: Click the red square icon in the top toolbar.
When you perform a live capture in Wireshark, the data is initially stored in a temporary buffer. To "download" this to your permanent storage as a .pcap file, follow these steps:
Downloading a PCAP (Packet Capture) file from Wireshark is a fundamental skill for network troubleshooting, security analysis, and digital forensics. While Wireshark is primarily a tool for capturing and analyzing traffic, "downloading" a PCAP usually refers to one of three actions: saving your live capture as a file, exporting specific filtered packets, or extracting actual files (like images or PDFs) that were transferred within those packets. 1. How to Save a Live Capture as a PCAP File how to download pcap file from wireshark
: Go to File > Save As... in the top menu.
: By default, modern Wireshark saves in .pcapng . To save as a classic PCAP, click the Save as type dropdown and select * Wireshark/tcpdump/... pcap (*.pcap, .cap) . : Click the red square icon in the top toolbar
: Use the display filter bar (e.g., ip.addr == 192.168.1.1 ) to show only the relevant traffic.
: Select your destination folder, enter a file name, and click Save . 2. How to Export Specific Packets as a PCAP While Wireshark is primarily a tool for capturing
If you have a massive capture and only need a small portion (e.g., only traffic from one IP address), you can "download" just those specific packets:
