netinterfaces

A lightweight and cross-platform Python library to retrieve network interface names with a simple API.

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Features

• Single-function API – Quickly retrieve network interface names with minimal effort.
• Cross-platform support – Works on Windows, Linux, and macOS.
• No external dependencies – Pure Python implementation with no additional requirements.
• Consistent output format – Provides a uniform list output across different operating systems.
• Handles errors gracefully – Returns an empty list in case of errors instead of crashing.

Installation

Install netinterfaces using pip:

pip install netinterfaces

Usage

Import and use get_interfaces to retrieve network interface names:

from netinterfaces import get_interfaces

interfaces = get_interfaces()
print(interfaces)  # Example output: ['eth0', 'wlan0', 'lo']

Platform-Specific Examples

The library adapts to different platforms and returns interface names accordingly:

• Linux: ['lo', 'eth0', 'wlan0']
• Windows: ['Ethernet', 'Wi-Fi', 'Loopback Pseudo-Interface']
• macOS: ['lo0', 'en0', 'en1']

API Documentation

get_interfaces()

def get_interfaces() -> list:
    """
    Retrieves a list of network interface names available on the system.
    
    Returns:
        list: A list of network interface names (e.g., ['eth0', 'wlan0', 'lo']).
        If an error occurs, an empty list is returned.
    """

Returns

• List of strings: Each string represents a network interface name.
• Empty list: Returned in case of an error (e.g., lack of permissions, unexpected system behavior).

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! To contribute:

1. Fork the repository.
2. Create a new branch (feature-branch).
3. Implement your changes and write tests if necessary.
4. Submit a pull request.

License

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

Support

If you encounter any issues or have feature requests, please open an issue on the GitHub repository.