
How to Show Available WiFi Networks on Linux from the Command Line - logix
https://www.linuxuprising.com/2019/11/how-to-show-available-wifi-networks.html
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PappaPatat
Oddly nobody here mentions horst. Quit a nice CLI package for exactly this
(and a little more).

From their github:

horst is a small, lightweight IEEE802.11 WLAN analyzer with a text interface.
Its basic function is similar to tcpdump, Wireshark or Kismet, but it's much
smaller and shows different, aggregated information which is not easily
available from other tools. It is made for debugging wireless LANs with a
focus on getting a quick overview instead of deep packet inspection and has
special features for Ad-hoc (IBSS) mode and mesh networks. It can be useful to
get a quick overview of what's going on all wireless LAN channels and to
identify problems.

[https://github.com/br101/horst](https://github.com/br101/horst)

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spacedome
If you switch to iwd from wpa_supplicant there is also iwctl.

~~~
CaptainMarvel
I strongly recommend iwd over wpa_supplicant. It is simple, intuitive, and
just works. I have been using it on my laptop for over a year with no issues.

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foobarbecue
Is iwlist not the thing anymore?

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nurettin
both iw and iwlist are still a thing. There is probably some convoluted proc
path that gives a listing as well.

~~~
majewsky
procfs is unlikely. Scanning is not something that the kernel does by itself,
a userspace application (usually wpa_supplicant) needs to perform it actively.
You can see this by running e.g.

    
    
      sudo iw dev $IFACE scan
    

on a system running wpa_supplicant (e.g. through NetworkManager). Every so
often you'll get a "Device busy" error because wpa_supplicant is scanning
already.

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ghostDancer
I tend to use wicd[1] they have gtk/curses/cli versions , I've had problems
with nm before.

(1) [https://launchpad.net/wicd](https://launchpad.net/wicd)

~~~
kc0bfv
I loved wicd, and had had problems with nm.

Then I had a problem with wicd - interface issues caused by the deprecation of
ifconfig in favor of "ip" tools (Debian). Wicd is a set of Python scripts that
call ifconfig.

So I submitted a patch to fix my issue, and tied it to the multiple bug
requests already reporting the issue...

Wicd hasn't been updated in years though. With ifconfig starting to break (at
least in some situations) it's going to need some updates soon.

I switched back to nm and found it's working extremely well these days.

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smegma2
I usually go with nmtui. You can also connect using it.

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roadbeats
What works best for me (as a sway user): attaching a keyboard shortcut that
opens / closes a floating window of nmtui.

~~~
derkha
I prefer the simplicity of [https://github.com/firecat53/networkmanager-
dmenu](https://github.com/firecat53/networkmanager-dmenu), which works fine
under sway

~~~
seqizz
If I remember correctly, that one didn't mask my password with rofi.

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pnutjam
One of the nice things about OpenSUSE is that you can use Yast from the gui or
the console and it works identically. It's very nice. You can hand off
configuration to Network Manager, or just configure everything in Yast's
Network module.

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thomasfedb
Pleasantly surprised that this is actually very simple, was psyching myself up
for some horror of pipes and /dev.

The output from nmcli is quite pretty to boot!

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hjek
I find nmtui imminently usable, for scanning _and_ connecting, especially in
Sway where nmapplet doesn't work.

~~~
MayeulC
I agree and that's what I use most of the time, but sometimes nothing beats
the simplicity of doing

    
    
        nmcli c my-wifi up
    

When you know you want to connect to a Wi-Fi network you know is in range.
Also, nmtui doesn't support "enterprise" Wi-Fi (PEAP, for eduroan, for
instance).

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nixpulvis
I use `wifi-menu` to connect to new networks. It creates the profile for me
(generally just works) and everything. Otherwise, `wavemon` for general
scanning.

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prox
what is the best way under Raspian Buster without installing anything?

~~~
h2odragon
`iwlist wlan0 scan` works

~~~
prox
Thanks!

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cbsmith
It's kind of funny that it's espousing GNOME tools for command line work. ;-)

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tuukkah
NetworkManager does not depend on GNOME. It's part of the freedesktop.org
stack and used in server distros likewise.

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cbsmith
My bad. I forgot it was freedesktop.org, not GNOME. Sure it's used in many
server distros, but it's really a desktop tool.

~~~
tuukkah
To me, scanning wireless networks is primarily a desktop task, and some
desktop software is CLI or TUI and doesn't need a GUI.

~~~
cbsmith
Would you consider an access point or embedded device a desktop?

