Introduction
# Little Snitch CLI
Control Little Snitch network monitor/firewall on macOS.
## Setup
Enable CLI access in **Little Snitch → Preferences → Security → Allow access via Terminal**
Once enabled, the `littlesnitch` command is available in Terminal.
⚠️ **Security Warning:** The littlesnitch command is very powerful and can potentially be misused by malware. When access is enabled, you must take precautions that untrusted processes cannot gain root privileges.
Reference: https://help.obdev.at/littlesnitch5/adv-commandline
## Commands
| Command | Root? | Description | |---------|-------|-------------| | `--version` | No | Show version | | `restrictions` | No | Show license status | | `log` | No | Read log messages | | `profile` | Yes | Activate/deactivate profiles | | `rulegroup` | Yes | Enable/disable rule groups & blocklists | | `log-traffic` | Yes | Print traffic log data | | `list-preferences` | Yes | List all preferences | | `read-preference` | Yes | Read a preference value | | `write-preference` | Yes | Write a preference value | | `export-model` | Yes | Export data model (backup) | | `restore-model` | Yes | Restore from backup | | `capture-traffic` | Yes | Capture process traffic |
## Examples
### View Recent Logs (no root) ```bash littlesnitch log --last 10m --json ```
### Stream Live Logs (no root) ```bash littlesnitch log --stream ```
### Check License Status (no root) ```bash littlesnitch restrictions ```
### Activate Profile (requires root) ```bash sudo littlesnitch profile --activate "Silent Mode" ```
### Deactivate All Profiles (requires root) ```bash sudo littlesnitch profile --deactivate-all ```
### Enable/Disable Rule Group (requires root) ```bash sudo littlesnitch rulegroup --enable "My Rules" sudo littlesnitch rulegroup --disable "Blocklist" ```
### View Traffic History (requires root) ```bash sudo littlesnitch log-traffic --begin-date "2026-01-25 00:00:00" ```
### Stream Live Traffic (requires root) ```bash sudo littlesnitch log-traffic --stream ```
### Backup Configuration (requires root) ```bash sudo littlesnitch export-model > backup.json ```
## Log Options
| Option | Description | |--------|-------------| | `--last <time>[m\|h\|d]` | Show entries from last N minutes/hours/days | | `--stream` | Live stream messages | | `--json` | Output as JSON | | `--predicate <string>` | Filter with predicate |
## Notes
- macOS only - Many commands require `sudo` (root access) - Profiles: predefined rule sets (e.g., "Silent Mode", "Alert Mode") - Rule groups: custom rule collections and blocklists