What it does
conntrack-tools provides a command-line view of Linux Netfilter flow entries and events, with a daemon for state synchronization and flow statistics.
Use a filtered listing for the current state table or the event view for NEW and UPDATE activity. The manual’s examples show original and reply addresses, ports, state, marks and counters; these describe the Linux host’s connection-tracking view. Updating marks or deleting entries changes that state, so those commands serve a different purpose from observation. The package needs kernel connection-tracking and Netlink support plus libnfnetlink and libnetfilter_conntrack; administrative access is part of the documented examples. conntrackd is a separate daemon role within the package. Its high-availability setup adds a working HA manager, a dedicated synchronization link and an appropriate stateful ruleset, rather than turning a single listing into a synchronized firewall.
Strengths
- Flow-entry and event inspection
- Documents kernel and library requirements
Watch out for
- Requires compatible kernel support and suitable privileges
Sources
- The conntrack-tools user manual (Oct 26, 2026)