---
id: ovs-dbg
version: "0.0.18"
license: Apache Software License 2.0
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: aging
---

# ovs-dbg — OVS Debug contains scripts and libraries that help debug OVS and OVN

License: permissive · Maintenance: aging · Downloads: 121.4K/mo

## What it is and what it does

ovs-dbg is a collection of command-line utilities for debugging Open vSwitch and OVN deployments. It includes three main tools: ovs-ofparse (parses and formats OpenFlow dump output in JSON, HTML, and other formats with filtering support), ovs-lgrep (searches across multiple OVS log files to correlate events in a cluster), and ovs-offline (recreates a running OVS locally for offline debugging and tracing). The package depends on click for CLI scaffolding, rich for terminal formatting, pyparsing for parsing OpenFlow syntax, netaddr for network address handling, and graphviz for visualization.

The package is in pre-alpha status and has not been actively maintained since 2023-07-17, though the repository remains available. It targets developers and operators troubleshooting OVS/OVN configurations and behavior. Installation is straightforward via pip with low friction, and bash completion is available for interactive use.

Use it for:

- Parse and filter OpenFlow flow dumps from ovs-ofctl to identify specific rules or traffic patterns in JSON or HTML format.
- Search across distributed OVS/OVN cluster logs to correlate events and trace request flow across nodes.
- Recreate and debug OVS behavior offline using ovs-offline, including running ofproto/trace without a live switch.
- Generate visual graphs of OpenFlow rules and network topology using graphviz integration.
- Automate flow analysis in CI/CD pipelines by exporting parsed output to JSON for programmatic inspection.

## Worth the install?

AI-flagged interpretation of the facts above — verify before relying.

Provides command-line tools to parse, filter, and analyze Open vSwitch (OVS) and OVN flow output, logs, and configurations for debugging and offline simulation.

Yes, if you actively debug OVS/OVN and need flow parsing and log correlation tools. The low install friction and permissive license make it a low-risk addition. However, the aging maintenance status means you should verify compatibility with your OVS/OVN version and be prepared to maintain or fork the code if issues arise. Not recommended for new projects expecting ongoing upstream support.

## Install

pip install ovs-dbg
uv add ovs-dbg
poetry add ovs-dbg

## Installing ovs-dbg

Before you install: Low install friction with a pure-Python wheel distribution. Maintenance is aging—last release was in 2023-07-17, though the repository remains active with a recent commit on 2026-02-05. Suitable for stable use cases but not under active development.

License in practice: Licensed under Apache Software License 2.0 (permissive), allowing commercial and private use with minimal restrictions. No licensing barrier to adoption.

Quickstart:

pip install ovs-dbg

ovs-ofparse --help
# Parse OVS flow output: ovs-ofparse < flow_dump.txt
# Enable bash completion: eval "$(ovs-dbg-complete)"

Requires graphviz system library for visualization features; OVS/OVN environment needed to generate input data for meaningful use.

Verify before relying:

- Whether graphviz system dependency is optional or required for core functionality
- Current compatibility with modern OVS/OVN versions beyond the classifier's Python 3.4–3.6 range
- Whether offline simulation mode (ovs-offline) requires a running OVS installation or can work standalone

## Package facts

- License: Apache Software License 2.0 (permissive)
- Python support: unspecified
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: aging
- Downloads: 121.4K/month (top 15,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

ovs debugging tools, openvswitch flow parser, ovn log analysis, openflow trace debugging, network switch debugging, openvswitch, network-debugging, cli-tools

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