pingtrace

pingtrace is a terminal-first CLI designed for rapid network troubleshooting, combining ping and traceroute with a clear, intuitive output enriched by DNS and ipinfo.io data.

It runs ping and traceroute in a single command against:

1. Single target: Quick check for a single host.
2. Multi-target: Separate multiple targets with commas for simultaneous checks.
3. Bulk loading: Import target lists directly from CSV files.
4. CIDR blocks: Automatically check against IPv4 CIDR blocks.

The focus is simple: fast input, clear output, and optional CSV export.

Install

npm install -g pingtrace
pingtrace --help

Quick start

Run both ping and trace against one host:

pingtrace 8.8.8.8

Run with detailed verbose tables:

pingtrace 8.8.8.8 -v

Run against multiple targets:

pingtrace 8.8.8.8,1.1.1.1,example.com

Run against a CIDR:

pingtrace 10.0.0.0/30

Run from CSV:

pingtrace --file ./targets.csv

Export to CSV in the current working directory:

pingtrace 8.8.8.8 --export

Export to a specific directory:

pingtrace 8.8.8.8 --export ./reports

When export is enabled, pingtrace writes separate files per operation:

• ping_UTCdate(YYYY-MM-DD-HH-MM-SS).csv
• trace_UTCdate(YYYY-MM-DD-HH-MM-SS).csv

Run only ping:

pingtrace 8.8.8.8 --no-trace

Run only trace:

pingtrace 8.8.8.8 --no-ping

Config

Open the interactive editor:

pingtrace config

List current values:

pingtrace config list

Set a single value directly:

pingtrace config set ping.packetCount 3

Examples for DNS server target lists:

pingtrace config set dns.publicServers 8.8.8.8
pingtrace config set dns.publicServers 8.8.8.8,1.1.1.1
pingtrace config set dns.privateServers 10.0.0.0/30

If providers.ipinfoToken is configured, verbose mode also enriches public IP rows with ipinfo metadata. Verbose output renders ping first and trace second, with separate tables for a clearer view.

Supported config keys:

• dns.privateServers
• dns.publicServers
• providers.ipinfoToken
• providers.peeringdbEnabled
• ping.packetSize
• ping.packetCount
• ping.timeoutSeconds
• trace.maxHops
• trace.timeoutSeconds
• trace.numericOnly

Command cheatsheet

pingtrace help
pingtrace --version
pingtrace <target-or-targets-or-cidr>
pingtrace --file <path>
pingtrace <target> -v
pingtrace config
pingtrace config set <key> <value>
pingtrace config get <key>
pingtrace config list
pingtrace config reset

Operational notes

• pingtrace depends on system ping and traceroute tooling being available on PATH.
• On Windows, tracert is used.
• On Unix-like systems, traceroute is used, with tracepath as a fallback where available.
• --export without a path writes operation-specific CSV files in the current working directory.
• If --export points to a .csv file path, pingtrace uses that file's directory and still writes separate ping_...csv and trace_...csv files.

Feedback

If it saves you time from a troubleshooting session, it was worth building. Star the project and if you want invite me for a coffe or a snack for my buddy Schnauzer Tyson.