-01-11: GNU Netcat 0.7.1 was released.
  • 2026-07-01: Homebrew listed stable version 0.7.1 and 12,774 installs over 365 days.

Related projects

  • OpenBSD netcat
  • Nmap ncat
  • socat

security posture

Risk level: blue

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

Risk classifier

blue risk · medium confidence · tool

Why

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

Signals

  • text:network

Install behavior

  • No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
  • Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 13 platform targets.
  • Build metadata lists 2 build dependencies.

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
nccliglobal executable
netcatcliglobal 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 generated2026-07-07
manager version0.7.1
manager updated
local dataok
upstreamnot checked
latest detectednot detected

https://netcat.sourceforge.net/

  • infoNo package-manager update timestamp was available.low confidence
  • infoRelease/tag comparison is only available for GitHub repositories.https://netcat.sourceforge.net/none confidence

install metadata

Package metadata

Package keybrew:netcat
Version0.7.1
Package managerHomebrew
Package manager pagehttps://formulae.brew.sh/formula/netcat
Homepagehttps://netcat.sourceforge.net/
Repositoryhttps://sourceforge.net/p/netcat/code/HEAD/tree
Upstream docshttps://netcat.sourceforge.net/
LicenseGPL-2.0-or-later
Source archivehttps://downloads.sourceforge.net/project/netcat/netcat/0.7.1/netcat-0.7.1.tar.bz2
Build dependenciesautoconf, automake
Bottleavailable (on arm64_big_sur, arm64_linux, arm64_monterey, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, arm64_ventura, big_sur, catalina, monterey, sonoma, ventura, x86_64_linux)
Homebrew post-installnot defined
Servicenone declared

registry facts

Source database details

Source DatabaseHomebrew formula API
Taphomebrew/core
Full Namenetcat
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.

Debian apt95%

netcat-traditional 1.10-50

TCP/IP swiss army knife

http://www.stearns.org/nc/

sudo apt install netcat-traditional
  • Section: net
  • Architecture: amd64
  • Source Package: netcat
  • 1 dependencies
  • 1 provides
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Netcat
Debian stable package indexes · deb.debian.org · Debian stable package indexes: netcat-traditional from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz
Nix95%

netcat

nix profile install nixpkgs#netcat
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Netcat
nixpkgs package indexes · raw.githubusercontent.com · nixpkgs package indexes: netcat from https://raw.githubusercontent.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/master/pkgs/top-level/all-packages.nix
Ubuntu apt95%

netcat-traditional 1.10-48

TCP/IP swiss army knife

http://www.stearns.org/nc/

sudo apt install netcat-traditional
  • Section: universe/net
  • Architecture: amd64
  • Source Package: netcat
  • 1 dependencies
  • 1 provides
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Netcat
Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes · archive.ubuntu.com · Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: netcat-traditional from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz
dnf95%

netcat 1.238-1.fc45

OpenBSD netcat to read and write data across connections using TCP or UDP

https://man.openbsd.org/nc.1

sudo dnf install netcat
  • License: BSD-3-Clause AND BSD-2-Clause
  • Category: Unspecified
  • Architecture: x86_64
  • Source Package: netcat
  • 7 dependencies
  • 1 provides
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Netcat
Fedora Rawhide package metadata · dl.fedoraproject.org · Fedora Rawhide package metadata: netcat from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst
pacman95%

openbsd-netcat 1.238_1-1

TCP/IP swiss army knife. OpenBSD variant.

https://salsa.debian.org/debian/netcat-openbsd

sudo pacman -S openbsd-netcat
  • License: BSD-2-Clause AND BSD-3-Clause
  • Architecture: x86_64
  • 2 dependencies
  • 1 provides
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Netcat
Arch Linux sync databases · geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com · Arch Linux sync databases: openbsd-netcat from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz
zypper95%

netcat-openbsd 1.229-1.3

TCP/IP swiss army knife

https://www.openbsd.org/cgi-bin/cvsweb/src/usr.bin/nc/

sudo zypper install netcat-openbsd
  • License: BSD-3-Clause
  • Category: Productivity/Networking/Other
  • Architecture: x86_64
  • Source Package: netcat-openbsd
  • 3 dependencies
  • 3 provides
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Netcat
openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata · download.opensuse.org · openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: netcat-openbsd from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/be8d3611d25469107f32075a1697e69ec57a2b850b42348a658cc671ad5ec2b50760d02c3e59524d50da9a11d5be799bdaffba2e166e8ca8858512e3c0bd665d-primary.xml.zst
Scoop95%

main/netcat

scoop install main/netcat
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Netcat
Scoop official bucket manifest trees · api.github.com · Scoop official bucket manifest trees: bucket/netcat.json from https://api.github.com/repos/ScoopInstaller/Main/git/trees/master?recursive=1
dnf92%

nmap-ncat 7.92-9.fc45

Nmap's Netcat replacement

http://nmap.org/

sudo dnf install nmap-ncat
  • License: LicenseRef-Nmap
  • Category: Unspecified
  • Architecture: x86_64
  • Source Package: nmap
  • 9 dependencies
  • 4 provides
  • installed executable or alias match
  • Matched by: Nc
Fedora Rawhide package metadata · dl.fedoraproject.org · Fedora Rawhide package metadata: nmap-ncat from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst

package graph

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

Related tools

  • autoconfBuild dependency declared by Homebrew.
  • automakeBuild dependency declared by Homebrew.

Same workflow

  • net-toolsShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, network-utilities, networking.
  • udptunnelShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, networking, tcp, udp.
  • dishShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, networking, tcp.
  • dns2tcpShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, networking, tcp.
  • iperfShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, networking, tcp, udp.
  • iperf3Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, networking, tcp, udp.

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