Connects over SSH using Netmiko (linux device type) and automatically detects the installed package manager (apt, dnf, yum, apk, pacman).

Requirements

Dependency	Minimum version
Python	3.9
NAPALM	4.0
Netmiko	4.0
napalm-device-types	0.2.0

Installation

pip install napalm napalm-linux

Or from source:

git clone https://github.com/chrismanivong/napalm-linux
pip install -e napalm-linux/

When working in the NetOrk monorepo, install both packages as editable:

pip install -e vendor/napalm-device-types/ -e vendor/napalm-linux/

Quick start

from napalm import get_network_driver

Driver = get_network_driver("linux")

with Driver(
    "10.0.0.5",
    "admin",
    "s3cr3t",
    optional_args={
        # "port": 22,
        # "pkg_manager": "apt",   # force package manager; auto-detected by default
        # "sudo_password": "sudo-pass",  # for commands that need root; without it,
        #                                # `sudo -n` (passwordless sudo) is tried
        # "debugging": True,      # enable verbose logging
    },
) as dev:
    facts = dev.get_facts()
    print(facts)

    # OS-specific methods (from napalm-device-types OSDriver)
    packages = dev.get_packages()
    updates  = dev.get_pending_updates()
    services = dev.get_services()
    users    = dev.get_users()
    procs    = dev.get_processes()
    jobs     = dev.get_cron_jobs()

    # Upgrade specific packages
    result = dev.apply_updates(["openssh-server", "curl"])
    print(result)  # {"success": True, "output": "..."}

    # Upgrade everything with pending updates
    result = dev.apply_updates([])

    # Restart a service (start, stop, restart, enable, disable)
    result = dev.manage_service("cron", "restart")
    print(result)  # {"success": True, "output": ""}

Supported NAPALM methods

Standard NAPALM

Method	Supported	Notes
`open()` / `close()`	✅	SSH via netmiko `linux`
`is_alive()`	✅
`get_facts()`	✅	DMI / `/proc/uptime` / `ip link`
`get_interfaces()`	✅	`ip link show`
`get_interfaces_ip()`	✅	`ip addr show`
`get_arp_table()`	✅	`ip neigh show`
`get_config()`	✅	Returns `ip addr` + `ip route` output
`ping()`	✅	Executes `ping` on the remote host
`load_merge_candidate()`	❌	Not applicable for generic Linux
`load_replace_candidate()`	❌	Not applicable for generic Linux
`compare_config()`	❌	Not applicable for generic Linux
`commit_config()`	❌	Not applicable for generic Linux
`discard_config()`	❌	Not applicable for generic Linux
`rollback()`	❌	Not applicable for generic Linux

OSDriver extensions (napalm-device-types)

Method	Supported	Package managers
`get_packages()`	✅	apt, dnf, yum, apk, pacman
`get_pending_updates()`	✅	apt, dnf, yum, apk, pacman
`apply_updates(packages)`	✅	apt, dnf, yum, apk, pacman
`get_services()`	✅	systemd, one round trip (fallback: SysV `service`)
`manage_service(name, action)`	✅	systemd: start, stop, restart, enable, disable
`get_users()`	✅	`/etc/passwd` + `/etc/group`
`get_processes()`	✅	`ps axo`
`get_cron_jobs()`	✅	user crontabs + `/etc/cron.d/`

Package manager auto-detection

The driver probes for each binary in order via command -v:

apt → dnf → yum → apk → pacman

Force a specific package manager:

optional_args={"pkg_manager": "dnf"}

SSH user permissions

The SSH user needs read access to:

Data	Required permission
`/etc/passwd`, `/etc/group`	world-readable (default)
`/proc/uptime`, `/sys/class/dmi/…`	world-readable (default)
User crontabs (`/var/spool/cron/…`)	`root` or `sudo` required
`systemctl list-unit-files`, `systemctl show`	unprivileged
`systemctl start/stop/restart/enable/disable`	`root`, or `sudo` (with `sudo_password`, or passwordless)
`apt list --upgradable`	may require `apt-get update` (root)
`dnf check-update` / `yum check-update`	unprivileged, but slower without cache

For full functionality it is recommended to run as root or grant passwordless sudo for the above commands.

get_services() and manage_service() come from napalm-device-types' SystemdServicesMixin; this driver supplies only the transport. An action runs as timeout 45 systemctl --no-ask-password <action> -- <unit>.service, so a unit that hangs on its way up or down cannot hold the session, and only the exit status decides whether it succeeded. Without a sudo password it uses sudo -n, which fails at once instead of waiting for a password prompt.

On OpenMediaVault (napalm-openmediavault inherits this driver), enabling or disabling a unit that OMV manages itself — Samba, NFS, SSH — may be reverted the next time OMV applies its configuration.

Tested distributions

Distribution	Version	Package manager	Tested
Debian	12 (Bookworm)	apt	✅
Ubuntu	22.04 LTS	apt	✅
Rocky Linux	9	dnf	planned
Alpine Linux	3.19	apk	planned
Arch Linux	rolling	pacman	planned

Contributions for additional distributions and versions are welcome.

Development

# Create venv
python -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate

# Install in editable mode with dev dependencies
pip install -e ../napalm-device-types/ -e ".[dev]"

# Run tests
pytest tests/ -v

# Lint / format
ruff check napalm_linux/
ruff format napalm_linux/

License

Apache 2.0