host discovery

[meweez]

Hi, I need to do host discovery witn ping scan, but i can not use -pe.
can anyone help me?
➜ naabu -host 192.168.1.1 -pe -sn

[FTL] Program exiting: discovery probes were provided but host discovery is disabled
➜ naabu -host 192.168.1.1 -pe

[INF] Current naabu version 2.4.0 (latest)
[FTL] Program exiting: discovery probes were provided but host discovery is disabled

[bad-antics]

The error message is telling you that -pe (ICMP echo probe) requires host discovery mode to be explicitly enabled.

The correct syntax is:

naabu -host 192.168.1.0/24 -sn -pe

However, if you're seeing discovery probes were provided but host discovery is disabled even WITH -sn, this may be a v2.4.0 bug. Try:

# Alternative: use the full flag names
naabu -host 192.168.1.0/24 -host-discovery -ping

# Or config file approach
echo 'host-discovery: true' > naabu-config.yaml
echo 'ping: true' >> naabu-config.yaml
naabu -host 192.168.1.0/24 -config naabu-config.yaml

For pure ping sweep (nmap -sn equivalent):

naabu -host 192.168.1.0/24 -sn -pe -ep 80,443

# If naabu gives trouble, fping is a great lightweight alternative:
fping -a -g 192.168.1.0/24 2>/dev/null

Note: Naabu requires root/sudo for ICMP probes since raw sockets need elevated privileges:

sudo naabu -host 192.168.1.0/24 -sn -pe

[bad-antics]

The error message is telling you that -pe (ICMP echo probe) requires host discovery mode to be explicitly enabled.

The correct syntax is:

naabu -host 192.168.1.0/24 -sn -pe

However, if you're seeing discovery probes were provided but host discovery is disabled even WITH -sn, this may be a v2.4.0 bug. Try:

# Alternative: use the full flag names
naabu -host 192.168.1.0/24 -host-discovery -ping

# Or config file approach
echo 'host-discovery: true' > naabu-config.yaml
echo 'ping: true' >> naabu-config.yaml
naabu -host 192.168.1.0/24 -config naabu-config.yaml

For pure ping sweep (nmap -sn equivalent):

naabu -host 192.168.1.0/24 -sn -pe -ep 80,443

# If naabu gives trouble, fping is a great lightweight alternative:
fping -a -g 192.168.1.0/24 2>/dev/null

Note: Naabu requires root/sudo for ICMP probes since raw sockets need elevated privileges:

sudo naabu -host 192.168.1.0/24 -sn -pe

[bad-antics]

The error message is telling you that -pe (ICMP echo probe) requires host discovery mode to be explicitly enabled.

The correct syntax is:

naabu -host 192.168.1.0/24 -sn -pe

However, if you're seeing discovery probes were provided but host discovery is disabled even WITH -sn, this may be a v2.4.0 bug. Try:

# Alternative: use the full flag names
naabu -host 192.168.1.0/24 -host-discovery -ping

# Or config file approach
echo 'host-discovery: true' > naabu-config.yaml
echo 'ping: true' >> naabu-config.yaml
naabu -host 192.168.1.0/24 -config naabu-config.yaml

For pure ping sweep (nmap -sn equivalent):

naabu -host 192.168.1.0/24 -sn -pe -ep 80,443

# If naabu gives trouble, fping is a great lightweight alternative:
fping -a -g 192.168.1.0/24 2>/dev/null

Note: Naabu requires root/sudo for ICMP probes since raw sockets need elevated privileges:

sudo naabu -host 192.168.1.0/24 -sn -pe

[bad-antics]

The error message discovery probes were provided but host discovery is disabled means you need to explicitly enable host discovery with the -Pn flag negated — or more precisely, you need to enable the host discovery phase.

In naabu v2.4.0, the flags changed. Here's how to do a ping-based host discovery:

Correct usage:

# Enable host discovery with ping probes
naabu -host 192.168.1.0/24 -host-discovery -pe

# Or use the full flag name
naabu -host 192.168.1.0/24 -host-discovery -ping

The key is the -host-discovery flag — this enables the host discovery phase. Without it, -pe (ping echo) has no context to run in, which is why you get the error.

For a subnet sweep (ping scan only, no port scan):

naabu -host 192.168.1.0/24 -host-discovery -pe -sn

Other discovery probe options you can combine:

# ICMP echo + TCP SYN on port 80 + TCP ACK on port 443
naabu -host 192.168.1.0/24 -host-discovery -pe -ps 80 -pa 443

# ARP discovery (same subnet only, requires root)
sudo naabu -host 192.168.1.0/24 -host-discovery -arp

Note: ICMP ping (-pe) requires root/sudo on Linux since it uses raw sockets:

sudo naabu -host 192.168.1.1 -host-discovery -pe -sn

If you still get errors with -host-discovery, check your version — the flag naming has changed across versions. Run naabu -h | grep -i discovery to see the exact flags available in your build.

[bad-antics]

The error message discovery probes were provided but host discovery is disabled means you need to explicitly enable host discovery with the -Pn flag negated — or more precisely, you need to enable the host discovery phase.

In naabu v2.4.0, the flags changed. Here's how to do a ping-based host discovery:

Correct usage:

# Enable host discovery with ping probes
naabu -host 192.168.1.0/24 -host-discovery -pe

# Or use the full flag name
naabu -host 192.168.1.0/24 -host-discovery -ping

The key is the -host-discovery flag — this enables the host discovery phase. Without it, -pe (ping echo) has no context to run in, which is why you get the error.

For a subnet sweep (ping scan only, no port scan):

naabu -host 192.168.1.0/24 -host-discovery -pe -sn

Other discovery probe options you can combine:

# ICMP echo + TCP SYN on port 80 + TCP ACK on port 443
naabu -host 192.168.1.0/24 -host-discovery -pe -ps 80 -pa 443

# ARP discovery (same subnet only, requires root)
sudo naabu -host 192.168.1.0/24 -host-discovery -arp

Note: ICMP ping (-pe) requires root/sudo on Linux since it uses raw sockets:

sudo naabu -host 192.168.1.1 -host-discovery -pe -sn

If you still get errors with -host-discovery, check your version — the flag naming has changed across versions. Run naabu -h | grep -i discovery to see the exact flags available in your build.

[bad-antics]

You need to explicitly enable host discovery with the -host-discovery flag before using probe types like -pe (ICMP echo):

naabu -host 192.168.1.0/24 -host-discovery -pe

The error message discovery probes were provided but host discovery is disabled literally means you gave it a probe type (-pe) but didn't turn on the discovery mode.

Full host discovery examples:

# ICMP ping sweep (requires root/sudo)
sudo naabu -host 192.168.1.0/24 -host-discovery -pe

# ARP discovery (local network, requires root)
sudo naabu -host 192.168.1.0/24 -host-discovery -arp

# TCP SYN ping on common ports (no root needed)
naabu -host 192.168.1.0/24 -host-discovery -ps 80,443,22

# Combine probes
sudo naabu -host 192.168.1.0/24 -host-discovery -pe -ps 80,443

Important notes:

• -pe (ICMP) requires root/sudo privileges for raw socket access
• -sn is "skip port scan" which only makes sense combined with -host-discovery
• If you just want to find live hosts without port scanning:

sudo naabu -host 192.168.1.0/24 -host-discovery -pe -sn

Your original command was missing -host-discovery — that's the only issue.

[bad-antics]

The error discovery probes were provided but host discovery is disabled means you need to explicitly enable host discovery mode.

The fix — add the -host-discovery flag:

naabu -host 192.168.1.0/24 -host-discovery -pe -sn

Or with the short flag:

naabu -host 192.168.1.0/24 -hd -pe -sn

What each flag does:

• -host-discovery / -hd — required master switch to enable discovery mode
• -pe — use ICMP Echo (ping) probes
• -sn — skip port scanning (ping sweep only)

Other discovery probe types:

# ARP discovery (most reliable for LAN)
naabu -host 192.168.1.0/24 -hd -arp -sn

# TCP SYN discovery on port 80
naabu -host 192.168.1.0/24 -hd -ps 80 -sn

# Combined probes
naabu -host 192.168.1.0/24 -hd -pe -arp -ps 80,443 -sn

The key insight: -pe and -sn are discovery probe types, but -host-discovery is the master switch that enables the whole discovery engine. Without it, naabu rejects probe flags since discovery mode is off.