Datasources

Datasources in Kismet capture information - typically packets - and return them to the Kismet server for processing. Typically, a datasource is analogous to a network interface, but may encompass other capture options such as SDR.

Datasources are defined on startup in kismet.conf via source=... or on the command line with -c source definition....

Supported datasource types

Datasource types are defined by the Kismet server code and any plugins loaded. Clients can use this API to determine if Kismet has been started with the required plugins or compiled-in optional datasources.

  • URL
    /datasource/types.json

  • Methods
    GET

  • Result
    Array of all defined datasource types

Defaults

Datasource defaults are defined in kismet.conf and include default hopping behavior, hopping speeds, and other generic options. If a datasource is defined without these options specified, the defaults are used.

  • URL
    /datasource/defaults.json

  • Methods
    GET

  • Result
    Dictionary of default values

Listing datasources

Datasource listings include the definition of the source, current operational status, driver and backend information, packet counts, and historical data.

  • URL
    /datasource/all_sources.json

  • Methods
    GET

  • Result
    Array of active data sources and all current information.

Querying specific datasources

  • URL
    /datasource/by-uuid/[UUID]/source.json

  • Methods
    GET

  • URL parameters

Key Description
[UUID] Source UUID
  • Results
    Returns dictionary object of source specified by UUID

Listing interfaces

A datasource is a Kismet capture source which provides data. An interface is a potential device a datasource may capture from, such as wlan0 or a RTLSDR USB device. This API is used by the Kismet web interface to add new datasources runtime.

LOGIN REQUIRED

  • URL
    /datasource/list_interfaces.json

  • Methods
    GET

  • Result
    Array of auto-detected interfaces, currently attached datasources if any, and parameters.

Adding sources

Datasources may be dynamically added at runtime. New data sources require a full datasource definition, as if they were in a source= config line.

LOGIN REQUIRED

  • URL
    /datasource/add_source.cmd

  • Methods
    POST

  • POST parameters
    A command dictionary containing:

Key Description
definition Source definition line

  • Result
    HTTP 200 is returned when the source is successfully added. A source may be added which cannot be activated if the definition is incorrect or the interface is not available. HTTP error is returned if the source could not be added.

  • Notes
    This API will block until the source is added to Kismet. This may be up to several seconds but typically is instant.

Setting channels

Datasource channel configurations be configured to automatically hop over a list of channels, or remain fixed on a single channel. Channels are defined as strings and may contain complex information, such as 11HT40- for a Wi-Fi channel 11 using 40MHz 802.11n. The exact format of a channel depends on the PHY type being configured.

LOGIN REQUIRED

  • URL
    /datasource/by-uuid/[UUID]/set_channel.cmd

  • Methods
    POST

  • URL parameters

Key Description
[UUID] Source UUID
Key Desc
channel Single channel; This disables channel hopping and sets a specific channel. Channel format depends on the source.
hoprate Channel hopping speed, as channels per second. For timing greater than a second, rate can be calculated with the formula hoprate = 1 / (6 / N) where N is the number of hops per minute.
channels The list of channel strings to use in hopping
shuffle Integer 0 or 1, treated as boolean, tells the source to shuffle the channel list

  • Results
    HTTP 200 is returned if the channel set command succeeded. Individual channels may not be tunable by the source. HTTP error is returned if the channel set command is not successful.

  • Notes
    This API will block until the source channel configuration is complete. This may be up to several seconds but typically is instant.
    The exact behavior of the source depends on the provided parameters:
    If channel is present, hoprate, channels, and shuffle should not be included, and will be ignored if present. The source will be locked to a single channel.
    If channel is not present, the remaining fields may be specified.
    If channels is present, hoprate and shuffle are optional. If they are not present, the current values for the source will be used.
    If channel is not present, channels is not present, and hoprate is set, only the channel hopping rate will be changed. \

  • Examples
    {'channel': "6HT40"} will lock to Wi-Fi channel 6, HT40+ mode
    {'channels': ["1", "2", "6HT40+", "6HT40-"]} will change the channel hopping list but retain the hopping rate and shuffle
    {'channels': ["1", "2", "3", "4", "5"], 'hoprate': 1} will change the channel hopping rate to once per second over the given list
    {'hoprate': 5} will set the hop rate to 5 channels per second, using the existing channels list in the datasource

Set channel hopping

Turn on channel hopping for the specified source, without altering the channel parameters. Typically used to enable hopping after inspecting a single channel.

LOGIN REQUIRED

  • URL
    /datasource/by-uuid/[UUID]/set_hop.cmd

  • Methods
    POST

  • URL parameters

Key Description
[UUID] Source UUID

  • POST parameters:
    None

  • Results
    HTTP 200 on success HTTP error if unable to set hopping

Closing sources

Sources can be closed and will no longer be processed. A source will remain closed unless reopened.

LOGIN REQUIRED

  • URL
    /datasource/by-uuid/[UUID]/close_source.cmd
    /datasource/by-uuid/*[UUID]/disable_source.cmd

  • Methods
    GET

  • URL parameters

Key Description
[UUID] Source UUID
  • Results
    HTTP 200 is returned if the source is successfully stopped
    HTTP error is returned if the source could not be stopped

Opening closed sources

Closed sources can be re-opened.

LOGIN REQUIRED

  • URL
    /datasource/by-uuid/[UUID]/open_source.cmd
    /datasource/by-uuid/[UUID]/enable_source.cmd

  • Methods
    GET

  • URL parameters

Key Description
[UUID] Source UUID
  • Results
    HTTP 200 is returned if the open command succeeds. The source may still encounter errors.
    HTTP error is returned if the source could not be opened.

Pausing sources

Paused sources are not closed, but packets received from them will be discard. This can be used to silence a source in some circumstances, but does not require shutting down the source and re-acquiring it later.

LOGIN REQUIRED

  • URL
    /datasource/by-uuid/[UUID]/pause_source.cmd

  • Methods
    GET

  • URL parameters

Key Description
[UUID] Source UUID
  • Results
    HTTP 200 is returned if the pause command succeeds.
    HTTP error is returned if the source could not be paused.

Resuming sources

A paused source can be resumed; upon resumption, new packets will be processed from this source. Packets received while the source was paused are lost.

LOGIN REQUIRED

  • URL
    /datasource/by-uuid/[UUID]/resume_source.cmd

  • Methods
    GET

  • URL parameters

Key Description
[UUID] Source UUID
  • Results
    HTTP 200 is returned if the resume command succeeds.
    HTTP error is returned if the source could not be resumed.

Updated: