lsof

lsof lists open files. This CLI tool is available on most *nix OSes.

On linux, a much quicker alternative may be to use fuser

Examples

List files open by a given user

lsof -u username

show listening TCP sockets

Since everything in unix is a file, including network sockets, you can list open sockets and the programs that have them open. However, this is notably unreliable in Docker, so don't trust this completely. When in doubt, double check against ss -nlptu or netstat -nlptu, though this will likely only work in linux.

lsof -iTCP -sTCP:LISTEN

Show a sorted list of processes by listening port

lsof -iTCP -sTCP:LISTEN -P | sort -k2 -t: -n

show what process is using port 80 or 443 with port numbers

## -w make output wide
## -n makes lsof not resolve hostnames from ip addresses
## -P makes lsof not resolve service names for port numbers.
## -iTCP shows IP TCP sockets.

lsof -wnP -iTCP:80,443

show the selinux context for sockets

lsof -i -Z

See man page for extended syntax around Z

See Also

• Process Explorer - LSOF type functionality for windows.
• fuser