Get Local IP Address in Python Without Third-Party Libraries

General Discussions
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1

How can I find local IP addresses (i.e., 192.168.x.x or 10.0.x.x) in Python platform-independently using only the standard library? I would like to know how to python get ip address without relying on any third-party libraries.

2

I see! If you’re just starting out with finding the local IP address in Python, one easy way is by using the socket library. This method works across different platforms because you’re essentially binding a socket to an arbitrary address. Here’s a simple approach to get the python get ip address:

import socket

def get_local_ip():
    s = socket.socket(socket.AF_INET, socket.SOCK_DGRAM)
    s.connect(("8.8.8.8", 80))  # Connecting to Google's DNS server
    local_ip = s.getsockname()[0]  # Getting the local IP address
    s.close()
    return local_ip

print("Local IP address:", get_local_ip())

This will give you the local IP by connecting to an external server, which automatically chooses the correct network interface. It’s simple and doesn’t rely on any third-party packages. But keep in mind, it depends on being able to reach an external address like 8.8.8.8 (Google’s DNS).

3

That’s a good method, but if you’re after something more direct, there’s another approach you can try using socket.gethostname() combined with socket.gethostbyname(). It’s a bit simpler and works great for small local networks. Here’s how you can do it to python get ip address:

import socket

def get_local_ip():
    host = socket.gethostname()  # Get the hostname of your machine
    local_ip = socket.gethostbyname(host)  # Resolve the hostname to an IP address
    return local_ip

print("Local IP address:", get_local_ip())

This way, Python will resolve the IP address based on the local hostname. It’s really platform-independent as well, but just be aware that it might return 127.0.0.1 (localhost) if you’re on certain types of networks.

4

Both of those are solid methods, but let me take it a step further. If you’re working in a more complex network environment and want to make sure you’re getting the correct python get ip address, you could try inspecting the network interfaces directly. This method might involve a third-party package like netifaces, but it’s still a handy option when you can install it:

import netifaces

def get_local_ip():
    interfaces = netifaces.interfaces()  # List all available network interfaces
    for interface in interfaces:
        addresses = netifaces.ifaddresses(interface)
        if netifaces.AF_INET in addresses:
            ip_info = addresses[netifaces.AF_INET][0]
            # Filter out any non-local IPs (like 127.0.0.1)
            if ip_info["addr"].startswith(("192.", "10.")):  
                return ip_info["addr"]
    return None

print("Local IP address:", get_local_ip())

This will inspect all interfaces and find an IP that matches the typical local address ranges (e.g., 192.168.x.x, 10.x.x.x). It’s a more specific approach, but not strictly part of the standard library unless you use pip install netifaces. However, it’s quite efficient for advanced use cases!