If you have spent any time debugging a network issue from a packet capture, you know the workflow: open Wireshark, wait for the file to load, apply a filter, stare at 50,000 packets, apply another filter, look for the SYN-ACK timing, open a second terminal for tshark, paste the output into a document, write the summary manually. By the time you finish, you have spent more time on the report than on the actual analysis.
I built Packet Surfer to fix that: Packet Surfer is a browser-first PCAP analysis tool. You upload a .pcap file, the app parses the packet metadata entirely in your browser, and then you can ask your own AI model to analyze what it finds. The result is a structured report with Wireshark filters, tshark commands, Mermaid diagrams, Zeek-format logs, and exportable findings.
The app is located at: https://packet-surfer.vercel.app/
Packet Surfer is not trying to replace Wireshark. It is the layer between “I have a capture file” and “I know exactly where to look in Wireshark.”
Packet Surfer parses .pcap files in the browser, extracts structured metadata, generates Zeek-format logs from that metadata, and forwards only the redacted summary to whatever AI model the user configures. The raw capture never leaves the machine. Once a flow is submitted, the summary page quickly presents a list of key observations.
Flows are shown in the Flows tab. They can either be left ungrouped or organized into groups. When grouping is enabled, flows can be organized by server and by TCP handshake:
You can generate multiple types of diagrams—such as flow diagrams, top talker views, and multi‑server flow visualizations—from the Diagrams page.
For AI analysis, choose the model you want to use and enter your API key. Your key is stored only for your current session. Click “Apply to Session” to configure it.
You can review the redaction, regex, payload preview, and Zeek log preview options before submitting the capture for analysis. Packet Surfer streams the report in real time while working on it:
Once the report is ready, it can be viewed and exported in multiple formats from the Report menu.
