networka 0.1.12

Modern Python cli toolkit for network device automation

Full documentation →

Network automation CLI. Apache 2.0 licensed. Fully open-source. Originally developed at narrowin, now community maintained.

Networka: Eierlegende Wollmilchsau of network operations — optimized for your daily workflows.

Networka is a modern CLI tool for automating network devices across multiple vendors. Designed for network engineers who want fast, scalable automation with full cross-platform support.

Built with the help of agentic-AI with humans in the loop, this started as an experiment that turned into something genuinely useful.

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The Networka Monologue

“People ask the question…
what’s a Networka?

And I tell 'em —
it's not about cables, configs, and pings.
Oh no.
There’s more to it than that, my friend.

We all like a bit of the good life —
some the uptime, some the security,
others the automation, the visibility, or the compliance.

But a Networka, oh, they're different.
Why?
Because a real Networka wants the f*ing lot.”

(inspired by: RockNRolla)

Getting Started

• Installation: see the docs → https://narrowin.github.io/networka/getting-started/
• Platform compatibility → https://narrowin.github.io/networka/platform-compatibility/
• Shell completion → https://narrowin.github.io/networka/shell-completion/
• CLI reference → https://narrowin.github.io/networka/reference/cli/
• API reference → https://narrowin.github.io/networka/reference/api/

Networka setup and command execution demo

Features

Core Capabilities

• Multi-vendor network automation: Native support for MikroTik RouterOS, Cisco IOS/IOS-XE/NX-OS, Arista EOS, Juniper JunOS, and more
• Scalable device management: Execute commands across individual devices or groups
• Cross-platform compatibility: Full support for Linux, macOS, and Windows environments
• Flexible configuration: YAML and CSV configuration options with powerful device tagging and grouping

Operational Features

• Command execution: Run single commands or predefined sequences across devices and groups
• File management: Upload/download files to/from network devices with verification and error handling
• Device backup: Automated configuration and comprehensive backups with vendor-specific implementations
• Firmware management: Upgrade, downgrade, and BIOS operations with platform validation
• CLI session management: Direct CLI access with tmux integration for interactive sessions

Advanced Features

• Intelligent completions: Context-aware shell completions for devices, groups, and sequences
• Vendor-aware sequences: Predefined command sets optimized for different network platforms
• Results management: Organized storage with multiple output formats and automatic timestamping
• Configuration validation: Schema-based validation with detailed error reporting
• Credential management: Secure credential handling via environment variables with device-specific overrides

Developer & Integration Features

• Type safety: Full mypy type checking for reliability and maintainability
• Modern architecture: Built with scalable scrapli and nornir support
• Extensible design: Plugin-friendly architecture for adding new vendors and operations
• Rich output: Professional CLI interface with color coding and structured information display

Installation

System Requirements

• Operating System: Linux, macOS, or Windows
• Python: 3.11, 3.12, or 3.13
• Network Access: SSH connectivity to target devices
• Package Manager: uv (recommended) or pip

Quick Install (recommended)

Not on PyPI yet — install from GitHub.

# Recommended (isolated, user-wide)
uv tool install git+https://github.com/narrowin/networka.git

# Alternative
pipx install git+https://github.com/narrowin/networka.git

# Verify installation
nw --help

If nw is not found

• Check: command -v nw (Linux/macOS) or where nw (Windows)
• If using pipx: ensure PATH is set, then reload shell

  pipx ensurepath
  exec $SHELL
  

• Linux/macOS: add user bin to PATH if needed

  echo 'export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.bashrc  # or ~/.zshrc
  exec $SHELL
  

• Windows (native, best-effort): prefer WSL2; if native, run pipx ensurepath and restart the terminal

More → PATH troubleshooting: https://narrowin.github.io/networka/troubleshooting/#path-nw-not-found

Upgrade & Remove

# Upgrade to latest version (from GitHub)
uv tool install --force git+https://github.com/narrowin/networka.git
# or
pipx install --force git+https://github.com/narrowin/networka.git

# Remove installation
uv tool uninstall nw
# or
pipx uninstall networka

Platform-Specific Notes

Linux/macOS: No additional dependencies required

Windows: Scrapli (the default transport) does not officially support native Windows. While it may work with Paramiko or ssh2-python drivers, the recommended approach is to run Networka on WSL2 (Ubuntu) for a fully supported POSIX environment. Native Windows usage is best-effort.

WSL2 quickstart (recommended):

# In Ubuntu on WSL2
curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh
exec $SHELL
uv tool install git+https://github.com/narrowin/networka.git
nw --help

Details → https://narrowin.github.io/networka/platform-compatibility/#wsl2-quickstart-recommended

Quick Start

Get up and running with config init command:

# Initialize in default location with interactive prompts
nw config init

One-liners (no config)

Run directly against an IP without creating files. --platform selects the network OS driver; --interactive-auth prompts for credentials.

# MikroTik RouterOS
nw run --platform mikrotik_routeros 192.0.2.10 "/system/identity/print" --interactive-auth

# Cisco IOS-XE
nw run --platform cisco_iosxe 198.51.100.20 "show version" --interactive-auth

Terminology: device_type vs hardware platform vs transport

• device_type: Network OS driver used for connections and commands (Scrapli "platform"). Examples: mikrotik_routeros, cisco_iosxe, arista_eos, juniper_junos.
• platform (hardware/firmware): Hardware architecture used for firmware-related operations (x86, x86_64, arm, mipsbe, tile).
• transport: Connection backend. Default is scrapli.

Note: When targeting IPs directly, --platform refers to the network driver (device_type), not hardware architecture.

Quick links

• Getting started → https://narrowin.github.io/networka/getting-started/
• Running commands → https://narrowin.github.io/networka/running-commands/
• Configuration → https://narrowin.github.io/networka/configuration/
• Environment variables → https://narrowin.github.io/networka/environment-variables/
• Results → https://narrowin.github.io/networka/results/
• Output modes → https://narrowin.github.io/networka/output-modes/
• Backups → https://narrowin.github.io/networka/backups/
• CLI reference → https://narrowin.github.io/networka/reference/cli/
• API reference → https://narrowin.github.io/networka/reference/api/

CLI overview

• For current usage and commands, see the CLI reference:
  • https://narrowin.github.io/networka/reference/cli/
  • Quick checks: nw --help and nw --version

Community & support

• Visit our documentation for detailed guides and examples
• Create GitHub Issues for bug reports and feature requests
• See CONTRIBUTING.md for contribution guidelines
• Check SECURITY.md for security policy and reporting vulnerabilities

Contributing

Have a look through existing Issues and Pull Requests that you could help with. If you'd like to request a feature or report a bug, please create a GitHub Issue using one of the templates provided.

See contribution guide →

Documentation

• Docs Home → https://narrowin.github.io/networka/
• Platform Compatibility → https://narrowin.github.io/networka/platform-compatibility/
• Development Guide → https://narrowin.github.io/networka/development/
• Multi-Vendor Support → https://narrowin.github.io/networka/multi-vendor-support/
• IP Address Support → https://narrowin.github.io/networka/ip-address-support/
• Transport Selection → https://narrowin.github.io/networka/transport/
• Environment Variables → https://narrowin.github.io/networka/environment-variables/
• File Upload Guide → https://narrowin.github.io/networka/file_upload/
• Interactive Credentials → https://narrowin.github.io/networka/interactive-credentials/

License

Apache License 2.0 - Free for commercial and personal use. No paid tiers, no enterprise versions, no licensing restrictions.

Community-driven project with contributions from narrowin and network engineers worldwide. See GOVERNANCE.md for maintenance and decision-making model.

Acknowledgments

• Scrapli - Network device connections
• Nornir - Network automation framework
• Netmiko - Multi-vendor CLI connections to network devices
• Typer - CLI framework
• Pydantic - Data validation
• Rich - Terminal formatting

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Built for network engineers who value clean, reliable automation