Netstat Commands Explained: Windows and Linux Syntax, Plus the Modern ss Tool
The original version of this article promised that netstat's syntax "is different between" Windows and Linux, then never actually showed either one — just a list of things the tool can supposedly do, with no commands attached. This guide fills in what was missing: the real flags, on both platforms, mapped directly to each capability from that list, plus the modern Linux tool that's quietly replaced netstat on most current systems. Windows: netstat and Its Flags On Windows, a handful of flags cover everything the original list described: netstat -a — shows every connection and listening port, TCP and UDP, not just established ones. This is the command for "see what ports are in a listening state." netstat -n — displays addresses and ports numerically instead of resolving hostnames and service names, which makes the output return almost instantly. Almost always combined with -a , as netstat -an . netstat -o — adds the owning process ID (PID) to each ...