ifaddr Library

Warnings

• breaking Version 0.2.0 dropped support for Python 3.6.
  Fix: Upgrade to Python 3.7+ (preferably 3.9+ as per the latest README) if using ifaddr 0.2.0 or newer.
• gotcha By default, `ifaddr.get_adapters()` only returns interfaces with configured IP addresses. To include interfaces without any assigned IP, pass `include_unconfigured=True`.
  Fix: Use `ifaddr.get_adapters(include_unconfigured=True)` to retrieve all interfaces, regardless of IP configuration.
• gotcha For IPv6 addresses, the `ip.ip` attribute returns a three-tuple: `(ip_address_string, flowinfo, scope_id)`, not just a string, which might require unpacking or specific handling.
  Fix: Be aware that `ip.ip` for IPv6 addresses is a tuple. Access the string representation as `ip.ip[0]` if only the address string is needed.
• gotcha On Windows, the `adapter.name` property returns a UUID string, not a human-readable name. Use `adapter.nice_name` for a more descriptive identifier.
  Fix: Prefer `adapter.nice_name` for displaying adapter names to users, especially on Windows.
• gotcha While `ifaddr` is lightweight and doesn't require compilation, the `netifaces` library offers more comprehensive network interface information. As of `ifaddr` 0.2.0, an equivalent to `netifaces.interfaces()` is available at `ifaddr.netifaces.interfaces()`.
  Fix: Consider `netifaces` if more in-depth interface details (e.g., multicast addresses, status flags) are required, acknowledging its compilation dependency. For a subset of `netifaces` functionality, explore `ifaddr.netifaces` module.

Install

• pip install ifaddr Install stable version

Imports

• get_adapters

  import ifaddr
  adapters = ifaddr.get_adapters()

Quickstart

This example demonstrates how to retrieve all network adapters and iterate through their configured IP addresses. It also shows how to include unconfigured adapters if needed.

import ifaddr

# Get all network adapters
adapters = ifaddr.get_adapters()

for adapter in adapters:
    print(f"IPs of network adapter {adapter.nice_name}")
    if adapter.ips:
        for ip in adapter.ips:
            # ip.ip will be a string for IPv4, and a tuple (ip_str, flowinfo, scope_id) for IPv6
            print(f"  {ip.ip}/{ip.network_prefix}")
    else:
        print("  No IPs configured")

# To include interfaces without configured IP addresses:
# adapters_with_unconfigured = ifaddr.get_adapters(include_unconfigured=True)