Network Monitor Support
Help for Network Monitor, a personal firewall for devops and developers on macOS: what the app shows, how to approve the network filter, menu-bar modes, and privacy.
Product page: patakolabs.com/projects/networkmonitor
Privacy: patakolabs.com/privacy/networkmonitor
What Network Monitor does
Network Monitor is a personal firewall for the Mac you SSH from, deploy from, and leave running. It shows which process connects to which server, where that server is, and lets you allow or deny it.
- A live list groups connections by app, with host, address, port, and protocol.
- A map draws arcs from your Mac to each server. Cities come from an offline database.
- Rules match an app, a host, a domain, an IP, a network, a port, and a protocol.
- The menu bar shows open connections and switches the mode.
Tagline: A personal firewall for developers.
Requirements
- macOS 15 (Sequoia) or later
- The app in
/Applicationsbefore the system extension can activate - One approval under System Settings → General → Login Items & Extensions
Turn the filter on
The list and the map show traffic on their own. Blocking starts after the filter is approved.
- Move Network Monitor to
/Applications. - Open the app and choose Settings → Filter → Install & Enable Filter.
- Approve it in System Settings → General → Login Items & Extensions.
- Pick a mode from the menu bar.
Modes
| Mode | What it does |
|---|---|
| Alert | Asks the first time an app connects to a server |
| Silent Allow | Allows new connections without a prompt |
| Silent Deny | Denies new connections without a prompt |
An alert can allow or deny once, for 15 minutes, until quit, or forever. A tighter rule wins. If two rules tie, deny wins.
Map and geolocation
Server cities come from a database stored on the Mac. No IP address is sent out to look up a location. Your Mac's location is only the origin of the arcs.
IP geolocation by DB-IP, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
Privacy
There is no account and no analytics in the app. Rules and connection history stay on the Mac. Details: Network Monitor privacy policy.
Contact
Questions: support@patakolabs.com