aiodiscover
Discover hosts by arp and ptr lookup
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
Yes. The package is actively maintained, has no known vulnerabilities, supports current Python versions, and offers low install friction. It fills a clear niche for async network host discovery with both programmatic and CLI interfaces. The Apache-2.0 license is permissive. Install if you need to discover or enumerate devices on a local network.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- Requires Python 3.10 or later; ARP and PTR lookups depend on network interface access and DNS resolver availability.
- Low install friction with a pure-Python wheel and five runtime dependencies.
- The package is actively maintained with a recent release (62 days ago) and supports current Python versions (3.10–3.14).
License · maintenance · safety
Apache-2.0 (permissive) — Licensed under Apache-2.0 (permissive), allowing commercial and private use with minimal restrictions; attribution required.
last release 2026-06-13 (62 days) · last repo commit 2026-08-10 · 5 stars
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 159,881 downloads/mo, #10,685 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
import asyncio
from aiodiscover import DiscoverHosts
async def main():
async with DiscoverHosts() as discover_hosts:
hosts = await discover_hosts.async_discover()
print(hosts)
asyncio.run(main())- Whether aiodns, pyroute2, and ifaddr are available on all target platforms (Windows, macOS, Linux) or have platform-specific limitations.
- Performance characteristics when scanning large subnets or networks with many hosts.
- Whether the package requires elevated privileges (root/admin) for ARP operations on all platforms.
What it is and what it does
aiodiscover is an async library for discovering hosts on a local network via ARP and reverse DNS (PTR) lookups. It exposes a DiscoverHosts context manager that can be reused across multiple scans, with optional interface pinning via local_ip to target a specific subnet. The package depends on aiodns for DNS resolution, async_timeout for operation timeouts, cached_ipaddress for IP caching, ifaddr for interface enumeration, and pyroute2 for netlink socket access to ARP tables.
Beyond the programmatic API, aiodiscover ships a command-line tool (aiodiscover) that scans the local network and outputs results in table, JSON, or pprint format. The CLI supports flags for output formatting, logging verbosity, recursive PTR queries, interface selection, and version display. Hostile DHCP or DNS responses are sanitized to prevent terminal injection.
Use it for
- Scan a local network to enumerate connected devices and their hostnames, IPs, and MAC addresses for inventory or monitoring.
- Pin discovery to a specific interface on multi-homed hosts to scan a particular subnet instead of relying on the default route.
- Build network monitoring or diagnostics tools that need to discover and track devices asynchronously without blocking.
- Export discovered hosts as JSON for integration with other network management or orchestration systems.
- Validate network connectivity and hostname resolution for devices on a LAN in automated testing or deployment workflows.
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
Yes.
The package is actively maintained, has no known vulnerabilities, supports current Python versions, and offers low install friction. It fills a clear niche for async network host discovery with both programmatic and CLI interfaces. The Apache-2.0 license is permissive. Install if you need to discover or enumerate devices on a local network.
Install
aiodiscover on PyPI
Before you install
Low install friction with a pure-Python wheel and five runtime dependencies. The package is actively maintained with a recent release (62 days ago) and supports current Python versions (3.10–3.14).
Requires Python 3.10 or later; ARP and PTR lookups depend on network interface access and DNS resolver availability.
License in practice
Licensed under Apache-2.0 (permissive), allowing commercial and private use with minimal restrictions; attribution required.
Quickstart
import asyncio
from aiodiscover import DiscoverHosts
async def main():
async with DiscoverHosts() as discover_hosts:
hosts = await discover_hosts.async_discover()
print(hosts)
asyncio.run(main())Verify before relying
- Whether aiodns, pyroute2, and ifaddr are available on all target platforms (Windows, macOS, Linux) or have platform-specific limitations.
- Performance characteristics when scanning large subnets or networks with many hosts.
- Whether the package requires elevated privileges (root/admin) for ARP operations on all platforms.
Package facts
| License | Apache-2.0 permissive |
| Python support | Supports the current Python release >=3.10 |
| Install friction | Low. Pure-Python wheel |
| Runtime dependencies | 5 packagesaiodnsasync_timeoutcached_ipaddressifaddrpyroute2 |
| Maintenance | Actively maintained 62 days since the last release |
| Last repo commit | |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 159,881 / month, #10,685 on PyPI 30-day window, as of 2026-08-14 |
| Known vulnerabilities | None known OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-14 |
| Classifiers | Development Status :: 5 - Production/StableIntended Audience :: DevelopersNatural Language :: EnglishOperating System :: OS IndependentProgramming Language :: Python :: 3Programming Language :: Python :: 3.10Programming Language :: Python :: 3.11Programming Language :: Python :: 3.12Programming Language :: Python :: 3.13Programming Language :: Python :: 3.14Topic :: Software Development :: Libraries |
Evidence: aiodiscover-3.3.2-py3-none-any.whl
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See also getmac · python-hosts · IP2Location · ipwhois · aiooui · nslookup · aiodns · zeroconf · aioping · python-nmap