Python 3.3+socketfunction

socket.if_nameindex()

network interfaces

Returns the machine's network interfaces as (index, name) pairs: (1, 'lo'), (2, 'eth0').

Syntax

socket.if_nameindex() -> list[tuple[int, str]]

The list and the names depend entirely on the machine, so tests never hard-code them. On Windows the names are special, like 'ethernet_32770', not the friendly name such as 'vEthernet (nat)' from the control panel. No addresses are returned, only indexes and names; the index is used, for example, as the scope_id of link-local IPv6 addresses.

Examples

import socket
for index, name in socket.if_nameindex():
    print(index, name)  # → ? 1 lo / 2 eth0
print(isinstance(socket.if_nameindex(), list))  # → True

See also

Common errors

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