tldr/pages/common/nc.md

nc

Netcat is a versatile utility for working with TCP or UDP data.

• Listen on a specified port and print any data received:

nc -l {{port}}

• Connect to a certain port (you can then write to this port):

nc {{ip_address}} {{port}}

• Set a timeout:

nc -w {{timeout_in_seconds}} {{ipaddress}} {{port}}

• Serve a file:

nc -l {{port}} < {{file}}

• Receive a file:

nc {{ip_address}} {{port}} > {{file}}

• Server stay up after client detach:

nc -k -l {{port}}

• Client stay up after EOF:

nc -q {{timeout}} {{ip_address}}

• Scan the open ports of a specified host:

nc -v -z {{ip_address}} {{port}}

• Act as proxy and forward data from a local TCP port to the given remote host:

nc -l {{local_port}} | nc {{hostname}} {{remote_port}}