Scan for wireless networks on the commandline in Linux

The iwlist command can be used to scan for wireless networks from the commandline. For example:

toro@moutere:~$ iwlist wlan0 scanning
wlan0     Scan completed :
          Cell 01 - Address: 00:21:63:86:DA:62
                    Channel:1
                    Frequency:2.412 GHz (Channel 1)
                    Quality=70/70  Signal level=-30 dBm  
                    Encryption key:on
                    ESSID:"tiromoana"
                    Bit Rates:1 Mb/s; 2 Mb/s; 5.5 Mb/s; 11 Mb/s; 18 Mb/s
                              24 Mb/s; 36 Mb/s; 54 Mb/s
                    Bit Rates:6 Mb/s; 9 Mb/s; 12 Mb/s; 48 Mb/s
                    Mode:Master
                    Extra:tsf=000000173cb97186
                    Extra: Last beacon: 1052ms ago
                    IE: Unknown: 00097469726F6D6F616E61
                    IE: Unknown: 010882848B962430486C
                    IE: Unknown: 030101
                    IE: Unknown: 2A0100
                    IE: Unknown: 2F0100
                    IE: IEEE 802.11i/WPA2 Version 1
                        Group Cipher : CCMP
                        Pairwise Ciphers (1) : CCMP
                        Authentication Suites (1) : PSK
                    IE: Unknown: 32040C121860
                    IE: Unknown: DD060010180201F0

Sources

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wireless_tools_for_Linux#iwlist