Options to go to a specific packet CaptureĮdit capture filters and start and stop captures. ViewĬhange display of capture data such as colorization of pakcets, showing packet in another window, zooming font, and collapsing and expanding trees. Open/Merge capture files, save, print, export, and quit Wireshark Editįind, time reference, or mark a packet. The Menu displays 11 different items: File Wireshark’s main menu, “The Menu,” is located at the top of the window when run on Windows and Linux and the top of the screen when run on macOS. Primary Areas of the Wireshark Start Screen There are four primary areas to the start screen, some of which will carry over into the working screen once you pick an interface to work capture traffic from. When you first open Wireshark you’ll be presented with the start screen. Rest assured, primary functionality remains the same so this tutorial should still be easy to understand. Since Wireshark is built for several different platforms using several different window managers, styles, and versions of the GUI toolkit there may be slight variations in your Wireshark’s screen display. I’ve created this guide to try and break down the user interface for you and reduce that intimidation factor so you can quickly learn the tool (and become more awesome for it).

Unfortunately, it’s also an intimidating tool because it throws a lot of options and data at you at once. Wireshark is an incredibly valuable tool for any networking professional.

Wireshark command line cheat sheet