How To Install ncat on Ubuntu 21.04

One-liner install command

For those in a hurry, here's a one-line installation command:

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt -y install ncat

But if you are interested in the detailed steps with descriptions, the following information is for you.

What is ncat and what are the ways to install it?

Before beginning this tutorial, you will need access to a server or computer running Ubuntu 21.04. This guide was written specifically with a server running Ubuntu 21.04 in mind, although it should also work on older, supported versions of the operating system.

Also, make sure you are running a regular, non-root user with sudo privileges configured on your server. When you have an account available, log in as your non-root user to begin.

There are several ways to install ncat on Ubuntu 21.04. You can use (links are clickable):

In the following sections, we will describe each method in detail. You can choose one of them or refer to the recommended one.

Install ncat using apt-get

First, update apt database with apt-get using the following command.

sudo apt-get update

After updating apt-get database, You can install ncat using apt by running the following command:

sudo apt -y install ncat

Install ncat using apt

Because ncat is available in Ubuntu 21.04’s default repositories, it is possible to install it from these repositories using the apt packaging system.

To begin, update apt database with apt using the following command.

sudo apt update

After updating apt database, You can install ncat using apt by running the following command:

sudo apt -y install ncat

Install ncat using aptitude

If you want to follow this method, you might need to install aptitude first since aptitude is usually not installed by default on Ubuntu 21.04. Update apt database with aptitude using the following command.

sudo aptitude update

After updating aptitude database, You can install ncat by running the following command:

sudo aptitude -y install ncat

How to upgrade (update) a single package ncat using apt-get?

First, you will need to update packages index. Run update command as usual:

sudo apt-get update

Next, to upgrade only the ncat, e.g. single package, you should use the following format with the apt-get command/apt command:

sudo apt-get --only-upgrade install ncat

Note that this command will not install any new packages! If you wish to install the package if it doesn't exist you may leave out --only-upgrade part.

sudo apt-get install ncat

How To Uninstall ncat from Ubuntu 21.04

To uninstall only the ncat package you can execute the following command:

sudo apt-get remove ncat

Uninstall ncat and all its dependencies

To uninstall ncat and its dependencies that are no longer needed by Ubuntu 21.04, you can use the command below:

sudo apt-get -y autoremove ncat

Remove ncat with all configurations and data

To remove ncat configuration and data from your system you can run the following purge command:

sudo apt-get -y purge ncat

Remove ncat completely (configurations, data and all of its dependencies)

And lastly, you can run the next command to remove absolutely everything related to ncat package, e.g.: configurations, data and all of its dependencies. Just use this command:

sudo apt-get -y autoremove --purge ncat

Extra info and code examples

• Listen for input on the specified port and write it to the specified file:
  ncat -l port > path/to/file
• Accept multiple connections and keep ncat open after they have been closed:
  ncat -lk port
• Write output of specified file to the specified host on the specified port:
  ncat address port < path/to/file

Conclusion

You now have a full guide on how to install ncat using apt, apt-get and aptitude tools. Also, we showed how to update as a single package and different ways to uninstall the ncat from Ubuntu 21.04.

See also: