Where Does Wireshark Store Profiles?
Wireshark keeps personal profiles with columns, colors and filters in a profiles folder under its config directory.
Last updated
A Wireshark profile bundles column layouts, coloring rules, display filters, and protocol preferences under one name. Each profile is a folder, so migrating years of tuning means copying a directory.
Unsure which directory your build uses? Help > About Wireshark has a Folders tab listing every live path, personal and global. Trust that tab over any article when versions disagree.
Where Wireshark stores this, by platform
%APPDATA%\Wireshark\profiles
Each subfolder is one profile. Copy a profile folder to another machine's profiles directory and it appears in the profile switcher.
~/.config/wireshark/profiles
Very old installs used ~/.wireshark instead. If the .config path is empty, the legacy folder is worth a look.
~/.config/wireshark/profiles
Follows XDG_CONFIG_HOME when set. The global read only defaults live under the install share directory, not here.
Frequently asked questions
How do I reset Wireshark to defaults?
Rename the profile folder and restart. Wireshark recreates a clean Default profile, and your old tuning survives under the renamed folder if you want pieces back.
Where are capture files stored?
Unsaved captures sit in the system temp directory until you save them. Profiles hold display settings only, so a lost temp capture is gone with the reboot.
Notice an outdated path? Let us know.