netsnap

A lightweight CLI utility for quickly switching network configurations on Windows. No GUI, no bloat — just one command.

The Problem

If you work in industrial automation or frequently move between networks, you know the pain:

• At the office — static IP, custom gateway, corporate DNS
• At home — DHCP, everything automatic
• On-site connecting directly to a PLC — yet another static IP in a completely different subnet

Every time you switch, you have to dig through: Control Panel → Network Connections → Properties → IPv4 → Properties → type everything manually → OK

That's 7 clicks and 30 seconds. Every. Single. Time.

The Solution

Store your network configurations as named profiles in a JSON file. Switch between them with one command from anywhere on your machine:

netsnap apply work
netsnap apply home
netsnap apply plc_station1

Requirements

• Windows 10/11
• Python 3.14
• uv package manager
• Administrator privileges (required to change network settings)

Installation

1. Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/heavenyoung1/netsnap
cd netsnap

2. Create virtual environment and install dependencies:

uv sync

3. Install the netsnap command globally:

uv pip install -e .

4. Create your profiles file from the template:

Copy-Item profiles.example.json profiles.json

Open profiles.json and fill in your actual network settings.

5. Verify the installation:

netsnap list

Usage

⚠️ Run PowerShell or CMD as Administrator when applying profiles.

# Show all saved profiles
netsnap list

# Show current adapter configuration
netsnap show --adapter "Wi-Fi network"

# Apply a profile
netsnap apply home
netsnap apply work
netsnap apply plc_station1

profiles.json

All profiles are stored in profiles.json next to the project files. This file is excluded from version control — it contains real IP addresses.

Use profiles.example.json as a reference:

{
  "home": {
    "name": "Wi-Fi network",
    "dhcp": true
  },
  "work": {
    "name": "Wi-Fi network",
    "adapter": "Intel(R) Wi-Fi 6 AX201 160MHz",
    "dhcp": false,
    "ip": "x.x.x.x",
    "mask": "255.255.255.0",
    "gateway": "x.x.x.x",
    "dns1": "x.x.x.x",
    "dns2": "x.x.x.x"
  },
  "plc_station1": {
    "name": "Ethernet",
    "adapter": "Intel(R) Ethernet Connection (16) I219-V",
    "dhcp": false,
    "ip": "192.168.1.100",
    "mask": "255.255.255.0",
    "gateway": "",
    "dns1": ""
  }
}

Project Structure

netsnap/
├── main.py              # CLI entry point (argparse)
├── adapter_applier.py   # Applies profiles via netsh
├── adapter_wmi.py       # Reads current adapter state via WMI
├── profile_store.py     # Reads and writes profiles.json
├── logger.py            # Logging setup
├── profiles.json        # Your profiles (git-ignored)
├── profiles.example.json
└── pyproject.toml

How It Works

netsnap apply work
       │
       ▼
profile_store.py        reads "work" profile from profiles.json
       │
       ▼
adapter_applier.py      runs netsh commands:
                        netsh interface ip set address name="Wi-Fi" static ...
                        netsh interface ip set dns name="Wi-Fi" static ...
       │
       ▼
Windows changes network settings  ✓

Reading current adapter state uses WMI (Windows Management Instrumentation) — a built-in Windows interface that returns structured data directly, without parsing text output.

Applying profiles uses netsh — the standard Windows network configuration tool.

Dependencies

Package	Purpose
wmi	Read current adapter configuration
pywin32	Required by wmi

No external dependencies for applying profiles — only Python stdlib + system netsh.

Ideas for Future Development

• netsnap save work — save current adapter settings as a profile
• netsnap show — display current settings of all adapters
• Auto-switching by SSID — apply profile automatically when connecting to a known network
• Linux support via nmcli
• Tray icon for one-click switching

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Here's how to get started:

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a branch for your feature or fix: git checkout -b my-feature
3. Make your changes and commit them: git commit -m "Add my feature"
4. Push to your fork: git push origin my-feature
5. Open a Pull Request

If you have an idea but don't want to code it yourself, feel free to open an Issue — even a short description helps.

Please keep pull requests focused: one feature or fix per PR.