anta

What it is and what it does

ANTA is a testing framework purpose-built for validating the operational state of Arista network devices. It provides a curated set of tests to verify network readiness and compliance, and can be deployed either as a Python library embedded in custom applications or as a standalone CLI tool for ad-hoc or scheduled validation runs.

The framework is designed for two primary workflows: automating NRFU (Network Ready For Use) tests on preproduction networks before deployment, and running continuous or on-demand validation against live production networks. It depends on asyncssh for device connectivity, pydantic for configuration validation, and httpx and requests for API communication, making it suitable for integration into larger network automation pipelines.

Use it for:

• Automate NRFU validation on preproduction networks before moving to production
• Run periodic compliance checks on live network devices to detect configuration drift
• Embed network validation logic into custom Python applications via the library interface
• Generate network inventory reports and validate device readiness from the CLI
• Execute on-demand network state validation as part of CI/CD or change management workflows

Worth the install?

AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying

ANTA is a Python framework that automates network validation tests for Arista devices, providing a library for programmatic use and a CLI tool for running tests on live or preproduction networks.

Yes. ANTA is actively maintained, has no known vulnerabilities, installs with low friction, and is licensed permissively. It is production-stable (Development Status 5) and supports current Python versions. Install it if you need to validate Arista network device state programmatically or via CLI; the library-only install is lightweight and the CLI extras are optional.

Install

anta on PyPI

pip install anta

uv add anta

poetry add anta

Installing anta

Before you install

Low friction install with a pure-Python wheel. Active maintenance with a release 29 days ago. Supports Python 3.10 through 3.14. Runtime dependencies are well-established libraries (pydantic, httpx, Jinja2, PyYAML, rich, asyncssh, cvprac, requests).

License in practice

Apache-2.0 permissive license allows commercial and private use with minimal restrictions—suitable for most deployment scenarios.

Quickstart

# Install as library
pip install anta

# Import and use
from anta.inventory import InventoryFromFile
from anta.runner import main

# Load inventory and run tests
inventory = InventoryFromFile("inventory.yaml")
await main(inventory, tests=[...])

Requires Python 3.10 or later. CLI extras require additional dependencies not included in base library install.

Verify before relying

• Whether the package requires Arista EOS devices or supports other network device types
• Specific test coverage and number of built-in test cases available
• Performance characteristics when testing large device inventories

Package facts

Evidence: anta-1.9.0-py3-none-any.whl

Keywords: test, anta, Arista, network, automation, networking, devops, netdevops

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