NetsCLI vs PortScan.com

NetsCLI is an open-source network scanner for discovering LAN devices, scanning TCP and UDP ports, querying DNS, and inspecting hosts. It runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows, with a desktop app, terminal UI, command-line interface, and MCP server built on one Rust core. The desktop app supports multiple investigation tabs, sortable and filterable results, exports, and scan history. Discovery can add reverse DNS, ARP cache details, MAC addresses, and device makers when the operating system has that information. Network operations in the CLI support JSON and YAML output; list commands also support CSV and Markdown. The MCP server runs over stdio and exposes structured network tools to compatible AI clients, including Claude Code and Cursor. NetsCLI is MIT-licensed and free for personal, open-source, and commercial use. Its binaries and installers are said to be checksummed and signed with Sigstore cosign. Packet capture requires separate downloads and libpcap on Linux or macOS, or Npcap on Windows. It does not provide remote administration and lacks advanced service detection, NSE scripts, and OS fingerprinting.

PortScan.com is a free cloud service that checks TCP ports on the public IP address making the request and reports whether each is open, closed or filtered. Fast scan checks 32 common ports in about 20 seconds. Deep scan checks all 65,535 TCP ports and includes service version detection. The target comes from the visitor’s connection, so another IP address cannot be entered. An API offers polling endpoints and a streaming v2 endpoint, requires no signup or API key, and supports IPv4 and IPv6. Webhook callbacks can report scan completion or failure for CI/CD pipelines and monitoring scripts. An MCP server provides fast_scan and deep_scan tools with setup instructions for several coding and chat tools. The API supports JSON exports, TCP scans only, and results expire after 24 hours. PortScan.com lists scanning nodes in the Netherlands, France and the UK, with results stored in an EU database. It says metadata is logged for 180 days and that the scan is a basic port check, not a security audit; results may be incomplete or inaccurate.