install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%

brew install tracebox

local Homebrew formula metadata

Linux

Nixverified · 92%

nix profile install nixpkgs#tracebox

nixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/tr/tracebox/package.nix · source: api.github.com

overview

Package summary

Middlebox detection tool

Project links

Commands and aliases

luatracebox
tracebox

history

Project history and usage

Tracebox is a network-diagnostics CLI for detecting middleboxes on an Internet path. Its README describes it as traceroute-like, but focused on identifying packet modifications by comparing probes with ICMP replies.

Project history

Tracebox comes from the research and measurement side of networking. The project page explains that it detects middleboxes by using ICMP replies to identify changes in packets, relying on the common behavior of devices that return more of the original datagram than the minimum described by RFC 792.

The GitHub repository was created in 2013, with public release metadata from v0.3 in May 2015 through v0.4.4 in January 2018. The source tree includes C and C++ implementation code, Lua support, manual pages, and documentation.

Adoption history

Tracebox's own README documents Homebrew installation for macOS, Linux builds from autotools dependencies, an OpenWRT package feed, and an Android build script for rooted phones. The OpenWRT section is explicitly marked unmaintained, which fits a project that was useful to network researchers and operators but did not become a constantly refreshed mainstream CLI.

How it is used

Users run `tracebox` or `luatracebox` to probe a path and inspect hop-by-hop packet modifications. The README documents JSON output via `-j`, verbose modification details, hop data, ICMP extensions, additions, deletions, and modifications, making it scriptable for measurement workflows.

Why package nerds care

In package-manager culture, Tracebox is a classic specialist network tool: packaged in Homebrew and Nix, rooted in Unix build conventions, and interesting because it extends the familiar traceroute mental model into middlebox detection and JSON-producing measurement.

Timeline

2013-06: GitHub repository created.
2015-05: Tracebox v0.3 released.
2017-10: Tracebox v0.4.2 released.
2018-01: Tracebox v0.4.4 released.

Related projects

traceroute, ICMP, Lua, OpenWRT, Android builds, libpcap, netfilter queue.

Sources

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.
Installs with 2 runtime dependencies.
Build metadata lists 3 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

Command	Kind	Exposure	Note
`luatracebox`	cli	global executable
`tracebox`	cli	global 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 version0.4.4

manager updated2026-06-25

local dataok

upstreamnot checked

latest detectednot detected

https://github.com/tracebox/tracebox

infoNo cached GitHub release or tag data was available.https://github.com/tracebox/traceboxnone confidence

install metadata

Package metadata

Package key	brew:tracebox
Version	0.4.4
Package manager	Homebrew
Package manager page	https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/tracebox
Homepage	https://github.com/tracebox/tracebox
Repository	https://github.com/tracebox/tracebox
Upstream docs	https://github.com/tracebox/tracebox#readme
License	GPL-2.0-only AND BSD-3-Clause
Source archive	https://github.com/tracebox/tracebox.git
Last updated	2026-06-25T13:38:09+02:00
Pulse	updated
Dependencies	json-c, lua
Build dependencies	autoconf, automake, libtool
Uses from macOS	libpcap
Bottle	available (on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, sonoma, x86_64_linux)
Homebrew post-install	not defined
Service	none declared
Caveats	Tracebox requires superuser privileges e.g. run with sudo. You should be certain that you trust any software you are executing with elevated privileges.

registry facts

Source database details

Source Database	Homebrew formula API
Tap	homebrew/core
Full Name	tracebox
Version Scheme	0
Revision	4
Head Version	HEAD
Bottle Stable Root URL	https://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core
Deprecated	no
Disabled	no
Keg Only	no
URL Keys	head 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.

Nix95%

tracebox

nix profile install nixpkgs#tracebox

normalized package name match
Matched by: Tracebox

nixpkgs package indexes · api.github.com · nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/tr/tracebox/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/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.

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.

Combined YAML source

View the package source record on GitHub.

combined/tracebox.yml

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

Install tracebox with Homebrew, Nix