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I'm working with a Pi running Raspbian. Is there a way to open the network list with a command from the terminal? This is the list I mean:

Screenshot of Wi-Fi network list

I have searched in the file ~/.config/lxpanel/LXDE-pi/panels/panel is defined the menu bar (sizes, icons, applications, etc ...). I think this is the code that defines the icon:

Plugin { 
 type=dhcpcdui
  Config { } 
}
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  • Are you looking to get around not having a mouse and open the list as if you had clicked it with a mouse or do you want to list the available networks via the command line?
    – Steve Robillard
    Jun 8, 2017 at 7:52
  • Yes, to open it without the mouse.
    – Francisco Javier Gil Blanco
    Jun 8, 2017 at 8:31
  • What will that give you that you can't from Darth Vader's answer below? Anything you can do with the applet you can do from the commandline (which does not require a mouse).
    – Steve Robillard
    Jun 8, 2017 at 9:11
  • Yes, I can modify the file that has named me 'Darth Vader', but the problem is that I can not find the command that I have to execute to display the list of networks.
    – Francisco Javier Gil Blanco
    Jun 8, 2017 at 9:29
  • it is the first command in Darth Vader's answer iwlist wlan0 scan. This may also help raspberrypi.org/documentation/configuration/wireless/…
    – Steve Robillard
    Jun 8, 2017 at 9:31

2 Answers 2

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I think the command you are looking for is:

iwlist wlan0 scan

Which will show a list of available Wi-Fi networks.

If you are connected to a network already you can see a list of the other devices on the network with:

nmap

To launch the terminal using a keyboard you can create a keyboard shortcut such as Ctrl+Alt+t. To do this first run:

nano ~/.config/openbox/lxde-rc.xml

This will allow you to modify the ~/.config/openbox/lxde-rc.xml file.

Anywhere between the <keyboard> and </keyboard> tags add:

<!-- Launch terminal when ctr-alt-t is pressed -->
  <keybind key="C-A-t">
    <action name="Execute"><command>lxterminal</command></action>
  </keybind>

If you put this piece of code just before the </keyboard> tag it should look something like this:

<!-- Launch gnome-screenshot when Print is pressed -->
  <keybind key="Print">
    <action name="Execute"><command>gnome-screenshot</command></action>
  </keybind>
<!-- Launch terminal when ctr-alt-t is pressed -->
  <keybind key="C-A-t">
    <action name="Execute"><command>lxterminal</command></action>
  </keybind>
</keyboard>
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  • What I am looking for is to open the dialog of the list of networks by command, to be able to execute that command from a script of 'python'. And the problem is that I do not know which process I should launch.
    – Francisco Javier Gil Blanco
    Jun 8, 2017 at 8:40
  • If you want to script something reliably use the command line not the gui.
    – Steve Robillard
    Jun 8, 2017 at 19:42
  • 2
    Weird thing, iwlist wlan0 scan shows only the network I am connected to, not all.
    – Suncatcher
    Jun 30, 2018 at 20:30
  • 1
    @Suncatcher Try running the command as root. See my answer.
    – Dogweather
    Oct 8, 2018 at 23:26
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Use iwlist as root to get a fresh scan. It gives a lot of output. Here's a way to get just a list of available networks:

$ sudo iwlist wlan0 scanning | grep ESSID
                ESSID:"Daisycat"
                ESSID:"AI Lab"
                ESSID:"E4A451"
                ESSID:"EB4E7F"
                ESSID:"Lan Solo"
                ESSID:"3FA29B"
                ESSID:"BaronTweet"
                ESSID:"E15F8D"
                ESSID:"Malik3199 2.4G"
                ESSID:""

From the manual page:

Triggering scanning is a privileged operation (root only) and normal users can only read left-over scan results.

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