Arkime vs Termshark

Arkime is a free, open-source network analysis and session search tool that passively observes traffic and creates searchable session records. It parses layers 3–7 and indexes fields including protocols, DNS names, HTTP headers, TLS/JA4 fingerprints, file hashes, and GeoIP in OpenSearch or Elasticsearch. Operators can store full packets in standard PCAP format or use metadata-only capture, with rules to select traffic for saving. Users can search sessions, inspect packet data, and export results as PCAP or CSV. Cont3xt enriches supported indicators using commercial and OSINT sources, including VirusTotal, Censys, and Shodan; phone enrichment is limited to the U.S. Parliament groups clusters and displays cluster issues and Elasticsearch health. Capture can scale by adding machines or increasing CPU and disk. Arkime has no license fees or paid-only features. Installation guidance covers Linux, recommends Debian or Ubuntu LTS, and links to a container guide. OpenSearch or Elasticsearch is required for session metadata. Authentication options include basic, form, digest, header, and OIDC, while the project advises against anonymous authentication.

Termshark is a terminal interface for tshark, inspired by Wireshark, for inspecting saved packet captures and live network traffic. It can read pcap files and sniff live interfaces when tshark permits, then apply Wireshark display filters to either. Users can inspect and reassemble TCP and UDP flows, search packets, copy packet ranges, and view conversations involving Ethernet, IPv4, IPv6, UDP, and TCP. Version 2.4 added packet search and profiles for colors and columns. It supports 16-color, 256-color, and truecolor terminal modes. The project lists Linux, macOS, BSD variants, Android through Termux, and Windows, with precompiled executables available through GitHub releases. Termshark is aimed at remote debugging where a large capture can be examined on the remote machine rather than copied to a desktop. It is free and MIT licensed. Packet analysis requires tshark 1.10.2 or newer in PATH; the project notes that tshark has features Termshark does not expose.