NetConfigPulse

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NetConfigPulse is an open source Python package and CLI for network device configuration backup. It connects to routers and switches over SSH, runs vendor-specific collection commands, saves versioned backup files, and generates diffs against previous runs. Maintained by 21Vianet.

Quick Start

Install the released package from PyPI:

pip install NetConfigPulse
netconfigpulse --help

Use the CLI with your own YAML files, or clone the repository and start from the sample configuration:

netconfigpulse validate \
  --inventory config/devices.example.yaml \
  --commands config/commands.default.yaml \
  --credentials config/credentials.example.yaml \
  --config config/runtime.example.yaml

This validates the example configuration without connecting to any device. Use backup only after replacing the example devices and credentials with real values.

Installation

From PyPI:

pip install NetConfigPulse
netconfigpulse --help

The PyPI package includes both the netconfigpulse console command and the Python library API. To run the example configuration files from this repository, clone the repository or copy the config/ directory, then run:

netconfigpulse validate \
  --inventory config/devices.example.yaml \
  --commands config/commands.default.yaml \
  --credentials config/credentials.example.yaml \
  --config config/runtime.example.yaml

CLI Usage

Three subcommands: validate, backup, import-csv.

After installation, both python -m netconfigpulse ... and the console command netconfigpulse ... are supported.

validate

Loads and validates all config files. Reports errors without connecting to any devices.

python -m netconfigpulse validate \
  --inventory config/devices.example.yaml \
  --commands config/commands.default.yaml \
  --credentials config/credentials.example.yaml \
  --config config/runtime.example.yaml

backup

Runs the backup workflow: connect to devices, execute commands, save output, generate diffs.

python -m netconfigpulse backup \
  --inventory config/devices.example.yaml \
  --commands config/commands.default.yaml \
  --credentials config/credentials.example.yaml \
  --config config/runtime.example.yaml

All flags:

Flag	Required	Default	Description
--inventory	yes	—	Path to device inventory YAML
--commands	yes	—	Path to vendor command catalog YAML
--credentials	no	—	Path to credentials YAML (can also use env vars, see below)
--config	no	—	Path to runtime config YAML
--device	no	—	Filter: backup a single device by name
--tag	no	—	Filter: backup only devices with this tag
--group	no	—	Filter: backup only devices in this group
--output	no	text	Output format: text or json
--concurrency	no	10	Max parallel SSH sessions
--backup-root	no	backups	Root directory for backup files

When --config is provided, values in the runtime config file take precedence over the --backup-root and --concurrency command-line defaults.

import-csv

Imports a vendor command catalog from CSV and writes it as YAML.

python -m netconfigpulse import-csv \
  --input device_cli_command.csv \
  --output config/commands.default.yaml

Exit codes

• 0 — all devices succeeded
• 1 — the entire run failed (no devices succeeded)
• 2 — partial failure (some succeeded, some failed)

End-to-End Example

Input files

config/devices.example.yaml

devices:
  - name: edge-r1
    host: 192.0.2.10
    vendor: cisco_ios
    tags:
      - production
      - edge
    group: core

config/commands.default.yaml

vendors:
  cisco_ios:
    backup:
      - terminal length 0
      - show running

config/credentials.example.yaml

defaults:
  username: backup-user
  password: change-me

config/runtime.example.yaml

backup_root: backups
concurrency: 10
min_backup_size_bytes: 2000
backup_retry_attempts: 3
backup_retry_delay_seconds: 10

Run

python -m netconfigpulse backup \
  --inventory config/devices.example.yaml \
  --commands config/commands.default.yaml \
  --credentials config/credentials.example.yaml \
  --config config/runtime.example.yaml

Text output

Backed up 1 device: 1 succeeded, 0 failed, 0 warned, 1 changed.

JSON output

Pass --output json to get machine-readable output:

{
  "total_devices": 1,
  "success_count": 1,
  "failed_count": 0,
  "warning_count": 0,
  "changed_devices": 1,
  "unchanged_devices": 0,
  "results": [
    {
      "device_name": "edge-r1",
      "status": "success",
      "file_path": "backups/2026-04-21/edge-r1/edge-r1_020202.cfg",
      "diff_file_path": "backups/2026-04-21/diff/edge-r1/edge-r1_020202_diff.cfg",
      "has_changes": true,
      "backup_size": 12345,
      "warnings": [],
      "error": null
    }
  ]
}

Python Library API

NetConfigPulse can also be used directly as a Python library.

Minimal example

from pathlib import Path

from netconfigpulse import load_commands, load_credentials, load_inventory, run_backup
from netconfigpulse.models.config import BackupOptions

devices = load_inventory("config/devices.example.yaml")
commands = load_commands("config/commands.default.yaml")
credentials = load_credentials("config/credentials.example.yaml")

result = run_backup(
    devices=devices,
    command_catalog=commands,
    credentials=credentials,
    options=BackupOptions(
        backup_root=Path("backups"),
        concurrency=10,
    ),
)

# result is a dataclass, not JSON — access fields directly
print(result.total_devices)
print(result.success_count)
print(result.failed_count)

# to convert to dict / JSON:
from dataclasses import asdict
import json

print(json.dumps(asdict(result), indent=2))

Available functions

Function	Purpose
load_inventory(path)	Read device list from YAML
load_commands(path)	Read vendor command catalog from YAML
load_credentials(path)	Read credentials from YAML (also picks up env vars)
run_backup(...)	Run the full backup workflow (connect, collect, save, diff)
generate_diff(current, previous)	Produce a unified diff between two backup texts
filter_dynamic_content(text)	Replace timestamps and uptime with placeholders to avoid false diffs

Result shape

run_backup(...) returns a BackupRunResult with aggregated counters and per-device entries.

Top-level fields:

• total_devices: int
• success_count: int
• failed_count: int
• warning_count: int
• changed_devices: int
• unchanged_devices: int
• results: list[DeviceBackupResult]

Each DeviceBackupResult includes:

• device_name: str
• status: str
• file_path: str | None
• diff_file_path: str | None
• has_changes: bool
• backup_size: int | None
• warnings: list[str]
• error: str | None

Return example

BackupRunResult(
    total_devices=1,
    success_count=1,
    failed_count=0,
    warning_count=0,
    changed_devices=1,
    unchanged_devices=0,
    results=[
        DeviceBackupResult(
            device_name="edge-r1",
            status="success",
            file_path="backups/2026-04-21/edge-r1/edge-r1_020202.cfg",
            diff_file_path="backups/2026-04-21/diff/edge-r1/edge-r1_020202_diff.cfg",
            has_changes=True,
            backup_size=12345,
            warnings=[],
            error=None,
        )
    ],
)

Configuration Files

• config/devices.example.yaml — device inventory
• config/commands.default.yaml — full vendor command catalog
• config/commands.minimal.yaml — smaller starter sample
• config/credentials.example.yaml — credentials (can also be provided via env vars)
• config/runtime.example.yaml — runtime options (backup root, concurrency, backup-size warning threshold, retry policy)

Credentials can be provided via YAML file or environment variables. Env vars override YAML defaults:

• NETCONFIGPULSE_DEFAULT_USERNAME
• NETCONFIGPULSE_DEFAULT_PASSWORD
• NETCONFIGPULSE_DEFAULT_SECRET

The --credentials flag is optional. If omitted, credentials come from env vars only.

min_backup_size_bytes warns when a text backup is smaller than the configured threshold, which helps catch truncated or prompt-only backup files. Set it to 0 to disable this warning. Binary backup output is written as bytes and does not use the text-size warning.

backup_retry_attempts and backup_retry_delay_seconds retry transient SSH failures, empty backup output, and text backups that are below the minimum-size threshold before the run records the final result.

Project Layout

netconfigpulse/
  cli/              # argparse entry point
  core/             # backup engine orchestrator
  loaders/          # YAML/CSV parsers
  models/           # dataclasses (Device, BackupOptions, results, etc.)
  transports/ssh/   # netmiko-based SSH runner
  diffing/          # unified diff generator
  filters/          # dynamic content filters (timestamps, uptime)
  output/           # text and JSON renderers
config/             # default and example configuration files
scripts/
tests/
docs/

Integration Scenarios

• Call the CLI from CI/CD pipelines or cron schedulers
• Consume machine-readable output via --output json
• Embed the Python package into a larger internal service

Governance

NetConfigPulse is maintained by 21Vianet as the lead steward. External contributions are welcome, while roadmap direction, release management, and future commercial packaging remain under maintainer control.