WiFi Lens
The complete Mac Wi-Fi troubleshooting workflow.
WiFi Lens Pro combines live Wi-Fi analysis, network diagnostics, continuous monitoring, Timeline history, Statistics, and Insights in one native macOS app.
Get WiFi Lens Pro · Official Website
macOS 14.6+ · Apple Silicon & Intel · No telemetry
🔒 Local-first privacy — No accounts, no cloud, no telemetry
🩺 Evidence-based diagnostics — Explainable path, DNS, HTTPS, and proxy checks
🤖 MCP for AI workflows — Connect compatible clients to live Wi-Fi data on your Mac
This repository hosts the open-source edition of WiFi Lens for live local analysis, development, source inspection, and community contributions.
🇺🇸 English · 🇩🇪 Deutsch · 🇪🇸 Español · 🇫🇷 Français · 🇨🇳 简体中文 · 🇯🇵 日本語 · 🇭🇰 繁體中文
Why WiFi Lens Pro · Core Capabilities · Editions · AI / MCP · Open-source edition · Privacy · Get WiFi Lens · Development · Contributing · License
Why WiFi Lens Pro
Live diagnostics tell you what is happening now. WiFi Lens Pro keeps the story going when a problem is intermittent: it observes, records, preserves history, and helps you investigate what happened later.
| Workflow | What WiFi Lens Pro does | |----------|--------------------------| | Diagnose now | Live Wi-Fi analysis, channel analysis, and network diagnostics | | Keep watching | Menu bar monitoring and continuous observation | | Capture intermittent problems | Timeline and spectrum recording | | Review what happened | Historical events and connection changes | | Find patterns | Statistics across recorded periods | | Understand the evidence | Insights based on recorded observations |
WiFi Lens Pro is the complete edition. It connects the live analyzer with monitoring, history, and investigation instead of treating them as separate tools.
 Network Self-Check |
Event Timeline (Pro) |
Diagnose now → investigate later
Wi-Fi problems often disappear before you can inspect them. WiFi Lens Pro helps you keep evidence across a drop, roam, or signal change so you can review the event and the surrounding network conditions later.
Core Capabilities
WiFi Lens brings the essential tools for understanding a local Wi-Fi environment into one native Mac app.
| Capability | What it helps you do | |------------|----------------------| | 📡 Wi-Fi scanning | Scan nearby networks across 2.4, 5, and 6 GHz bands | | 📊 Spectrum and channel quality | See occupancy, congestion scores, and regional channel recommendations | | 🔍 Network details | Inspect PHY generation, channel width, 802.11k/r/v, WPA3, and connection details | | 🚶 Roaming and heatmap | Validate AP handoffs and compare per-band occupancy | | 🩺 Network Self-Check (Preview) | Run path, DNS, HTTPS, and configured proxy reachability checks | | 📻 AP Radar | Track a selected AP with RSSI-based guidance and optional audio feedback | | 🤖 MCP and export | Connect local AI tools and save charts as PNG or CSV | | 🔒 Local-first privacy | Keep scan data on your Mac with no usage telemetry |
Editions
WiFi Lens Pro
WiFi Lens Pro is the complete edition. It is a one-time purchase from the Mac App Store for users who need continuous observation, recording, history, and investigation.
Open-source edition
The open-source edition provides a substantial subset of live analysis capabilities for users who prefer GitHub distribution or want to inspect and contribute to the codebase. Get it from GitHub Releases.
| Capability | WiFi Lens Pro | Open-source edition | |------------|---------------|---------------------| | Live Wi-Fi analysis | ✅ | ✅ | | Network diagnostics | ✅ | ✅ | | Channel recommendations | ✅ | ✅ | | Continuous monitoring | ✅ | — | | Event history | ✅ | — | | Historical statistics | ✅ | — | | Insights | ✅ | — | | Spectrum recording | ✅ | — | | Menu bar monitoring | ✅ | — |
Both editions are local-first. The difference is the workflow around the live analyzer: Pro adds the context needed to monitor, preserve, and investigate problems over time.
AI / MCP Integration
WiFi Lens includes an embedded MCP server that lets compatible AI assistants read your local Wi-Fi data. Enable it in Settings, choose Copy AI setup prompt, and paste the prompt into an MCP-compatible desktop client such as Codex Desktop or Claude Desktop.
{
"mcpServers": {
"wifi-lens": {
"url": "http://127.0.0.1:19840"
}
}
}For manual setup, use the format your client expects:
# Codex: ~/.codex/config.toml
[mcp_servers.wifi-lens]
url = "http://127.0.0.1:19840/"// Claude Desktop and other JSON-based clients
{
"mcpServers": {
"wifi-lens": {
"url": "http://127.0.0.1:19840/"
}
}
}Once connected, ask your assistant things like "What channels are congested near me?" or "Which nearby networks support WPA3?". The server binds to 127.0.0.1 only — nothing leaves your machine unless you deliberately route it elsewhere.
See the AI Workflows guide for more examples.
Open-source edition
The open-source edition is available for local analysis, development, source inspection, and community contributions.
- GitHub Releases — Download the latest release
- Homebrew —
brew tap ShiinaLabs/apps && brew install --cask ShiinaLabs/apps/wifi-lens - Source code and documentation — Browse the repository and architecture docs
Open-source edition capabilities
| Capability | Description | Status | |------------|-------------|--------| | 📡 Wi-Fi Scanning | Real-time scan across 2.4 / 5 / 6 GHz bands | Stable | | 📊 Spectrum View | Gaussian channel occupancy charts | Stable | | 🎯 Channel Quality | Congestion scores with regional recommendations | Stable | | 🔍 Network Details | PHY generation, channel width, 802.11k/r/v, WPA3 | Stable | | 📶 Connection Info | IP, gateway, DNS, MAC, Tx rate, security summary | Stable | | 🚶 Roaming Test | AP handoff monitoring with session save/load | Stable | | 🗺️ Channel Heatmap | Per-band occupancy heatmap | Stable | | 📻 AP Radar | Track a selected AP with RSSI-based guidance and optional audio feedback | Stable | | 🎧 BLE Scanner | Bluetooth LE discovery, RSSI analysis, tracking | Stable | | 🎨 Smart Coloring | Deterministic SSID-based color assignment | Stable | | 🌐 MCP Server | Embedded HTTP API for AI tool integration | Stable | | 📤 Export | Save charts as PNG or CSV | Stable | | 🔒 Privacy First | No telemetry; scan data stays on your Mac | Stable | | ⬆️ Auto-Updates | Sparkle for the GitHub edition | Stable | | 🌍 Localized | English, German, Spanish, Japanese, Chinese | Stable | | 🩺 Network Self-Check | One-click path, DNS, HTTPS, and proxy diagnostics | Preview |
Privacy
WiFi Lens does not collect usage analytics, crash telemetry, or Wi-Fi scan data.
- Product guidance: Preview categories, local dates, invitation preferences, and whether you have opened the project's repository page are stored on this Mac in UserDefaults to tailor and pace Pro recommendations. This information is not linked to a user identity or uploaded.
- Location Services: macOS requires this permission to expose Wi-Fi SSID names. WiFi Lens does not read GPS position.
- Region detection: Uses system locale, hardware-reported channel list, and nearby AP country codes on-device.
- Network Self-Check: Resolves public endpoints (
www.apple.com,www.msftconnecttest.com) and may test reachability of configured proxy endpoints. - MCP server: Binds to
127.0.0.1only. Local tools access data only after you enable it. - Update checks: The GitHub edition contacts GitHub when you request an update check or enable automatic checks.
Get WiFi Lens
Requires macOS 14.6 (Sonoma) or later. Works on both Intel and Apple Silicon. 6 GHz scanning requires Wi-Fi 6E/7 hardware.
WiFi Lens Pro
The complete edition for continuous monitoring, recording, history, and investigation. Get it from the Mac App Store.
Open-source edition
For GitHub distribution and community development:
- GitHub Releases
- Homebrew:
brew tap ShiinaLabs/apps && brew install --cask ShiinaLabs/apps/wifi-lens - Source code: this repository
[!IMPORTANT]
On macOS 14.6+, Location Services must be enabled for the app to read Wi-Fi SSID names. Go to System Settings → Privacy & Security → Location Services and enable WiFi Lens when prompted.
Development
git clone https://github.com/ShiinaLabs/wifi-lens
cd wifi-lens
git submodule update --init ChartLens
cd WiFiLens
Build
xcodebuild -project WiFiLens.xcodeproj -scheme "WiFi Lens" \
-configuration Debug -destination 'platform=macOS' build
Run unit tests
xcodebuild -project WiFiLens.xcodeproj -scheme "WiFi Lens" \
-configuration Debug -destination 'platform=macOS' \
-skipPackageUpdates test -only-testing:WiFiLensTests -only-testing:WiFiLensCoreTestsArchitecture docs live in docs/.
Contributing
Questions, bug reports, and feature ideas are welcome. See Contributing Guidelines for setup, pull request conventions, and localization requirements.
Join Rabbit Hole, a small community for WiFi Lens and other projects.
Contact: @WiFiLens on X · [email protected]
License
Forked from tiny-wifi-analyzer. MAC vendor data from the IEEE Registration Authority — see Third-Party Notices.
Apache License 2.0 © 2020 nolze, 2026 ShiinaLabs — see LICENSE.