NetSight

NetSight is a read-only, multi-vendor network device query SDK written in Python 3.14. It connects to devices over vendor-native APIs (currently PAN-OS XML; more vendors planned), enforces a deny-all command allowlist, and returns structured data parsed from declarative YAML parser specs.

For users

See the User Guide for installation, configuration, and day-to-day SDK usage — connecting to a device, running an operation, handling results, writing a template workflow.

from netsight import NetSight

ns = NetSight(config="config/devices.yaml")
device = ns.device("fw-01")
info = device.show_system_info()
routes = device.show_routing_table()

Installing the core SDK

# Minimal SDK install — just the device-query core
pip install netsight-sdk

# With the dev MCP server (for Claude Code contributors)
pip install 'netsight-sdk[dev]'

Or, to track the development branch directly:

pip install git+https://github.com/magicboxlab-ai/netsight-sdk.git

First-time setup

After installing the core SDK, run netsight init to create your device configuration file:

# Create ~/.config/netsight/devices.yaml with a template
netsight init

# Edit the file to add your devices, then verify
netsight doctor

The config file search order is: $NETSIGHT_CONFIG_DIR → ./config/ (cwd, for project-local dev workflows) → $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/netsight/ → ~/.config/netsight/.

Installing vendor packs

The core SDK is vendor-agnostic. Vendor support ships as separate pack packages installed alongside the core. Use the netsight pack CLI to discover and install packs:

# List packs available in the bundled catalog
netsight pack list --available

# Install a pack
netsight pack install paloalto-firewall-xml

# Verify everything loaded correctly
netsight doctor

Packs can also be installed directly from their source repositories:

pip install git+https://github.com/magicboxlab-ai/netsight-packs-paloalto.git#subdirectory=packs/paloalto-firewall-xml

After installation, the pack is auto-discovered at startup via the netsight.packs entry-point group — no config change required.

See User Guide → Vendor packs for the full install and configuration flow.

For contributors

NetSight ships a purpose-built MCP server (netsight-dev) that exposes the codebase to Claude Code as structured resources and validation tools. The bootstrap flow for a new clone is documented end-to-end in the developer guide:

See Developer Guide → Getting Started for Development.

TL;DR:

git clone <repo-url> netsight
cd netsight
python3.14 -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate
pip install -e .
netsight init --local # creates ./config/devices.yaml from the template
netsight doctor       # verifies the dev env end-to-end
claude                # approve the netsight-dev MCP server when prompted

The rest of the developer guide covers adding vendor packs, writing parser specs, custom types and transforms, registry wiring, self-documentation conventions, testing, and the release workflow.

Project layout at a glance

• netsight/ — SDK source (pack registry, parsers, config management, security module, dev MCP server).
• UNITTEST/ — pytest test suite (not tests/).
• TOOLS/ — shell utilities (full_test_cycle.sh, security_check.sh).
• docs/guides/ — user guide and developer guide.