portwave
portwave is a free command-line scanner for IPv4 and IPv6 targets on Linux, macOS, and Windows.
What portwave is
portwave is a free command-line scanner for IPv4 and IPv6 targets on Linux, macOS, and Windows. It accepts IP addresses, CIDR blocks, ranges, domains, and ASNs, including mixed inputs. Its adaptive TCP connect scans use a curated port list by default; the --all-ports option requests all 65,535 TCP ports. For confirmed HTTP targets, its pipeline can gather banners, TLS details, certificate names and issuers, and nuclei findings. It resolves domains in parallel, filters wildcard DNS, and skips known CDN edge IPs by default, with options to enrich hostnames or scan those edges. Output files can include scan results, HTTP enrichment, SSL findings, summaries, and differences between runs. Packet rate and maximum scan time can be constrained, and small scopes pace simultaneous probes per host. Large IPv6 scopes are refused unless overridden; smart IPv6 mode can sample likely addresses in large ranges. Portwave uses TCP connect scanning, not raw sockets or root, and classifies protocols rather than fingerprinting service versions. The maker describes it as a security-research tool and directs users to scan only systems they own or have written permission to assess.
Good
- Accepts IPs, ranges, domains, and ASNs
- Adds HTTP, TLS, and certificate findings
- Can export JSONL, JSON, and TXT
- Rate and maximum scan time can be constrained
Watch out
- Uses TCP connect scans, not SYN scans
- Does not fingerprint service versions beyond protocol classification
- No IDS evasion or ICMP host discovery preflight
- All TCP ports require an explicit option
Who it suits
Portwave suits security researchers who need a command-line scanner for authorized IPv4 or IPv6 targets. It is available on Linux, macOS, and Windows.
Verdict
Portwave combines port scanning with HTTP and SSL enrichment and file-based results. Its documented limits matter: it does not provide SYN scanning, deeper service-version fingerprinting, or IDS evasion.
The facts
Each one read from portwave's own pages, with the date it was checked.
What it does
- DNS and CDN handling
- It resolves domains in parallel, filters wildcard DNS, and skips known CDN edge IPs by default, with options to enrich hostnames or scan CDN edges.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Enrichment
- The pipeline includes banner grabbing, TLS inspection, native HTTP(S) probing, certificate SAN and issuer extraction, and nuclei scans of confirmed HTTP targets.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Inputs
- It accepts IPs, CIDRs, ranges, domains, and ASNs, including mixed target types.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Installation
- The maker provides install instructions for Linux and macOS and for Windows, plus commands to update, check for updates, and uninstall.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Integrations
- The README documents piping subfinder output into portwave and using ProjectDiscovery nuclei for vulnerability scanning when installed.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Intended use
- The maker describes portwave as a security-research tool and says to scan only systems owned by the user or covered by written permission.checked 8 Oct 2026
- IPv6 limits
- Scopes larger than 2²⁰ hosts are refused unless an override is used; --smart-ipv6 can sample likely addresses in large ranges.checked 8 Oct 2026
- IPv6 scope
- Scopes larger than 2²⁰ hosts are refused unless an override is used; smart IPv6 mode samples likely addresses for large ranges.checked 8 Oct 2026
- License
- The repository identifies the software as MIT licensed.checked 8 Oct 2026
- License and support
- The repository identifies the project as MIT licensed and directs users to GitHub issues and pull requests.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Limitations
- Portwave uses TCP connect scans without raw sockets or root, does not fingerprint service versions beyond protocol classification, and has no IDS evasion or ICMP discovery preflight.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Outputs
- It writes scan results, HTTP enrichment, SSL findings, summaries, and run-to-run port differences to files.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- Portwave is an IPv4/IPv6 port scanner with HTTP(S) enrichment, SSL reconnaissance, and a nuclei pipeline.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Rate controls
- Scans can be constrained by packet rate and maximum scan time, and small scopes pace simultaneous probes per host.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Results
- Scan outputs include open-port evidence, HTTP enrichment, SSL findings, nuclei findings, summaries, and scan diffs.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Scanning
- It uses adaptive TCP connect scanning and can scan all 65,535 TCP ports when explicitly requested.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Scope limits
- A bare scan uses a curated port list; scanning all 65535 TCP ports requires the explicit --all-ports option.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Security behavior
- The README says bundled OpenSSL accepts self-signed, expired, hostname-mismatched, and malformed certificates so the scanner can inspect responses.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Support
- The maker directs users to GitHub Issues and pull requests for contact and support.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Targets
- It accepts IPs, CIDRs, ranges, domains, and ASNs, including mixed target inputs.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Technical limits
- Portwave uses TCP connect scanning and does not provide SYN scans, service-version fingerprinting beyond a 9-label protocol classification, IDS evasion, or ICMP host discovery.checked 8 Oct 2026
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