nRF Sniffer for Bluetooth LE v4.1.x

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. Install the Python dependencies listed in requirements.txt by doing one of the following:
      • On Windows with Python launcher, type py -3 -m pip install -r requirements.txt.
      • On Windows without Python launcher, type python -m pip install -r requirements.txt.
      • On Linux or macOS, type python3 -m pip install -r requirements.txt.
    1. Close the command window.
  2. Copy the nRF Sniffer capture tool into Wireshark's folder for personal external capture plugins:
    1. Open Wireshark.
    2. Go to Help > About Wireshark (on Windows or Linux) or Wireshark > About Wireshark (on macOS).
      Screenshot of the Help > About Wireshark menu
    3. Select the Folders tab.
    4. Double-click the location for the Personal Extcap path to open this folder.
      Screenshot of the window that shows the personal extcap path location
    5. Copy the contents of the Sniffer_Software/extcap/ folder into this folder.
      Screenshot showing the contents of the personal extcap folder
  3. Make sure that the nRF Sniffer files can be run correctly:
    1. Open a command window in Wireshark's folder for personal external capture plugins.
    2. Run the nRF 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.
      Screenshot showing the output when listing available interfaces
    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 Wireshark capture screen.
    2. Select View > Interface Toolbars > nRF Sniffer for Bluetooth LE to enable the nRF Sniffer interface.
Parent topic: Installing the nRF Sniffer