Pro plugin

WiFi Known Networks

Collects WiFi known networks, legacy airport preferences, association history, interface configuration, and DHCP leases from macOS

network.wifiPromacOS 10.15+v1.0.0networksystemconnectivity

Run this plugin

Trigger collection for WiFi Known Networks on its own with the --plugin flag, or include it in a wider sweep by category.

# Just this plugin
macfor-pro collect --plugin network.wifi --output ./evidence.zip

# Dry run — list what would be collected
macfor-pro collect --plugin network.wifi --dry-run

Compatibility

  • macOS 10.15+

Licensing: ships in the macfor-pro binary. See Community vs Pro.

Artifacts collected (8)

Each row corresponds to an entry in the plugin's artifacts.yaml manifest. Optional artifacts are skipped unless explicitly enabled.

config

ArtifactFormatPathNotes
WiFi Known Networks
wifi_known_networkshigh value
binary_plist/Library/Preferences/com.apple.wifi.known-networks.plistAvailable on macOS 11 (Big Sur) and later. Contains SSID, security type, timestamps, auto-join, captive state.
WiFi Legacy Airport Preferences
wifi_legacy_networkshigh value
binary_plist/Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/com.apple.airport.preferences.plistPresent on all macOS versions. Contains remembered networks, last connected, security type.
WiFi Global Settings
wifi_global_settingsmedium value
binary_plist/Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/com.apple.wifi.message-tracer.plistWiFi diagnostics and global settings. May contain association counts and interface info.
WiFi Network Interfaces
wifi_interfacesmedium value
binary_plist/Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/NetworkInterfaces.plistHardware interface configuration including MAC addresses and interface types.
WiFi DHCP Leases
wifi_dhcp_leaseshigh value
binary_plist/var/db/dhcpclient/leases/*DHCP lease files containing IP addresses, router, DNS, and lease timestamps.

history

ArtifactFormatPathNotes
WiFi Association Events
wifi_associationshigh value
binary_plist/Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/com.apple.airport.preferences.plist
+1 more
  • /Library/Preferences/com.apple.wifi.known-networks.plist
Extracted from airport preferences and known networks. Tracks when the device joined each network.
WiFi Association Counts
wifi_association_countsmedium value
binary_plist/Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/com.apple.wifi.message-tracer.plistExtracted from message tracer. Total join counts per SSID.

cache

ArtifactFormatPathNotes
WiFi Raw Files
wifi_raw_filesOptionalOpt-in
binary_plist/Library/Preferences/com.apple.wifi.known-networks.plist
+4 more
  • /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/com.apple.airport.preferences.plist
  • /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/com.apple.wifi.message-tracer.plist
  • /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/NetworkInterfaces.plist
  • /var/db/dhcpclient/leases/*
Raw copies of all WiFi-related files for offline or custom analysis.