Vinta ChenandClaude
6bccb357f6
The intro predated the 2026-10-02 audit and did not mention the newly added netmiko. Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>
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Netmiko is where to start with Python network automation libraries; when many vendors need one API, move to NAPALM. Scapy works a layer down, on raw packets.
How to choose:
- Running show and config commands on devices over SSH: Netmiko
- Config changes across vendors, with a diff before commit: NAPALM
- Forging, sending, sniffing, or dissecting packets: Scapy
Netmiko gathers show-command output and makes config changes across a very broad set of platforms, and spares you most of the low-level regex matching on device prompts. Describe the device in a dict with its device_type, host, and credentials, and pass it to ConnectHandler, which picks the right class and opens the SSH connection. Run show commands with send_command(), and config commands with send_config_set(), which enters config mode for you.
NAPALM puts a unified API over different network operating systems. Get a driver with get_network_driver() and open the device in a with block, which the docs say to stick with for most situations, since it opens and closes the session for you. To change config, load a candidate that replaces or merges into the running one, check it with compare_config(), then commit or discard it. The docs also say to test your workflow and try to break things on a lab first.
Scapy sends, sniffs, dissects, and forges network packets, as an interactive shell or as a library you import. Build a packet by stacking layers with the / operator, like IP()/TCP(), and override only the fields whose defaults you don't want. Sending packets needs root privileges, so start the shell with sudo scapy.