NAME¶

pcap_create - create a live capture handle

SYNOPSIS¶

#include <pcap/pcap.h>

char errbuf[PCAP_ERRBUF_SIZE];

pcap_t *pcap_create(const char *source, char *errbuf);

DESCRIPTION¶

pcap_create() is used to create a packet capture handle to capture packets on a device (typically a network interface, see pcap_findalldevs(3PCAP) for a more detailed explanation). source is a string that specifies the capture device to open; in this function, a null pointer means the same as the string "any". errbuf is a buffer large enough to hold at least PCAP_ERRBUF_SIZE chars.

The returned handle must be activated with pcap_activate(3PCAP) before packets can be captured with it; options for the capture, such as promiscuous mode, can be set on the handle before activating it.

RETURN VALUE¶

pcap_create() returns a pcap_t * on success and a null pointer on failure. If a null pointer is returned, errbuf is filled in with an appropriate error message.

SEE ALSO¶

pcap(3PCAP)