libnetfilter-queue ☆

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Description:
Userspace API to packets queued by the kernel packet filter

Type: Formula | Tracked Since: Dec 28, 2025

Links: Homepage | formulae.brew.sh

Category: Networking

Tags: networking security firewall netfilter kernel

Install: brew install libnetfilter-queue

About:
Libnetfilter_queue provides a userspace API for accessing packets queued by the kernel's netfilter framework. It enables applications to receive, modify, and verdict packets, serving as the interface for user-space implementations of connection tracking and packet filtering. This library is essential for developing custom network security tools and firewalls.

Key Features:

Provides a safe and efficient interface to the kernel's packet queue
Supports packet modification and verdicting (accept, drop, drop-and-destroy)
Part of the comprehensive netfilter/iptables ecosystem
Uses Netlink for communication with the kernel

Use Cases:

Developing custom user-space firewalls
Implementing Intrusion Detection/Prevention Systems (IDS/IPS)
Creating traffic analysis and monitoring tools
Building Network Address Translation (NAT) applications

Alternatives:

libpcap – libpcap is for packet capture and analysis, whereas libnetfilter_queue is for interacting with and controlling packets via netfilter.
nfnetlink_queue – The kernel subsystem itself; libnetfilter_queue is the userspace library that interfaces with it.

Version History

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