How to Scan Your Network for Devices
Discovering which devices are active on your local network is often called host discovery. While browsers cannot perform this scan directly, the powerful command-line tool Nmap is perfect for the job.
⚠️ **Warning:** Only scan networks you own or have explicit permission to test.
Using Nmap for Host Discovery
Nmap ("Network Mapper") excels at identifying live hosts on a network.
Installation
If you haven't already, download and install Nmap:
- Nmap Official Download Page (Windows, macOS, Linux)
Finding Your Network Range
You first need to know the IP address range of your local network. You can usually find this:
- Windows: Open Command Prompt (`cmd`), type `ipconfig`, and look for the "IPv4 Address" and "Subnet Mask" under your active network adapter (e.g., Ethernet or Wi-Fi). Common ranges are `192.168.1.0/24`, `192.168.0.0/24`, `10.0.0.0/24`.
- macOS: Open Terminal, type `ifconfig | grep "inet "`. Look for the IP address starting with `192.168.` or `10.`. The range is typically that address ending in `.0/24`.
- Linux: Open Terminal, type `ip addr show`. Look for `inet` under your network interface (e.g., `eth0`, `wlan0`).
Host Discovery Commands (Terminal/Command Prompt)
Replace `
-
Ping Scan (ICMP - Faster, but might miss hosts blocking ping):
(Example: `nmap -sn 192.168.1.0/24`)nmap -sn <network/CIDR> -
List Scan (No packets sent - just lists targets):
nmap -sL <network/CIDR> -
More Reliable Scan (TCP SYN/ACK, UDP, ICMP - often needs root/admin):
(`-T4` for faster timing, `-F` for fast scan of common ports often sufficient for discovery. May require `sudo` or Administrator privileges.)sudo nmap -T4 -F <network/CIDR>
Nmap will list the IP addresses and potentially hostnames of devices that respond on your network.
Future Tool
We plan to offer a downloadable tool in the future that will provide a user-friendly interface for performing network discovery and other diagnostics directly on your computer.