NetsCLI vs RustScan

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.

RustScan is a free command-line port scanner for finding open network ports. The project says it can scan all 65,000 ports in three seconds, and discovered ports can be passed automatically to Nmap for further analysis. It supports IPv6, CIDR ranges and file input, with scripting in Python, Lua and Shell. Listed capabilities include service detection, operating-system detection and greppable-text output. RustScan describes adaptive learning that uses information about the scan environment and usage to improve over time. The project also says its continuous integration checks whether the scanner becomes significantly slower than the previous version and aims to ensure accessibility. Cargo is the only officially supported installation method, although releases and package-manager options are also listed. The installation guide recommends Docker and says its image works across systems, including Windows, which is not officially supported. The maintainer says RustScan has been tested only on Linux and that macOS or Windows may have issues; the guide also notes macOS's low open-file limit can significantly affect scanning. The project is licensed under GPL-3.0.