The simplest way to install the WiFi Coconut tools for macOS is to install the Homebrew package manager.
The Homebrew package manager is available at
If you are not already using Homebrew, follow the install directions on the site.
If prompted to install the Xcode Command Line tools, do so. They will be required!
Install the WiFi Coconut tools
Once Brew and the Xcode command line tools are installed, installing the WiFi Coconut tools for macOS is as simple as:
brew tap hak5/wifi-coconut
brew install wifi-coconut
This will download and install the WiFi Coconut tools, compile them automatically, and install them.
If prompted to install other tools such as the xcode command-line tools, do so.
Example installation
hak5 ~ % brew install wifi-coconut
==> Downloading https://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core/pkg-config/manifests/0.29.2_3
######################################################################## 100.0%
==> Downloading https://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core/pkg-config/blobs/sha256:2af9bce
==> Downloading from https://pkg-containers.githubusercontent.com/ghcr1/blobs/sh
######################################################################## 100.0%
==> Downloading https://github.com/hak5/hak5-wifi-coconut/archive/refs/tags/v1.0
Already downloaded: /Users/hak5/Library/Caches/Homebrew/downloads/401dc2d1ee3da1d0831be9a6783966a7b6eb3944daf8db1c660a36aed086ea5c--hak5-wifi-coconut-1.0.0.tar.gz
==> Installing wifi-coconut from hak5/wifi-coconut
==> Installing dependencies for hak5/wifi-coconut/wifi-coconut: pkg-config
==> Installing hak5/wifi-coconut/wifi-coconut dependency: pkg-config
==> Pouring pkg-config--0.29.2_3.arm64_monterey.bottle.tar.gz
🍺 /opt/homebrew/Cellar/pkg-config/0.29.2_3: 11 files, 676.4KB
==> Installing hak5/wifi-coconut/wifi-coconut
==> echo $(pwd)
==> cmake -S ../
==> make
==> make install
🍺 /opt/homebrew/Cellar/wifi-coconut/1.0.0: 9 files, 349.0KB, built in 4 seconds
==> Running `brew cleanup wifi-coconut`...
Disable this behaviour by setting HOMEBREW_NO_INSTALL_CLEANUP.
Hide these hints with HOMEBREW_NO_ENV_HINTS (see `man brew`).
hak5 ~ %
Running
The wifi_coconut tool is the main interface for the WiFi Coconut, run it from a terminal with:
wifi_coconut
Additionally, the wifi_coconut tool takes several options to automate behavior:
Usage: wifi_coconut [options]
By default, the wifi_coconut tool opens in interactive mode.
Universal options:
--disable-leds Go fully dark; don't enable any LEDs
--invert-leds Normally a Wi-Fi Coconut enables all the LEDs
and blinks during traffic; Invert only lights
when there is traffic.
--disable-blinking Disable blinking the LEDs on traffic
Non-interactive modes:
--no-display Don't display channel UI while logging
--wait Wait for a coconut to be found
--pcap=[fname] Log packets to a pcap file. If file is '-',
a pcap file will be echoed to stdout so that it can
be piped to other tools. --wait-for-coconut Wait for a coconut to be connected and identified
--list-coconuts List Wi-Fi Coconut devices and exit
--coconut-device=X If you have multiple Wi-Fi Coconuts, specify
which one to use
--enable-partial Enable a Wi-Fi Coconut even if not all the
radios have been identified.
--plain-dot11 Log plain 802.11 packets instead of radiotap
formatted packets with signal and channel
--quiet Disable most output
Warning - if you are using an older macOS (Catalina or Big Sur), there is a known bug in the macOS kernel for handling USB. You will need to exit all other applications that may interact with the USB system, includingbrowsers such as Chrome.
This has been fixed in more recent macOS releases and is no longer a problem with Monterrey and newer! It is also not a problem on macOS versions earlier than Catalina.
Integrating with other tools
Output from the wifi_coconut tool can be directly piped to other tools like tcpdump or tshark:
