jNetPcap Bindings

Low-level libpcap bindings for Java using Panama Foreign Function & Memory API.

jNetPcap Bindings provides direct access to libpcap from Java via the Panama FFM API. This is the version 3 release of the popular jNetPcap library, originally hosted on SourceForge.net.

Note: Version 3 uses Panama FFM (not JNI). Requires JDK 22+.

1. Overview
2. Architecture
3. Quick Start
4. Examples
5. Dependencies
6. Installation
7. Documentation
8. Contact
9. Migration from v1/v2

Direct libpcap access from Java using Panama Foreign Function & Memory API for zero-overhead native calls.

Key Features:

• Zero-Overhead Native Calls - Panama FFM provides near-native performance
• Type-Safe Bindings - Java-friendly API wrapping libpcap functions
• Memory Safety - Automatic resource management via Arena scopes
• Cross-Platform - Linux, Windows (Npcap/WinPcap), macOS

┌─────────────────────────┐
│    Java Application     │
└───────────┬─────────────┘
            │
┌───────────▼─────────────┐
│   jnetpcap-bindings     │  ◄── This module
│   (Panama FFM API)      │
└───────────┬─────────────┘
            │
┌───────────▼─────────────┐
│  libpcap / Npcap        │
└───────────┬─────────────┘
            │
┌───────────▼─────────────┐
│   Operating System      │
└───────────┬─────────────┘
            │
┌───────────▼─────────────┐
│  Network Interface      │
└─────────────────────────┘

For higher-level packet capture and protocol analysis, see jnetpcap-api and jnetpcap-sdk.

<dependencyManagement>
    <dependencies>
        <dependency>
            <groupId>com.slytechs.sdk</groupId>
            <artifactId>sdk-bom</artifactId>
            <version>3.0.0</version>
            <type>pom</type>
            <scope>import</scope>
        </dependency>
    </dependencies>
</dependencyManagement>

<dependencies>
    <dependency>
        <groupId>com.slytechs.sdk</groupId>
        <artifactId>jnetpcap-bindings</artifactId>
    </dependency>
</dependencies>

module your.module {
    requires com.slytechs.jnet.jnetpcap;
}

void main() throws PcapException {
    List<PcapIf> devices = Pcap.findAllDevs();
    
    try (Pcap pcap = Pcap.create(devices.getFirst())) {
        pcap.activate();
        
        pcap.loop(1, (String msg, PcapHeader header, byte[] packet) -> {
            System.out.printf("Captured %d bytes%n", header.captureLength());
        }, "Capture Example");
    }
}

void main() throws PcapException {
    byte[] packetBytes = HexStrings.parseHexString("0026622f4787...");
    List<PcapIf> devices = Pcap.findAllDevs();
    
    try (Pcap pcap = Pcap.create(devices.getFirst())) {
        pcap.activate();
        pcap.sendPacket(packetBytes);
    }
}

void main() throws PcapException, InterruptedException {
    List<PcapIf> devices = Pcap.findAllDevs();
    
    try (Pcap pcap = Pcap.create(devices.getFirst())) {
        pcap.activate();
        
        for (int i = 0; i < 5; i++) {
            System.out.println(pcap.stats());
            Thread.sleep(1000);
        }
    }
}

java --enable-native-access=com.slytechs.jnet.jnetpcap \
     -Djava.library.path=/usr/lib \
     -jar your-app.jar

• JDK 22+ - Required for Panama FFM API

One of:

• libpcap (Linux/macOS)
• Npcap (Windows, recommended)
• WinPcap (Windows, legacy)

<dependencyManagement>
    <dependencies>
        <dependency>
            <groupId>com.slytechs.sdk</groupId>
            <artifactId>sdk-bom</artifactId>
            <version>3.0.0</version>
            <type>pom</type>
            <scope>import</scope>
        </dependency>
    </dependencies>
</dependencyManagement>

<dependencies>
    <dependency>
        <groupId>com.slytechs.sdk</groupId>
        <artifactId>jnetpcap-bindings</artifactId>
    </dependency>
</dependencies>

<dependency>
    <groupId>com.slytechs.sdk</groupId>
    <artifactId>jnetpcap-bindings</artifactId>
    <version>3.0.0</version>
</dependency>

dependencies {
    implementation platform('com.slytechs.sdk:sdk-bom:3.0.0')
    implementation 'com.slytechs.sdk:jnetpcap-bindings'
}

• GitHub Wiki - User guides and examples
• Javadocs - API documentation
• SDK BOM - Version management

• Email: sales@slytechs.com
• Website: www.slytechs.com

Protocol dissection (Ethernet, IP, TCP, etc.) is available via separate modules:

• sdk-protocol-tcpip - TCP/IP stack
• sdk-protocol-web - Web protocols
• jnetpcap-api - High-level capture API
• jnetpcap-sdk - Complete SDK starter

For detailed migration instructions, see the Wiki.

• jnetpcap-api - High-level packet capture API
• jnetpcap-sdk - Complete SDK starter (recommended)
• sdk-protocol-tcpip - TCP/IP protocol pack
• sdk-common - Core utilities

Sly Technologies Inc. - High-performance network analysis solutions

Website: www.slytechs.com