Tab mode in TCP Viewer
Tab mode keeps several packet views in one TCP Viewer window. For example, leave one tab on DNS traffic, filter another to an app, and open a saved capture in a third tab.
Workspace tabs are available in TCP Viewer 1.18.0. Opening additional tabs requires TCP Viewer PRO. The free version supports one tab and can open a capture file by replacing that tab.
1. Open a tab
Choose File → New Tab or press Command-T. When the tab bar is visible, you can also click its + button. The bar appears when there are two or more tabs and hides when only one remains.
A new tab shows the window's live capture. Each tab keeps its own source selection, filters, selected packet, inspector state, and Packets or Overview view. Switching tabs returns you to that tab's view.
Live tabs share one capture. Starting, pausing, stopping, or clearing that capture affects every tab showing it. Creating a tab does not start a separate capture on another interface.
For a live capture, right-click an app, domain, or another supported sidebar source and choose Open in New Tab. The new tab opens with that source selected.
2. Open capture files in tabs
Use File → Open…, double-click a supported file in Finder, or drag it onto TCP Viewer. Imported PCAP, PCAPNG, and TCP Viewer session files open in offline tabs, separate from the live capture.
When TCP Viewer asks where to open a capture, choose Open in New Tab to keep
the current tab or Replace Current Tab to replace it. Export the current
session first if you need to keep its contents. Open a .tcpviewsession file
by itself, without other files in the same import.
See Open capture files for file formats and inspection steps.
3. Switch and reorder tabs
Click a tab to select it. Drag tabs along the bar to change their order.
Use the Back and Forward buttons, or View → Back and View → Forward, to revisit tabs in the order you selected them. This history is separate from the tabs' left-to-right order.
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| New tab | Command-T |
| Close selected tab | Command-W |
| Next tab | Control-Tab or Command-Shift-] |
| Previous tab | Control-Shift-Tab or Command-Shift-[ |
| Back in tab history | Command-[ |
| Forward in tab history | Command-] |
| Select one of the first nine tabs | Command-Shift-1 through Command-Shift-9 |
4. Close tabs
Click a tab's close button or press Command-W. Right-click a tab for Close Tab, Close Other Tabs, or Close Tabs to the Right. Option-clicking a tab's close button also closes the other tabs.
Closing the last tab closes the window and stops its live capture. Export any capture you want to keep before closing its tab.
5. Compare two views within a tab
Enable Split View to show two panes beside each other inside the selected tab. Each pane has its own filters and packet selection, so you can compare two apps or protocols from the same capture.
You can also manage tabs through TCP Viewer MCP or the command line. Both let you target a tab by its ID without switching the tab you are currently viewing.