portwave review
A focused CLI scanner for internet reconnaissance, banners, TLS details, and resumable results.
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
portwave is an open-source command-line port scanner for authorized security research, bug bounty work, penetration testing, and network reconnaissance. It runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux, and accepts IP addresses, CIDR ranges, domains, and ASNs across IPv4 and IPv6. Its core workflow combines asynchronous TCP connection scanning with adaptive concurrency and per-host pacing, giving security teams a focused tool for internet-scale target discovery and service inspection.
Its standout strength is the amount of context gathered after a port is found. portwave can grab banners, confirm protocols, probe HTTP and HTTPS services, and extract TLS certificate subject alternative names and issuers. Wildcard-DNS and CDN handling help account for common internet-facing infrastructure patterns. The optional nuclei pipeline extends the workflow into vulnerability scanning, while subfinder integration connects it with subdomain discovery. Resume-safe and diff-aware results also support repeated scans, with JSONL, JSON, and text artifacts available for downstream processing.
The trade-off is a deliberately narrow delivery model: portwave is distributed as a command-line binary rather than a hosted service. That suits practitioners who already work in terminal-based reconnaissance workflows and want control over targets, pacing, output, and enrichment. Teams looking for a browser interface, managed scanning experience, or a broader network-management platform should consider a different category of tool. portwave is a strong fit when internet scanning depth, banner collection, HTTP/TLS inspection, and repeatable result comparison matter more than a wider operating model.
portwave pros and cons
- Where it wins
- Scans IPv4, IPv6, IPs, CIDR ranges, domains, and ASNs
- Combines banners, protocol confirmation, HTTP(S), and TLS extraction
- Supports resumable, diff-aware results with JSONL, JSON, and text output
- Where it doesn't
- Command-line deployment may not suit teams seeking a hosted interface
- Focused on TCP scanning rather than broader network discovery
- Nuclei enrichment depends on an optional external scanning pipeline
portwave fact sheet, pricing and score →
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