# Install yaf with Homebrew Yet another flowmeter: processes packet data from pcap(3). Version 2.19.3 via Homebrew; verified 2026-05-29. ## Install ```sh sudo av install brew:yaf ``` Additional install commands: ### macOS - Homebrew (100%): ```sh brew install yaf ``` Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata ## Package facts - **Package key:** brew:yaf - **Package manager:** Homebrew - **Package manager page:** - **Version:** 2.19.3 - **Source summary:** Yet another flowmeter: processes packet data from pcap(3) - **Homepage:** - **Upstream docs:** - **License:** GPL-2.0-only - **Source archive:** - **Last updated:** 2026-05-29T16:19:12Z - **Generated:** 2026-07-08T07:18:31+00:00 ## Executables - airdaemon (cli) - filedaemon (cli) - getFlowKeyHash (cli) - yaf (cli) - yafMeta2Pcap (cli) - yafcollect (cli) - yafscii (cli) - airdaemon (alias) - filedaemon (alias) - getFlowKeyHash (alias) - yaf (alias) - yafMeta2Pcap (alias) - yafcollect (alias) - yafscii (alias) ## Dependencies - gettext - glib - libfixbuf - libtool - pcre2 ## Build dependencies - pkgconf ## Uses from macOS - libpcap ## Install behavior - Post-install hook: not defined - Bottle: available on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, sonoma, x86_64_linux ## Freshness - Page generated: 2026-07-08 - Package-manager version: 2.19.3 - Package-manager updated: 2026-05-29 - Local data: ok - Upstream repository: https://tools.netsa.cert.org/yaf/ - info: Release/tag comparison is only available for GitHub repositories. ## Project history and usage YAF, Yet Another Flowmeter, is CERT NetSA's packet-to-flow sensor for turning live traffic or PCAP captures into bidirectional IPFIX flow records. In package-manager terms it is the flow-metering front end of a larger network-security toolchain rather than a general packet sniffer. ### Project history The NetSA documentation describes YAF as the data collection component of the CERT NetSA Security Suite. Its original purpose was experimental: tracking work in the IETF IPFIX working group, especially bidirectional flow representation, archival storage formats, structured export, and deep packet inspection fields. A 2010 USENIX LISA paper by Christopher M. Inacio and Brian Trammell presented YAF as a reference implementation of an IPFIX metering and exporting process and as a platform for rapid deployment of new flow-meter capabilities. The modern NetSA site keeps both a stable 2.x documentation set and a 3.x pre-release line, showing that the tool remained maintained long after its research-prototype origins. ### Adoption history YAF adoption is tied to operational network monitoring, especially environments that already use SiLK, super_mediator, Analysis Pipeline, Mothra, or other IPFIX-compatible collectors. Its niche is converting high-volume packet observation into compact flow records that analysts can store, query, and correlate without preserving every packet payload. ### How it is used Common usage is to run `yaf` against a live interface, a pcap file, or a list of captures, export IPFIX to a collector, or write an IPFIX-based file for later processing. The documentation emphasizes flow building, DPI fields for protocols such as DNS, SSL, HTTP, and SMTP, and PCAP indexing workflows for retrospective analysis. For package users, the important distinction is that YAF is not a packet-display tool like tcpdump or Wireshark. It is a sensor component that summarizes packet streams into flow data for downstream security analytics. ### Why package nerds care YAF is interesting to package nerds because it packages a research-grade IPFIX metering implementation as a Unix sensor daemon and CLI suite. It also sits at the boundary between standards work, security operations, and package-manager distribution: libpcap in, IPFIX and SiLK-style workflows out. ### Timeline - 2006: The public YAF release history begins with the 0.1.0 series. - 2010: YAF was presented at USENIX LISA as Yet Another Flowmeter, a reference IPFIX metering and exporting implementation. - 2011: The release history records the YAF 2.0.0 line. - 2020s: The NetSA site documents YAF 2.x as stable and YAF 3.x as a pre-release line. ### Related projects - SiLK, super_mediator, Analysis Pipeline, and Mothra are the NetSA tools most directly connected to YAF output. - libpcap and tcpdump are adjacent capture-layer tools, while IPFIX collectors are the protocol-level peers that consume YAF export streams. ### Sources - - - - ## Security Notes No matching local secret-handling manifest was found for yaf. Nucleus package metadata is still published here so future coverage has a stable package URL. ## Source Database Details - **Source Database:** Homebrew formula API - **Tap:** homebrew/core - **Full Name:** yaf - **Version Scheme:** 0 - **Revision:** 0 - **Bottle Stable Root URL:** - **Deprecated:** no - **Disabled:** no - **Keg Only:** no - **URL Keys:** stable ## Related links - [Terminal utility packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/terminal-utilities/) - Matched terminal and command-line workflow metadata. - [Networking and protocol packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/networking-protocol-tools/) - Matched network, protocol, or remote-service metadata. - [Database and data packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/database-data-tools/) - Matched database, SQL, migration, or data-store metadata. - [Homebrew utility packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew-utility-packages/) - Matched Homebrew package provider. - [gettext](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/gettext/) - Runtime dependency declared by Homebrew. - [glib](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/glib/) - Runtime dependency declared by Homebrew. - [libtool](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/libtool/) - Runtime dependency declared by Homebrew. - [pcre2](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/pcre2/) - Runtime dependency declared by Homebrew. - [pkgconf](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/pkgconf/) - Build dependency declared by Homebrew. - [silk](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/silk/) - Popular package that depends on this formula. - [cdpr](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/cdpr/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, network-monitoring, networking. - [nfdump](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/nfdump/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, network-monitoring, networking. - [daemonlogger](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/daemonlogger/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, network-monitoring, networking, packet-capture. - [fastnetmon](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/fastnetmon/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, ipfix, network-monitoring, networking. - [sniffer](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/sniffer/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, network-monitoring, networking, packet-capture. - [tcpdump](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/tcpdump/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, network-monitoring, networking, packet-capture. - [argus](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/argus/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, network-monitoring, networking. - [argus-clients](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/argus-clients/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, network-monitoring, networking. ## Combined YAML source View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/yaf.yml](https://github.com/automic-vault/db/blob/main/combined/yaf.yml) ## Sources - Nucleus package database - Geiger risk classifier - package-page enrichment - curated package history - package version freshness - av.db category and tag curation - package relationship graph - cross-ecosystem install command graph