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SiLK vs Argus: catalog facts
SiLK	Argus
Free Free under the GNU General Public License version 2.	Free Free and open source under the GPLv2 license.
macOS, Linux, Command line	macOS, Linux, Command line
Collects IPFIX and multiple NetFlow versions Stores flow records in compact files	Processes live network traffic and packet captures Generates detailed flow records for analysis
Designed for large network traffic datasets Requires a separate flow data collection setup	Building from source requires libpcap, flex, bison, a C compiler, and zlib development libraries.
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Open source	Open source
License: GPL-2.0-or-later	License: GPL-2.0-only
Not stated if an account is needed	Not stated if an account is needed
Not stated if it works offline	Not stated if it works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Checked October 8, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked October 8, 2026

Catalog facts only. Anything “not stated” is unconfirmed. Check full listings for details.