arp stands for Address Resolution Protocol, and it is used to map the MAC addresses of devices (globally unique identifying number) to IPs. Computers contain an ARP table that maps MAP and IP addresses. To view all entries in the table, run the following command:
$ arp -a
If you get below error while running arp:
arp: command not found
You may need to install the net-tools package according to your choice of distribution.
| Distribution | Command |
|---|---|
| Debian | apt-get install net-tools |
| Ubuntu | apt-get install net-tools |
| Alpine | apk add net-tools |
| Arch Linux | pacman -S net-tools |
| Kali Linux | apt-get install net-tools |
| CentOS | yum install net-tools |
| Fedora | dnf install net-tools |
| Raspbian | apt-get install net-tools |
| Docker | docker run cmd.cat/arp arp |
arp Example
1. Show current arp table:
$ arp -a
2. Clear the entire cache:
$ arp -a -d
3. Delete a specific entry:
$ arp -d address
4. Create an entry:
$ arp -s address mac_address