Hier Config CLI

A powerful command-line interface tool for network configuration analysis, remediation, and rollback built on top of the Hier Config library.

Overview

hier-config-cli helps network engineers analyze configuration differences, generate remediation commands, prepare rollback procedures, and predict configuration states across multiple network platforms. It's an essential tool for network automation workflows, change management, and configuration compliance.

Key Features

• 🔄 Remediation Generation: Automatically generate commands to transform running config into intended config
• ⏮️ Rollback Planning: Create rollback procedures before making changes
• 🔮 Future State Prediction: Preview the complete configuration after applying changes
• 🌐 Multi-Platform Support: Works with Cisco, Juniper, Arista, HP, Fortinet, VyOS, and more
• 📊 Multiple Output Formats: Export as text, JSON, or YAML
• 🎯 Type-Safe: Fully typed Python code with mypy support
• ✅ Well-Tested: Comprehensive test suite with high code coverage
• 📝 Detailed Logging: Verbose and debug modes for troubleshooting

Installation

Via pip (recommended)

pip install hier-config-cli

Via Poetry

poetry add hier-config-cli

From Source

git clone https://github.com/netdevops/hier-config-cli.git
cd hier-config-cli
poetry install

Quick Start

1. List Available Platforms

hier-config-cli list-platforms

Output:

=== Available Platforms ===
  aruba_aoscx
  eos
  fortios
  generic
  hp_comware5
  hp_procurve
  huawei_vrp
  ios
  iosxr
  junos
  nokia_srl
  nxos
  vyos

2. Generate Remediation Configuration

Compare your running configuration with the intended configuration and generate the commands needed to remediate:

hier-config-cli remediation \
  --platform ios \
  --running-config running.conf \
  --generated-config intended.conf

3. Generate Rollback Configuration

Prepare rollback commands before making changes:

hier-config-cli rollback \
  --platform ios \
  --running-config running.conf \
  --generated-config intended.conf

4. Preview Future Configuration

See what the complete configuration will look like after applying changes:

hier-config-cli future \
  --platform ios \
  --running-config running.conf \
  --generated-config intended.conf

Usage Examples

Basic Remediation

hier-config-cli remediation \
  --platform ios \
  --running-config examples/cisco_ios_running.conf \
  --generated-config examples/cisco_ios_intended.conf

Output:

=== Remediation Configuration ===
no hostname router-01
hostname router-01-updated
interface GigabitEthernet0/0
 no description WAN Interface
 description WAN Interface - Updated
interface Vlan20
 description Guest VLAN
 ip address 10.0.20.1 255.255.255.0
router ospf 1
 network 10.0.20.0 0.0.0.255 area 0
ntp server 192.0.2.1

Export to JSON

hier-config-cli remediation \
  --platform ios \
  --running-config running.conf \
  --generated-config intended.conf \
  --format json

Export to YAML

hier-config-cli remediation \
  --platform nxos \
  --running-config running.conf \
  --generated-config intended.conf \
  --format yaml

Save Output to File

hier-config-cli remediation \
  --platform iosxr \
  --running-config running.conf \
  --generated-config intended.conf \
  --output remediation_commands.txt

Enable Verbose Logging

# INFO level logging
hier-config-cli -v remediation \
  --platform ios \
  --running-config running.conf \
  --generated-config intended.conf

# DEBUG level logging
hier-config-cli -vv remediation \
  --platform ios \
  --running-config running.conf \
  --generated-config intended.conf

Commands

remediation

Generates the commands needed to transform the running configuration into the intended configuration.

Options:

• --platform: Target platform (required) - see list-platforms for options
• --running-config: Path to running configuration file (required)
• --generated-config: Path to intended/generated configuration file (required)
• --format: Output format - text, json, or yaml (default: text)
• --output, -o: Write output to file instead of stdout

rollback

Generates the commands needed to revert from the intended configuration back to the running configuration. Useful for preparing rollback procedures before making changes.

Options: Same as remediation

future

Predicts what the complete configuration will look like after applying the intended configuration to the running configuration.

Options: Same as remediation

list-platforms

Lists all supported network platforms.

version

Shows the installed version of hier-config-cli.

Supported Platforms

Platform	Code	Description
Cisco IOS	ios	Cisco IOS routers and switches
Cisco NX-OS	nxos	Cisco Nexus switches
Cisco IOS XR	iosxr	Cisco IOS XR routers
Arista EOS	eos	Arista switches
Juniper JunOS	junos	Juniper routers and switches
VyOS	vyos	VyOS routers
Fortinet FortiOS	fortios	Fortinet firewalls
HP Comware5	hp_comware5	HP Comware5 switches
HP ProCurve	hp_procurve	HP ProCurve switches
Aruba AOS-CX	aruba_aoscx	Aruba AOS-CX switches
Huawei VRP	huawei_vrp	Huawei VRP routers and switches
Nokia SR Linux	nokia_srl	Nokia SR Linux switches
Generic	generic	Generic/unknown platform

Integration Examples

With Nornir

from nornir import InitNornir
from nornir.core.task import Task
import subprocess

def generate_remediation(task: Task) -> None:
    """Generate remediation for a device."""
    result = subprocess.run(
        [
            "hier-config-cli",
            "remediation",
            "--platform", task.host.platform,
            "--running-config", f"configs/{task.host.name}_running.conf",
            "--generated-config", f"configs/{task.host.name}_intended.conf",
            "--output", f"remediation/{task.host.name}_remediation.txt",
        ],
        capture_output=True,
        text=True,
    )
    return result.stdout

nr = InitNornir(config_file="config.yaml")
results = nr.run(task=generate_remediation)

With Ansible

- name: Generate configuration remediation
  hosts: network_devices
  tasks:
    - name: Run hier-config-cli remediation
      command: >
        hier-config-cli remediation
        --platform {{ platform }}
        --running-config /tmp/{{ inventory_hostname }}_running.conf
        --generated-config /tmp/{{ inventory_hostname }}_intended.conf
        --output /tmp/{{ inventory_hostname }}_remediation.txt
      register: remediation_result

    - name: Display remediation
      debug:
        msg: "{{ remediation_result.stdout }}"

In CI/CD Pipeline

# .github/workflows/config-validation.yml
name: Validate Network Configs

on: [push, pull_request]

jobs:
  validate:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Set up Python
        uses: actions/setup-python@v5
        with:
          python-version: '3.11'

      - name: Install hier-config-cli
        run: pip install hier-config-cli

      - name: Generate remediation
        run: |
          hier-config-cli remediation \
            --platform ios \
            --running-config prod/running.conf \
            --generated-config staging/intended.conf \
            --output remediation.txt

      - name: Upload remediation
        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
        with:
          name: remediation-config
          path: remediation.txt

Development

Prerequisites

• Python 3.10 or higher
• Poetry (for dependency management)

Setup Development Environment

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/netdevops/hier-config-cli.git
cd hier-config-cli

# Install dependencies
poetry install

# Activate virtual environment
poetry shell

Running Tests

# Full lint + test suite (what CI runs)
poetry run python scripts/build.py lint-and-test

# Tests only (95% coverage required)
poetry run python scripts/build.py pytest --coverage

# Run a specific test file
poetry run pytest tests/test_cli.py -v

Code Quality

All linters and type checkers run in parallel via the build script:

# Lint only (ruff format + check, mypy, pyright, pylint, yamllint, flynt)
poetry run python scripts/build.py lint

# Auto-fix formatting and fixable lint issues
poetry run python scripts/build.py lint --fix

# Auto-format code
poetry run ruff format src tests scripts

Standards: ruff format (not black), ruff select = ["ALL"] with preview rules at line length 88, mypy strict, pyright strict, pylint with extension plugins, and full type annotations everywhere — including tests.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please see CONTRIBUTING.md for details on:

• Code of conduct
• Development workflow
• Pull request process
• Coding standards

Security

For security issues, please see SECURITY.md for our security policy and how to report vulnerabilities.

Changelog

See CHANGELOG.md for a detailed list of changes between versions.

License

This project is licensed under the Apache License 2.0 - see the LICENSE file for details.

Links

• Documentation: https://github.com/netdevops/hier-config-cli
• PyPI: https://pypi.org/project/hier-config-cli/
• Issues: https://github.com/netdevops/hier-config-cli/issues
• Hier Config Library: https://github.com/netdevops/hier_config

Acknowledgments

Built on top of the excellent Hier Config library by James Williams and contributors.

Support

• 📫 Open an issue: GitHub Issues
• 💬 Discussions: GitHub Discussions
• 📧 Email: james.williams@packetgeek.net