Wireshark Cheat Sheet

All the information that has been provided in the cheat sheet is also visible further down this page in a format that is easy to copy and paste.

The cheat sheet covers:

    • Wireshark Capturing Modes
    • Filter Types
    • Capture Filter Syntax
    • Display Filter Syntax
    • Protocols – Values
    • Filtering packets (Display Filters)
    • Logical Operators
    • Default columns in a packet capture output
    • Miscellaneous Items
    • Keyboard Shortcuts
    • Common Filtering Commands
    • Main Toolbar Items

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Wireshark Cheat Sheet Downloadable JPG

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What’s included in the Wireshark cheat sheet?

The following categories and items have been included in the cheat sheet:

Wireshark Capturing Modes

Wireshark Capturing Modes


Promiscuous mode


Sets interface to capture all packets on a network segment to which it is associated to


Monitor mode


setup the Wireless interface to capture all traffic it can receive (Unix/Linux only)


Filter Types

Filter Types


Capture filter


Filter packets during capture


Display Filter


Hide Packets from a capture display


Capture Filter Syntax

Capture filter Syntax


Syntax


protocol


direction


hosts


value


Logical operator


Expressions


Example


tcp


src


192.168.1.1


80


and


tcp dst 202.164.30.1


Display Filter Syntax

Display Filter Syntax


Syntax


protocol


String 1


String 2


Comparison Operator


value


logical operator


Expressions


Example


http


dest


ip


==


192.168.1.1


and


tcp port


Protocols – Values

Protocols - Values


ether, fddi, ip, arp, rarp, decnet, lat, sca, moprc, mopdl, tcp and udp


Filtering packets (Display Filters)

Filtering packets (Display Filters)


Operator


Description


Example


eq or ==


Equal


ip.dest == 192.168.1.1


ne or !=


Not Equal


ip.dest != 192.168.1.1


gt or >


Greater than


frame.len > 10


lt or <


Less than


frame.len <10


ge or >=


Greater than or Equal


frame.len >= 10


le or <=


Less than or Equal


frame.len<=10


Miscellaneous Items

Miscellaneous


Slice Operator


[…] - Range of values


Membership Operator


{} - In


CTRL+E -


Start/Stop Capturing


Logical Operators

Logical Operators


Operator


Description


Example


and or &&


Logical AND


All the conditions should match


or or ||


Logical OR


Either all or one of the condition should match


xor or ^^


Logical XOR


exclusive alternation – Only one of the two conditions should match not both


not or !


NOT(Negation)


Not equal to


[n] […]


Substring operator


Filter a specific word or text


Default columns in a packet capture output

Default columns in a packet capture output


No.


Frame number from the beginning of the packet capture


Time


Seconds from the first frame


Source (src)


Source address, commonly an IPv4, IPv6 or Ethernet address


Destination (dst)


Destination address


Protocol


Protocol used in the Ethernet frame, IP packet, or TCP segment


Length


Length of the frame in bytes


Keyboard Shortcuts

Keyboard Shortcuts – main display window


Accelerator


Description


Accelerator


Description


Tab or Shift+Tab


Move between screen elements, e.g. from the toolbars to the packet list to the packet detail.


Alt+ or Option+


Move to the next packet in the selection history.



Move to the next packet or detail item.



In the packet detail, opens the selected tree item.



Move to the previous packet or detail item.


Shift+


In the packet detail, opens the selected tree item and all of its subtrees.


Ctrl+ or F8


Move to the next packet, even if the packet list isn’t focused.


Ctrl+


In the packet detail, opens all tree items.


Ctrl+ or F7


Move to the previous packet, even if the packet list isn’t focused.


Ctrl+


In the packet detail, closes all tree items.


Ctrl+.


Move to the next packet of the conversation (TCP, UDP or IP).


Backspace


In the packet detail, jumps to the parent node.


Ctrl+,


Move to the previous packet of the conversation (TCP, UDP or IP).


Return or Enter


In the packet detail, toggles the selected tree item.


Common Filtering Commands

Usage


Filter syntax


Wireshark Filter by IP


ip.addr == 10.10.50.1


Filter by Destination IP


ip.dest == 10.10.50.1


Filter by Source IP


ip.src == 10.10.50.1


Filter by IP range


ip.addr >= 10.10.50.1 and ip.addr <= 10.10.50.100


Filter by Multiple Ips


ip.addr == 10.10.50.1 and ip.addr == 10.10.50.100


Filter out/ Exclude IP address


!(ip.addr == 10.10.50.1)


Filter IP subnet


ip.addr == 10.10.50.1/24


Filter by multiple specified IP subnets

ip.addr == 10.10.50.1/24 and ip.addr == 10.10.51.1/24

Filter by Protocol

  • dns
  • http
  • ftp
  • ssh
  • arp
  • telnet
  • icmp

Filter by port (TCP)


tcp.port == 25


Filter by destination port (TCP)


tcp.dstport == 23


Filter by ip address and port


ip.addr == 10.10.50.1 and Tcp.port == 25


Filter by URL


http.host == “host name”


Filter by time stamp


frame.time >= “June 02, 2019 18:04:00”


Filter SYN flag


tcp.flags.syn == 1


tcp.flags.syn == 1 and tcp.flags.ack == 0


Wireshark Beacon Filter


wlan.fc.type_subtype = 0x08


Wireshark broadcast filter


eth.dst == ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff


WiresharkMulticast filter


(eth.dst[0] & 1)


Host name filter


ip.host = hostname


MAC address filter


eth.addr == 00:70:f4:23:18:c4


RST flag filter


tcp.flags.reset == 1


Main Toolbar Items

Main toolbar items Screenshot

Main toolbar items


Toolbar Icon


Toolbar Item


Menu Item


Description


 Capture start

Start


Capture → Start


Uses the same packet capturing options as the previous session, or uses defaults if no options were set


 Capture stop

Stop


Capture → Stop


Stops currently active capture


 Capture restart

Restart


Capture → Restart


Restarts active capture session


 Options

Options…


Capture → Options…


Opens “Capture Options” dialog box


 Open

Open…


File → Open…


Opens "File open" dialog box to load a capture for viewing


 Save As

Save As…


File → Save As…


Save current capture file


 Close

Close


File → Close


Close current capture file


 File reload

Reload


View → Reload


Reloads current capture file


 Find packet

Find Packet…


Edit → Find Packet…


Find packet based on different criteria


 Go Back

Go Back


Go → Go Back


Jump back in the packet history


 

Go Forward


Go → Go Forward


Jump forward in the packet history


 Go to packet

Go to Packet…


Go → Go to Packet…


Go to specific packet


 Go to first packet

Go To First Packet


Go → First Packet


Jump to first packet of the capture file


 Go to last packet

Go To Last Packet


Go → Last Packet


Jump to last packet of the capture file


 Auto scroll

Auto Scroll in Live Capture


View → Auto Scroll in Live Capture


Auto scroll packet list during live capture


 Colorize

Colorize


View → Colorize


Colorize the packet list (or not)


 Zoom in

Zoom In


View → Zoom In


Zoom into the packet data (increase the font size)


Zoom out

Zoom Out


View → Zoom Out


Zoom out of the packet data (decrease the font size)


 Zoom level

Normal Size


View → Normal Size


Set zoom level back to 100%


 Resize Columns

Resize Columns


View → Resize Columns


Resize columns, so the content fits to the width


Lesser known yet handy Wireshark features

  1. Statistics and analysis tools: Wireshark comes with a range of built-in tools to analyze network data. Examples include the ability to visualize statistics, like protocol hierarchy, endpoints, packet lengths, and more. I added this command as an example: Statistics > Protocol Hierarchy.
  2. Stream Follow: The ability to follow a TCP, UDP, or SSL/TLS stream, which can be very useful for understanding what’s happening in a particular connection. I added this example: Right-click on a packet and select Follow > TCP Stream.
  3. Exporting and Saving Data: Commands for exporting specific packets, saving packet data, or creating PCAP files can also be useful. I added this example: File > Export Specified Packets....
  4. Capture Interfaces: Selecting and managing capture interfaces can be helpful. I added this example: Capture > Options > Manage Interfaces.
  5. Time Display Format and Precision: Commands for changing the time display format and precision might also be helpful for some users. I added this example:, View > Time Display Format > Seconds Since Beginning of Capture.

More Wireshark tutorials:

Wireshark FAQs

What are the filters in Wireshark?

Wireshark filters reduce the number of packets displayed in the Wireshark data viewer. This function lets you see the packets that are relevant to your research. There are two types of filters:

  • capture filters
  • display filters

Applying a filter to the packet capture process reduces the volume of traffic that Wireshark reads

How do I capture a filter in Wireshark?

You can reduce the amount of packets Wireshark copies with a capture filter.

  1. Locate the Capture section on the Home screen. The first line in this section is labeled using this filter:
  2. The file that follows this prompt allows you to enter a filter statement.
  3. Select an interface to capture from and then click on the shark fin icon on the menu bar to start a capture.

If you don’t see the Home page:

  1. Click on Capture on the menu bar and then select Options from that drop-down menu. You will see a list of available interfaces and the capture filter field towards the bottom of the screen.
  2. Select an interface by clicking on it, enter the filter text, then click on the Start button.

How does Wireshark capture packets?

Wireshark accesses a separate program to collect packets from the wire of the network through the network card of the computer that hosts it. This program is based on the pcap protocol, which is implemented in libpcap for Unix, Linux, and macOS, and by WinPCap on Windows. The installer for Wireshark will also install the necessary pcap program.