Unicornscan is a free network reconnaissance tool that sends asynchronous, stateless probes and records responses. Its documented modes include TCP SYN scans, UDP probes with protocol-specific payloads, local-network ARP discovery, and stateless TCP traceroute. Alicorn provides a web interface for examining scan history, host and port statistics, OS fingerprinting, and network topology. The pgsqldb module can export results to PostgreSQL, which Alicorn uses for storage; starting Alicorn also launches a PostgREST API. Optional free DB-IP Lite databases add country, city, and ASN lookups to scan output and the interface. Packages are listed for Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, RHEL-compatible distributions, and macOS through Homebrew or DMG. Linux capabilities are set automatically so scans can run without root privileges. The Alicorn interface requires Docker and PostgreSQL. Scan modes that begin with ARP are limited to targets on the local broadcast domain, since ARP requests cannot cross routers. The project directs users to its website and GitHub Issues for support.
Who it is for
Unicornscan suits users who need network reconnaissance with TCP, UDP, discovery, and tracing modes. Those who want its Alicorn web interface should be prepared to use Docker and PostgreSQL.
What is good
- Includes TCP SYN scans and UDP probes.
- Offers local-network ARP discovery and stateless TCP traceroute.
- Alicorn displays scan history and network topology.
- Linux capabilities allow scans without root privileges.
- Optional DB-IP Lite databases provide country, city, and ASN lookups.
What to know first
- Alicorn requires Docker and PostgreSQL.
- ARP-based compound modes are limited to the local broadcast domain.
- Free DB-IP Lite databases are optional, not built-in.
Verdict
Unicornscan combines stateless probing with Alicorn’s result-viewing interface and PostgreSQL integration. Its ARP scope restriction and Alicorn’s Docker and PostgreSQL requirements are important deployment considerations.
Unicornscan plans and pricing
All plansCompared on port scanner software
- Free plan
- Yes
- Deployment
- cli
- Scan scope
- network
- Service detection
- Yes
- OS detection
- Yes
- API access
- Yes