Installing the nRF Sniffer capture tool

The nRF Sniffer for Bluetooth® LE software is installed as an external capture plugin in Wireshark.

To install the nRF Sniffer capture tool, complete the following steps:

1. Install the Python requirements:
   1. Open a command window in the Sniffer_Software/extcap/ folder.
   2. Type pip3 install -r requirements.txt to install the requirements.
   3. Close the command window.
2. Copy the Sniffer capture tool into Wireshark's folder for external capture plugins:
   1. Open Wireshark.
   2. Go to Help > About Wireshark (on Windows or Linux) or Wireshark > About Wireshark (on macOS).
      
   3. Select the Folders tab.
   4. Double-click the location for the Extcap path to open this folder.
      
   5. Copy the contents of the Sniffer_Software/extcap/ folder into this folder.
      
3. Make sure that the nRF Sniffer files can be run correctly:
   1. Open a command window in Wireshark's folder for external capture plugins.
   2. Run the Sniffer tool to list available interfaces.
      On Windows, type nrf_sniffer_ble.bat --extcap-interfaces. On macOS or Linux, type nrf_sniffer_ble.sh --extcap-interfaces.
      You should see a series of strings, similar to what is shown in the following screenshot.

      
   3. If the previous step returned an error, verify that Python 3 is accessible.
      On Windows, enter python --version. On macOS or Linux, enter python3. If the command cannot be found or the version is wrong, make sure that Python v3.6 or later is in your path and that it is the first Python version in the path.
   4. For macOS or Linux: Verify that the nrf_sniffer_ble.sh file has the x permission.
      If the x permission is missing, add it using chmod +x nrf_sniffer_ble.sh.
4. Enable the nRF Sniffer capture tool in Wireshark:
   1. Refresh the interfaces in Wireshark by selecting Capture > Refresh Interfaces or pressing F5.
      You should see that nRF Sniffer is displayed as one of the interfaces on the start page.
   2. Select View > Interface Toolbars > nRF Sniffer for Bluetooth LE to enable the Sniffer interface.