Portable Network Interface Information

Warnings

• deprecated The original `netifaces` library (version 0.11.0 and earlier) is no longer actively maintained by its original author (al45tair) since at least May 2021. This means no new features, official bug fixes, or updates for newer Python versions are expected for this package. Users needing active development or support for modern Python versions should consider actively maintained forks like `netifaces2` or `netifaces-plus`.
  Fix: For ongoing development and support, consider migrating to `netifaces2` (`pip install netifaces2`) or `netifaces-plus` (`pip install netifaces-plus`). Be aware that these forks may introduce API changes.
• gotcha The numeric values of address family constants (e.g., `netifaces.AF_INET`, `netifaces.AF_LINK`) are system-dependent and can vary across different operating systems or even kernel versions. Do not assume fixed integer values or interchange them directly with constants from Python's `socket` module, as their underlying values might differ.
  Fix: Always use the symbolic constants provided directly by the `netifaces` module (e.g., `netifaces.AF_INET`) when querying `ifaddresses` results, rather than hardcoded integers or `socket.AF_INET`.
• gotcha The output of `netifaces.ifaddresses(interface_name)` is a dictionary keyed by system-dependent address family integers. Each value is a list of dictionaries, where each inner dictionary represents an address. This nested structure can appear cryptic and requires careful parsing, as a single interface can have multiple addresses of the same family.
  Fix: Iterate through the `addresses` dictionary and its lists, explicitly checking for desired address families (e.g., `if netifaces.AF_INET in addresses: ...`) and iterating through the list of addresses for that family.
• gotcha Installing `netifaces` from source distribution (e.g., a `.tar.gz` file or directly from GitHub without pre-compiled wheels) requires platform-specific development tools, including a C compiler and Python development headers. Missing these tools will result in compilation errors during installation.
  Fix: Ensure that your system has the necessary build tools installed (e.g., `build-essential` on Debian/Ubuntu, Xcode Command Line Tools on macOS, or Visual C++ build tools on Windows). Preferably, use `pip install netifaces` in an environment where pre-compiled wheels are available for your Python version and OS.
• gotcha On Windows, the `netifaces` library (version 0.11.0) might not report IPv4 addresses for network interfaces that have static IP configurations but are currently in a 'down' state. IPv6 addresses are generally reported regardless of interface status.
  Fix: If working with Windows and needing to retrieve IPv4 addresses, ensure the target network interface is active ('up'). Forks like `netifaces2` introduced `netifaces.interface_is_up()` to explicitly check interface status, which might be a necessary check if migrating or dealing with such scenarios.

Install

• pip install netifaces Install stable version

Imports

• netifaces

  import netifaces

Quickstart

This quickstart demonstrates how to list network interfaces, retrieve detailed address information for a specific interface, and fetch default gateway settings. Note that the output structure for `ifaddresses` is a dictionary keyed by system-dependent address family constants.

import netifaces

# Get a list of all network interface names
interfaces = netifaces.interfaces()
print(f"Interfaces: {interfaces}")

# Get addresses for a specific interface (e.g., the first one found)
if interfaces:
    first_interface = interfaces[0]
    addresses = netifaces.ifaddresses(first_interface)
    print(f"Addresses for {first_interface}:\n{addresses}")

    # Example: Accessing IPv4 addresses if available
    if netifaces.AF_INET in addresses:
        ipv4_addresses = addresses[netifaces.AF_INET]
        print(f"IPv4 addresses on {first_interface}: {ipv4_addresses}")

# Get default gateway information
gateways = netifaces.gateways()
print(f"Gateways: {gateways}")