Installing on Linux

Install dependencies

First, some basic dependencies need to be installed.

Debian / Ubuntu / Kali / Parrot / Etc

sudo apt install build-essential cmake libusb-1.0-0-dev libpcap-dev git

Redhat

sudo dnf install cmake automake gcc gcc-c++ kernel-devel git

Arch

sudo pacman -S base-devel cmake libpcap libusb git

Check out the code

git clone https://github.com/hak5/hak5-wifi-coconut

Configure

cd hak5-wifi-coconut
mkdir build
cd build
cmake ../

cmake will confirm that the required dependencies are available.

Compile

Still in the build directory, run make to compile the code:

make

Install

While still in the build directory, finally, install the compiled programs:

make install

This will install the wifi-coconut tool to the default path (/usr/local/bin by default), and the rt2800usb firmware to /usr/local/share/.

Running

Running the wifi_coconut tool requires root privileges, since it performs raw access to the USB devices. Run it via sudo:

sudo wifi_coconut

Additionally, the wifi_coconut tool takes several options to automate behavior:

Usage: wifi_coconut [options]
By default, the wifi_coconut tool opens in interactive mode.
Universal options:
 --disable-leds        Go fully dark; don't enable any LEDs
 --invert-leds         Normally a Wi-Fi Coconut enables all the LEDs
                       and blinks during traffic; Invert only lights
                       when there is traffic.
 --disable-blinking    Disable blinking the LEDs on traffic
 
Non-interactive modes:
 --no-display          Don't display channel UI while logging
 --wait                Wait for a coconut to be found
 --pcap=[fname]        Log packets to a pcap file.  If file is '-',
                       a pcap file will be echoed to stdout so that it can
                       be piped to other tools. --wait-for-coconut    Wait for a coconut to be connected and identified
 --list-coconuts       List Wi-Fi Coconut devices and exit
 --coconut-device=X    If you have multiple Wi-Fi Coconuts, specify
                       which one to use
 --enable-partial      Enable a Wi-Fi Coconut even if not all the
                       radios have been identified.
 --plain-dot11         Log plain 802.11 packets instead of radiotap
                       formatted packets with signal and channel
 --quiet               Disable most output

Integrating with other tools

Output from the wifi_coconut tool can be directly piped to other tools like tcpdump or tshark:

sudo wifi_coconut --no-display --pcap=- | tcpdump -r -

or

sudo wifi_coconut --no-display --pcap=- | tshark -r -

Troubleshooting

After connecting the WiFi Coconut, you can look at the output of lsusb to confirm that the radios have been found:

% lsusb | grep '148f:5370'
Bus 007 Device 038: ID 148f:5370 Ralink Technology, Corp. RT5370 Wireless Adapter
Bus 007 Device 035: ID 148f:5370 Ralink Technology, Corp. RT5370 Wireless Adapter
Bus 007 Device 031: ID 148f:5370 Ralink Technology, Corp. RT5370 Wireless Adapter
Bus 007 Device 027: ID 148f:5370 Ralink Technology, Corp. RT5370 Wireless Adapter
Bus 007 Device 032: ID 148f:5370 Ralink Technology, Corp. RT5370 Wireless Adapter
Bus 007 Device 028: ID 148f:5370 Ralink Technology, Corp. RT5370 Wireless Adapter
Bus 007 Device 037: ID 148f:5370 Ralink Technology, Corp. RT5370 Wireless Adapter
Bus 007 Device 034: ID 148f:5370 Ralink Technology, Corp. RT5370 Wireless Adapter
Bus 007 Device 030: ID 148f:5370 Ralink Technology, Corp. RT5370 Wireless Adapter
Bus 007 Device 026: ID 148f:5370 Ralink Technology, Corp. RT5370 Wireless Adapter
Bus 007 Device 036: ID 148f:5370 Ralink Technology, Corp. RT5370 Wireless Adapter
Bus 007 Device 033: ID 148f:5370 Ralink Technology, Corp. RT5370 Wireless Adapter
Bus 007 Device 029: ID 148f:5370 Ralink Technology, Corp. RT5370 Wireless Adapter
Bus 007 Device 024: ID 148f:5370 Ralink Technology, Corp. RT5370 Wireless Adapter

If all the radios do not appear, check the output of dmesg - you may need to run sudo dmesg depending on your Linux distribution.

Root required

When running the wifi_coconut tool or coconut capture with Kismet, root is required. Run the wifi_coconut tool with sudo, and install Kismet as suit-root or run it via sudo as well.