A Beginner’s Guide to Using the netstat Command in Linux

netstat (short for network statistics) is a command-line tool for monitoring network connections, diagnosing issues, and gathering important network-related data. Available on Linux, Windows, and macOS, it provides real-time insights into active TCP and UDP connections, listening ports, routing tables, and network interfaces.

netstat command syntax

The basic syntax of the netstat command is:
netstat [options]

Running netstat without options will display a list of active network connections and socket statistics.

netstat command options

Like most Linux commands, netstat provides several options to customize its output. Here are some of the most commonly used options:

-a: Displays all active network connections, including listening and non-listening sockets.
-t: Shows only active TCP connections.
-u: Displays only UDP connections.
-n: Disables hostname resolution and displays numerical IP addresses.
-l: Shows only listening sockets.
-r: Examines the system’s routing tables.
-s: Provides detailed statistics for different network protocols.