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traceroute

Traces the route taken by packets over an IPv4/IPv6 network

uncategorizedRed Team
Official docs ↗Download ↗Source repo ↗

Platforms: Linux · Last verified September 6, 2026

The traceroute utility displays the route used by IP packets on their way to a specified network (or Internet) host. Traceroute displays the IP number and host name (if possible) of the machines along the route taken by the packets. Traceroute is used as a network debugging tool. If you’re having network connectivity problems, traceroute will show you where the trouble is coming from along the route.

Only use this tool against systems you own or are explicitly authorized to test — see the disclaimer.

Getting started

See the official Kali tool page and upstream homepage linked above for installation and usage details.

Commonly preinstalled on

Kali Linux

Debian-based distribution built for penetration testing and security auditing