netifaces-plus

0.12.5 verified Fri May 01 auth: no python

A portable library to retrieve network interface information (IP addresses, MAC addresses, gateways, etc.) on Unix, Windows, and macOS. Version 0.12.5 supports Python >=3.6. Fork of the unmaintained netifaces with modern Python support and additional features. Released irregularly.

pip install netifaces-plus

Common errors

error ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'netifaces_plus' ↓

cause User tried to import the package with the PyPI name (netifaces-plus) as the module name.

fix

Use 'import netifaces' instead of 'import netifaces_plus'.

error AttributeError: module 'netifaces' has no attribute 'interfaces' ↓

cause The module might not be the real netifaces-plus (perhaps a stale or different package).

fix

Ensure you installed netifaces-plus (not netifaces) and check the version: pip show netifaces-plus.

error KeyError: 2 (or AF_INET not found) ↓

cause The interface does not have an IPv4 address (e.g., no IP assigned).

fix

Check with if netifaces.AF_INET in addrs before accessing addrs[netifaces.AF_INET].

Warnings

gotcha The PyPI package name is 'netifaces-plus' but the Python import is 'netifaces'. This often confuses users who try 'import netifaces_plus'. ↓

fix Use 'import netifaces'.

gotcha On some platforms (e.g., Windows), 'ifaddresses(MY_IFACE)' may return empty or partial data if the interface is down or not fully initialized. Always handle missing keys. ↓

fix Check if address family exists: `netifaces.AF_INET in addrs`.

breaking In version 0.12.4, the library dropped support for Python 3.5 and below. Users on older Python must pin to an older release. ↓

fix Upgrade Python to 3.6+ or use 'pip install netifaces-plus<0.12.4'.

gotcha The 'gateways()' function returns a dict where keys are address families (e.g., AF_INET, AF_INET6) and values are lists. The default gateway is the first element of the list, not a separate key. ↓

fix Access default IPv4 gateway with `netifaces.gateways()['default'][netifaces.AF_INET]`.

Imports

netifaces
wrong
```
import netifaces_plus
```
correct
```
import netifaces
```
The library name in PyPI is 'netifaces-plus' but the import package is 'netifaces'. Do not use the hyphenated name.
interfaces
wrong
```
netifaces.networks()
```
correct
```
netifaces.interfaces()
```
The function to list interface names is `interfaces()`, not `networks()`.
gateways
wrong
```
netifaces.default_gateway()
```
correct
```
netifaces.gateways()
```
`gateways()` is a top-level function returning all gateway info. There is no `default_gateway()`.

Quickstart

Basic usage: list interfaces, get addresses for first interface, and show gateways.

import netifaces

# List all network interface names
ifaces = netifaces.interfaces()
print('Interfaces:', ifaces)

# Get addresses for a specific interface (e.g., 'eth0' or 'en0')
if ifaces:
    iface = ifaces[0]
    addrs = netifaces.ifaddresses(iface)
    print(f'Addresses for {iface}:', addrs)

# Get default gateways
print('Gateways:', netifaces.gateways())