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Show HN: I built a macOS tool for network engineers – it's called NetViews

144 points by n1sni ago | 41 comments

Hi HN — I’m the developer of NetViews, a macOS utility I built because I wanted better visibility into what was actually happening on my wired and wireless networks.

I live in the CLI, but for discovery and ongoing monitoring, I kept bouncing between tools, terminals, and mental context switches. I wanted something faster and more visual, without losing technical depth — so I built a GUI that brings my favorite diagnostics together in one place.

About three months ago, I shared an early version here and got a ton of great feedback. I listened: a new name (it was PingStalker), a longer trial, and a lot of new features. Today I’m excited to share NetViews 2.3.

NetViews started because I wanted to know if something on the network was scanning my machine. Once I had that, I wanted quick access to core details—external IP, Wi-Fi data, and local topology. Then I wanted more: fast, reliable scans using ARP tables and ICMP.

As a Wi-Fi engineer, I couldn’t stop there. I kept adding ways to surface what’s actually going on behind the scenes.

Discovery & Scanning: * ARP, ICMP, mDNS, and DNS discovery to enumerate every device on your subnet (IP, MAC, vendor, open ports). * Fast scans using ARP tables first, then ICMP, to avoid the usual “nmap wait”.

Wireless Visibility: * Detailed Wi-Fi connection performance and signal data. * Visual and audible tools to quickly locate the access point you’re associated with.

Monitoring & Timelines: * Connection and ping timelines over 1, 2, 4, or 8 hours. * Continuous “live ping” monitoring to visualize latency spikes, packet loss, and reconnects.

Low-level Traffic (but only what matters): * Live capture of DHCP, ARP, 802.1X, LLDP/CDP, ICMP, and off-subnet chatter. * mDNS decoded into human-readable output (this took months of deep dives).

Under the hood, it’s written in Swift. It uses low-level BSD sockets for ICMP and ARP, Apple’s Network framework for interface enumeration, and selectively wraps existing command-line tools where they’re still the best option. The focus has been on speed and low overhead.

I’d love feedback from anyone who builds or uses network diagnostic tools: - Does this fill a gap you’ve personally hit on macOS? - Are there better approaches to scan speed or event visualization that you’ve used? - What diagnostics do you still find yourself dropping to the CLI for?

Details and screenshots: https://netviews.app There’s a free trial and paid licenses; I’m funding development directly rather than ads or subscriptions. Licenses include free upgrades.

Happy to answer any technical questions about the implementation, Swift APIs, or macOS permission model.

hubabuba44 |next [-]

It looks very slick!

Cool to see more network tools for macOS.

For anyone who does prefer a CLI-based approach, I maintain RustNet https://github.com/domcyrus/rustnet which is open source and cross-platform (Linux, macOS, Windows) with real-time connection monitoring, deep packet inspection, process identification, and a terminal UI. Obviously a different kind of tool than a polished GUI app like this, but if you live in the terminal or want something you can script and automate, it might be worth a look.

On the macOS network tools side, have you looked into PKTAP? I use it in RustNet to get process-level attribution for network connections. Might be worth exploring if you want to tie traffic back to specific processes.

n1sni |root |parent [-]

As a rust lover I'll take a look! Thanks

billyhoffman |next |previous [-]

Congratulations on shipping! Looks awesome.

Minor bug: I tried opening the WebP screen shots in another tab so I could zoom and see them more clearly, and it does not work. Chrome renders the WebP image data as text, and Safari prompts you to download it. This appears to be because the web server is not returning a `Content-Type` header for these URLs:

curl --head https://www.netviews.app/_astro/ss7.D8bYvHF6_1awjYx.webp

EDIT: Fixed! I see a Content-Type header now

n1sni |root |parent [-]

GREAT catch!! I think this is resolved now!

curl --head https://www.netviews.app/_astro/ss7.D8bYvHF6_1awjYx.webp HTTP/1.1 200 OK Date: Tue, 10 Feb 2026 16:54:07 GMT Server: Apache X-Content-Type-Options: nosniff X-Frame-Options: SAMEORIGIN X-XSS-Protection: 1; mode=block Referrer-Policy: strict-origin-when-cross-origin Strict-Transport-Security: max-age=31536000; includeSubDomains Upgrade: h2,h2c Connection: Upgrade Last-Modified: Tue, 10 Feb 2026 16:46:18 GMT ETag: "d312-64a7afe97fe46" Accept-Ranges: bytes Content-Length: 54034 Content-Type: image/webp

billyhoffman |root |parent [-]

Minor suggestion. I found this because the UI looked cool and I wanted to see a more zoomed in view of it. But right now the "Take control of your network today" is the only place with a really readable view of the UI. Perhaps add a gallery of screen shots, showing off different features?

n1sni |root |parent [-]

Noted! The help section on the site shows quite a bit more detail (although, it needs updating)... but you bring up a great point.

peddling-brink |next |previous [-]

Looks very neat.

Have you considered offering it through the App Store? I would pay a modestly higher price for that. Or for open source.

But the combination of closed source and not being on the App Store is a bit of a dealbreaker for me.

n1sni |root |parent |next [-]

I have considered it, but it would lose a lot of features. It would have to be a "lite" version. To get what we need, we would have to use an external device (think Raspberry Pi) to get the information needed. It's something we are looking at... but as a network guy, I use stuff outside the app store every day (Wireshark, Ekahau, etc.) and have no issue with it.

runjake |root |parent |next |previous [-]

I am not the OP, but my guess is that it uses APIs that disqualify it from the App Store. It looks like they are doing stuff with raw sockets and probably using some stuff from private 802.11 frameworks?

The app looks fantastic. I'll probably end up buying it.

billyp-rva |root |parent |next |previous [-]

I'm very curious as someone who also offers Mac software but not on the app store... why is not being on there a dealbreaker?

jon-wood |root |parent |next [-]

Not the OP, but for me it's a combination of factors. For subscription software I like knowing I can cancel easily and will keep that subscription til the end of my current term. More generally it just means I know it'll be accessible to me in the future, regardless of whether your company goes bust and stops paying for the license activation servers.

lenkite |root |parent [-]

They are less accessible in the future. Apps on the macOS App Store (as well as iOS, iPadOS, etc.) are taken down / removed from availability if the developer stops paying the Apple Developer Program subscription.

asqueella |root |parent |previous [-]

People outside US may be able to pay through App store, but not through whatever payment processor you use.

reboot81 |root |parent |previous [-]

For me it’s dealbreaker that it’s available via homebrew.

Not a stance or anything, but when I get a new Mac I use homebrew bundle If it’s not in my brewfile from old Mac, theres a high probability I won’t get it installed.

n1sni |root |parent |next [-]

This is actually really cool. I use Homebrew all the time, but didn't know GUI paid apps were a thing. Wow. THANK YOU! Coming to brew line near you soon :)

n1sni |root |parent |previous [-]

I don't have a lot of experience with this... I'll look into it.

PonyoSunshine |next |previous [-]

I talked to you last month when you posted this. I did end up buying a copy, and it has been somewhat useful.

Three things, it drives me nuts when it migates to the localhost interface, but doesn't migrate back. Either, we need to lock to an interface, or just have the option to remove one.

Two, constantly bouncing in the dock is incredibly annoying and distracting. We don't need more distractions, we need less.

Three, showing the wifi mesh info has actually proven to help, but it would really be even more helpful if you could expand that to rates and more wifi protocols.

n1sni |root |parent [-]

Hello! I think I might have missed that feedback - please send again!

1) This has been fixed - if you update, it will automatically move back to the default gateway interface. 2) That can be disabled in the settings... 3) On it's way :)

brailsafe |next |previous [-]

Looks great I don't have a nees for it, but I'm also happy to see more specialized tools being built natively for macOS, despite Apple's poor releases lately. I have no plans to use anything but a mac in the near future, and normally am happy to pay for a well-crafted mac first app.

Did you use or have any problems with SwiftUI that you found workarounds for? It's been a while since I've played with it, but last I checked it was a bit underperforming and opaque

edmundsauto |next |previous [-]

If I may offer a marketing suggestion - make it easy for people to do a “proam” workflow to setup their own network. A “one click to diagnose and visualize your Wi-Fi setup”. And then write content around that.

This tool looks more powerful than what I would use, but if there were a kid version, I’d like someone to tell me how to improve my network performance.

n1sni |root |parent [-]

I've been thinking more and more about this - with all the crazy number of variables, it would be hard to code. So, I've been thinking of collecting EVERYTHING this gets, and then using AI to assist with a summary/description written for a 5-year-old :) Not sure I like the approach, but worth looking into.

phubbard |next |previous [-]

Looks useful and I like the UI, it reminds me of UniFi. After a few minutes I had to force-quit and sent a report. I will buy it, I love messing about and have a reasonably complex home network and have been getting by with a mix of Unix and homemade tools; this is nicer.

n1sni |root |parent [-]

Interesting! I haven't run into that. I've been doing a ton of testing to avoid things like that. If it happens again, would you mind emailing me the report via the website? I don't get them when sent to Apple.

nickthegreek |next |previous [-]

The info on your About page

>NetViews is a modern, macOS network scanning app inspired by the specialized needs of IT, engineering, and network professionals. It combines host discovery, port scanning, real-time monitoring, and vendor/DNS insights with a clean, native interface - giving you the tools you need without the complexity you don't.

Should be right on the front page above the fold.

n1sni |root |parent [-]

Awesome feedback. I just re-did the site 2 days ago - so still moving stuff around. But you are RIGHT.

yohannparis |next |previous [-]

Great job, I will give it a try. As I'm more interested for personal use, can it help me find the best WiFi channel to use for my network, as I live in a dense populated area?

n1sni |root |parent [-]

Yes - by telling you what ones NOT to use. Click audit and then Wi-Fi Checklist. Choose your network, and then it will tell you if you are on a good channel or not, automatically!

rylando |root |parent [-]

Is that a feature of the $20 plan? Or only the $50?

n1sni |root |parent [-]

Both will tell you - the $50 one will be much more detailed... but both give you yes/no feedback.

moduspol |next |previous [-]

Looks great. I bought a license just so I'm sure I've got it next time I'm debugging a network issue.

n1sni |root |parent [-]

Glad to hear it - send suggestions, please!

Brajeshwar |next |previous [-]

I downloaded, tried to try but I got "You've already used your 7-day trial on this Mac."

n1sni |root |parent [-]

Interesting! Sorry to hear this. Have you used the trial before? Let me think how to fix this for you... feel free to reach out via email.

rylando |next |previous [-]

Is it possible to buy the standard version and upgrade to the pro later for the difference between the two pricing tiers ($30)?

n1sni |root |parent [-]

Yes - I'm trying to figure out how best to do that (using an automated discount code or something), but email me, and I'll make it 100% happen.

Also, I JUST enabled a 20% discount code if that helps you make a decision: HNROCKS - good for one day.

drob518 |next |previous [-]

Looks nice. MacOS has needed something like this for quite a while.

haloblue |next |previous [-]

Excellent tool so far. Thanks for getting this out there.

n1sni |root |parent [-]

Thank you!

molszanski |next |previous [-]

This looks so pretty and awesome :)

RIMR |next |previous [-]

My first thought, as a network engineer, is that I already have access to pretty much every feature of this tool from the CLI. You ask if I would give that up for this app, and the answer is "not unless you integrate all the other CLI tools I use as features". Obviously, that's not reasonable, because my needs (like most engineers) are overly specific. You could never please everyone.

If this were an iPad/iPhone app, I would say that you nailed it, because this would be way easier and more complete than any of the tooling I have available on a mobile device right now. Otherwise, all of my other tooling is in the CLI, so I would ultimately be going out of my way to use this tool on my Mac.

The easiest fix I can think of is to open the door to third-party/community extensions so that people can add their own tooling to the app. You mention that this is largely a bunch of CLI wrappers, so it would be very helpful if we could write our own, and maybe even share them with each other.

n1sni |root |parent [-]

Understood. Trust me, I still keep a few consoles open... but it's a lot fewer tabs with NetViews going because for my use cases, it's doing 95+% of the work without effort.

I really like the extension idea... hmmm....

frknky92 |next |previous [-]

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lucastytthhh |previous [-]

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