The Unnecessary Deprecation of netstat: A Case of Fixing What Wasn't Broken

This article is about any fool "deprecation", not only for 'netstat'. But, let's go!

If you've been using Linux for a long time, you probably remember netstat—the go-to command for checking open ports, network connections, and active listening services. It was and is (you can still use it for a while) intuitive, widely used, and deeply embedded in scripts, workflows, and sysadmin routines.

But at some point, the Linux community "decided" that netstat was “obsolete” and replaced it with ss (Socket Statistics). The justification? Performance improvements and better integration with modern networking stacks.

Now, I’m all for progress. If something is slow or outdated, improve it. If a tool lacks features, extend it. But here’s what doesn’t make sense:

🔴 Why completely remove netstat when you could just fix it internally?

🔴 Why force a less intuitive tool (ss) on users instead of making it an alternative?

🔴 Why break scripts and muscle memory that have been in use for decades?

This is a perfect example of change for the sake of change, without considering the real-world impact on users, sysadmins, and developers.

What Was Wrong with netstat?

The main argument for replacing netstat was that it relies on /proc/net/*, which isn’t as efficient as modern Netlink-based tools like ss. But instead of rewriting netstat to use Netlink, they completely deprecated it, forcing everyone to learn new commands.

Imagine if ls was suddenly removed because it wasn’t “modern” enough, and you had to use a new tool called dirlist with different arguments. Would that make any sense? No. And neither does this.

A More Logical Approach

Here’s what should have been done instead:

✅ Keep netstat, but improve its backend to use a more efficient kernel interface.

✅ Maintain the same syntax and arguments so that existing scripts don’t break.

✅ Introduce ss as an optional tool, not a forced replacement.

✅ Add new features incrementally instead of making users relearn basic commands.

This would have allowed existing users to keep working as usual, while power users could opt into ss if they needed more advanced features.

The Real-World Impact

❌ Linux admins and power users lost a well-known, battle-tested command.

❌ Countless scripts and documentation became outdated overnight.

❌ Troubleshooting became harder for those who relied on netstat’s clear output.

❌ Adoption of ss wasn’t organic—it was forced.

And what did we gain? A command (ss) that may be technically superior but is far less readable, harder to use, and unnecessarily different.

This is a perfect example of software maintainers forgetting about the end user. Not all progress is good progress if it makes life harder for those who actually rely on the tool.

Conclusion

If something works but has performance issues, fix it—don’t replace it. If a tool lacks features, extend it—don’t remove it. Deprecating netstat was a mistake, and while we can adapt, it never should have happened this way.

Linux is supposed to follow the philosophy of "do one thing and do it well", not "change everything and break workflows".

Well, that was a bit of a rant. I see this kind of change, and it just feels like a huge waste of energy that could have been used to actually improve things instead of making them more complicated. Progress should make life easier, not harder. But hey, what do I know? I'm just someone who actually uses these tools every day.