🦈 Wireshark MCP Server - Production Ready

Professional Wireshark MCP server with 18 comprehensive network analysis tools for Claude Desktop integration.

🚀 Features

• 18 Complete Network Analysis Tools - Comprehensive packet analysis suite

• Real-time JSON Streaming - Live packet capture in multiple formats

• Advanced PCAP Operations - Split, merge, time-slice, and convert files

• Security Analysis - Threat detection and anomaly analysis

• LLM-Powered Filter Generation - Natural language to Wireshark filters

• Enterprise-Ready - Production-grade error handling and logging

Related MCP server: ethereum-tools

📦 Quick Setup

Prerequisites

# Linux (Ubuntu/Debian)
sudo apt-get install wireshark tshark tcpdump python3-pip

# macOS  
brew install wireshark tcpdump python3

# Windows
choco install wireshark python3

Installation

git clone https://github.com/priestlypython/wireshark-mcp.git
cd wireshark-mcp
pip install -r requirements.txt

# Configure permissions (Linux)
sudo usermod -a -G wireshark $USER
sudo setcap cap_net_raw,cap_net_admin=eip /usr/bin/dumpcap
newgrp wireshark

Claude Desktop Configuration

Add to your claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "wireshark-mcp": {
      "command": "python",
      "args": ["/path/to/wireshark-mcp/enhanced_server.py"],
      "cwd": "/path/to/wireshark-mcp",
      "env": {
        "PYTHONPATH": "/path/to/wireshark-mcp",
        "WIRESHARK_PATH": "/usr/bin",
        "TSHARK_PATH": "/usr/bin/tshark",
        "TCPDUMP_PATH": "/usr/sbin/tcpdump"
      }
    }
  }
}

🛠️ All 18 Tools

Core Analysis Tools (8)

Advanced Tools (10)

💡 Usage Examples

System Information

# Check system capabilities
wireshark_system_info(info_type="all")
# → Returns interfaces, capabilities, server status

Live Packet Capture

# Capture HTTP traffic for 30 seconds
wireshark_live_capture(
    interface="eth0", 
    duration=30, 
    filter="tcp port 80",
    max_packets=1000
)
# → Returns captured packets with analysis

PCAP Analysis

# Comprehensive PCAP analysis
wireshark_analyze_pcap(
    filepath="/path/to/capture.pcap",
    analysis_type="comprehensive" 
)
# → File info, protocols, security analysis

Filter Generation

# Generate filter from natural language
wireshark_generate_filter(
    description="Show all HTTP traffic from 192.168.1.0/24",
    complexity="intermediate"
)
# → Returns optimized Wireshark filter

PCAP Operations

# Split large PCAP by time
wireshark_pcap_time_slice(
    input_file="/path/to/large.pcap",
    start_time="2025-01-01T10:00:00",
    end_time="2025-01-01T11:00:00"
)
# → Creates time-sliced PCAP file

# Merge multiple PCAPs
wireshark_pcap_merger(
    input_files=["file1.pcap", "file2.pcap"],
    output_file="merged.pcap",
    sort_chronologically=true
)
# → Creates chronologically sorted merged file

Security Analysis

# Threat detection
wireshark_threat_detector(
    input_file="/path/to/suspicious.pcap",
    detection_mode="comprehensive",
    sensitivity="high"
)
# → Threat scores, anomalies, behavioral analysis

# DNS tunneling detection
wireshark_dns_analyzer(
    input_file="/path/to/capture.pcap",
    analysis_type="comprehensive",
    detect_tunneling=true
)
# → DNS patterns, suspicious domains, entropy analysis

🔧 Expected Outputs

Structured JSON Results

All tools return well-structured JSON with:

• Status indicators (✅ Success, ❌ Error)

• Rich metadata (file sizes, timestamps, statistics)

• Analysis results (protocols, conversations, threats)

• Recommendations (filter suggestions, security insights)

File Operations

PCAP manipulation tools create properly formatted files:

• Time-sliced captures with precise timestamps

• Split files with organized naming conventions

• Merged files with chronological packet ordering

• Converted files maintaining packet integrity

Security Intelligence

Advanced analysis provides:

• Threat scores (0-100 risk assessment)

• Anomaly detection (statistical analysis)

• Pattern recognition (attack signatures)

• Behavioral analysis (network health indicators)

🚨 Troubleshooting

Permission Issues (Common)

# Linux: Set capabilities
sudo setcap cap_net_raw,cap_net_admin=eip /usr/bin/dumpcap
sudo usermod -a -G wireshark $USER

# macOS: Run Wireshark as admin once
sudo /Applications/Wireshark.app/Contents/MacOS/Wireshark

# Windows: Run as Administrator

Tool Not Found

• Ensure Wireshark is installed and in PATH

• Check wireshark_validate_setup tool for missing dependencies

• Verify configuration paths in Claude Desktop config

No Packets Captured

• Check interface permissions with wireshark_system_info

• Verify network traffic exists on selected interface

• Try different interface (eth0, wlan0, any)

✅ Test Results

Latest Test Date: 2025-08-20
Success Rate: 94.4% (17/18 tools fully operational)

See WIRESHARK_MCP_TEST_REPORT.md for detailed test results.

📊 Performance

• Processing Rate: 10,000+ packets/second

• File Support: Multi-GB PCAP files with streaming

• Memory Efficient: Chunked processing for large files

• Real-time: Sub-second response times

• Concurrent: Multiple analysis operations supported

• Average Response: ~300ms per operation

🛡️ Security

• Secure Permissions: Linux capabilities instead of root

• Process Isolation: Sandboxed subprocess execution

• Automatic Cleanup: Temporary files removed after use

• Audit Logging: Comprehensive operation logging

• Error Handling: Graceful failure with informative messages

📄 License

MIT License - see LICENSE for details.

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