Nethermind

AI-powered network switch configuration management — multi-vendor SSH + serial, Jinja2 templates, AI agent, and security auditing.

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What it does

Nethermind is a full-stack web application for managing network switches and routers. It combines:

• Multi-Vendor Support — Cisco IOS/XR/NX-OS, HP ArubaOS-Switch (ProCurve), Juniper JunOS, Arista EOS, and Linux
• SSH & Serial Console — connect via Netmiko (SSH) or serial/USB console (pyserial)
• 50+ Jinja2 Templates — built-in configuration templates for Aruba, Cisco, and generic network devices
• AI Chat Assistant — OpenAI-powered chat with tool calling for natural-language network management
• IRIS-Style Workflow Engine — disciplined config change management with approval gates
• Security Auditing — CVE scanning, AAA checks, CIS/NIST compliance auditing
• Config Diff & Rollback — compare config versions and restore previous configs
• Containerlab Integration — manage containerlab lab topologies
• Device Health Monitoring — CPU, memory, interface status metrics
• Immutable Audit Trail — every action logged with actor, target, and timestamp

Architecture

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                   Frontend                       │
│          Next.js + TypeScript + Tailwind         │
│   Dashboard │ Switches │ Configs │ Templates     │
│   Chat │ Workflows │ Security │ Topology         │
└──────────────────────┬──────────────────────────┘
                       │ REST API
┌──────────────────────▼──────────────────────────┐
│                    Backend                       │
│              FastAPI + SQLAlchemy                 │
│                                                  │
│  ┌─────────────┐  ┌──────────────┐  ┌────────┐ │
│  │ Netmiko SSH │  │ Serial/COM   │  │ AI     │ │
│  │ Client      │  │ Client       │  │ Agent  │ │
│  └─────────────┘  └──────────────┘  └────────┘ │
│  ┌─────────────┐  ┌──────────────┐  ┌────────┐ │
│  │ Template    │  │ Config       │  │Workflow│ │
│  │ Engine      │  │ Parser       │  │ Engine │ │
│  └─────────────┘  └──────────────┘  └────────┘ │
│  ┌─────────────┐  ┌──────────────┐  ┌────────┐ │
│  │ Deployer    │  │ Security     │  │Audit   │ │
│  │             │  │ Auditor      │  │Trail   │ │
│  └─────────────┘  └──────────────┘  └────────┘ │
└──────────────────────┬──────────────────────────┘
                       │
              ┌────────▼────────┐
              │   SQLite / PG   │
              │   Database      │
              └─────────────────┘

Quick Start

Docker (recommended)

git clone https://github.com/OneByJorah/nethermind.git
cd nethermind
cp .env.example .env
# Edit .env with your settings (at minimum: OPENAI_API_KEY)
docker compose up -d

Open http://localhost:3000 for the web UI, or http://localhost:8000/docs for the API docs.

Local Development

Backend:

cd backend
python -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate  # or .venv\Scripts\activate on Windows
pip install -r requirements.txt
uvicorn main:app --reload --port 8000

Frontend:

cd frontend
npm install
npm run dev

CLI

Nethermind also includes a CLI for quick config operations:

cd scripts
python cli.py render --hostname MY-SW --mgmt-ip 192.168.1.10
python cli.py parse /path/to/running-config.txt
python cli.py deploy --transport telnet --host 192.168.1.1 --port 9023

API Endpoints

Method	Endpoint	Description
GET	/api/switches/	List all switches
POST	/api/switches/	Add a new switch
POST	/api/switches/{id}/backup	Pull running config via SSH
GET	/api/configs/{id}	Get config backup
POST	/api/config/parse	Upload .txt config → structured JSON
POST	/api/config/validate	Validate a config before deploy
POST	/api/config/render	Render config to CLI text
POST	/api/config/deploy	Deploy config to a switch
GET	/api/templates/	List config templates
POST	/api/templates/render	Render a template with variables
POST	/api/chat/	Chat with AI assistant
GET	/api/workflows/	List workflows
GET	/api/security/	Security findings
GET	/api/system/serial-ports	List serial ports
GET	/health	Health check

Configuration

Copy .env.example to .env and configure:

Variable	Default	Description
DATABASE_URL	sqlite:///./switches.db	Database connection string
OPENAI_API_KEY	(empty)	OpenAI API key for AI agent
OPENAI_MODEL	gpt-4o	Model used by the AI agent
SSH_USERNAME	admin	Default SSH username for switches
SSH_PASSWORD	(empty)	Default SSH password
SECRET_KEY	change-me	Application secret key

Security

• Never commit .env files — they contain credentials
• SSH passwords are encrypted at rest in the database
• Audit trail is immutable — all actions are logged
• Config diffs are tracked — every change is versioned

Desktop App (Windows & Linux)

Nethermind includes an Electron-based desktop application that bundles both the backend and frontend into a single installable package.

Pre-built Installers

Download the latest release from the desktop/dist/ directory:

Platform	File	Size
Windows (x64)	Nethermind-1.0.0-win-x64.exe	~78 MB
Linux (AppImage)	Nethermind-1.0.0-linux-x64.AppImage	~80 MB
Linux (Debian/Ubuntu)	Nethermind-1.0.0-linux-x64.deb	~75 MB
Linux (Fedora/RHEL)	Nethermind-1.0.0-linux-x64.rpm	~75 MB

Building Desktop Packages

Prerequisites: Python 3.11+, Node.js 18+, npm

Windows:

cd desktop
npm install
cd ../frontend && npm run build && cd ..
cd desktop
npx electron-builder --win --x64
# Output: desktop/dist/Nethermind-1.0.0-win-x64.exe

Linux (build on Linux or WSL):

cd desktop
npm install
cd ../frontend && npm run build && cd ..
cd desktop
npx electron-builder --linux --x64
# Output: desktop/dist/Nethermind-1.0.0-linux-x64.*

Running from Source (Desktop Mode)

cd desktop
npm install
npx electron .

This starts both the backend (port 8000) and frontend (port 3000) automatically, then opens the desktop window.

Build Scripts

Convenience scripts are provided:

• Windows: desktop\build-win.bat — builds the Windows NSIS installer
• Linux: desktop/build-linux.sh — builds AppImage, deb, and rpm packages
• Start (dev): desktop\start.bat or desktop/start.sh — runs from source

License

MIT License — see LICENSE for details.