---
id: pyghmi
version: "1.6.19"
license: Apache License, Version 2.0
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: abandoned
---

# pyghmi — Python General Hardware Management Initiative (IPMI and others)

License: permissive · Maintenance: abandoned · Downloads: 579.7K/mo

## What it is and what it does

Pyghmi is a Python library for communicating with Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) controllers and other hardware management systems. It allows you to remotely query and control server hardware—power on/off, read sensor data, manage users, and interact with the baseboard management controller (BMC)—without needing proprietary vendor tools. The library depends on cryptography and python-dateutil for secure communication and timestamp handling.

The package targets system administrators and infrastructure teams who need programmatic access to hardware management tasks. It was originally developed as part of the OpenStack project but is now archived on GitHub; the active development has moved to OpenDev. While it has low install friction, the abandoned status and lack of recent updates mean you should evaluate whether it meets your current Python version and IPMI feature requirements before adopting it.

Use it for:

- Automate power cycling and boot management for physical servers in a data center
- Monitor hardware sensors (temperature, voltage, fan speed) and log them to a central system
- Programmatically manage IPMI user accounts and permissions across multiple BMCs
- Build custom infrastructure-as-code tools that interact with server hardware without vendor GUIs
- Integrate IPMI operations into deployment or disaster-recovery automation workflows

## Worth the install?

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

Pyghmi provides Python bindings for IPMI (Intelligent Platform Management Interface) and other hardware management protocols, enabling remote management and monitoring of servers and systems.

Yes, if you need IPMI control and are comfortable with an abandoned package. The library is stable and has low install friction, but you should verify that version 1.6.19 supports your Python version and IPMI hardware, and consider whether the OpenDev fork offers a more actively maintained alternative. Not recommended for new projects requiring ongoing security updates or modern Python support.

## Install

pip install pyghmi
uv add pyghmi
poetry add pyghmi

## Installing pyghmi

Before you install: Low install friction with only 2 runtime dependencies (cryptography and python-dateutil). However, the package is abandoned—last commit was 2019-09-26 and the repository is archived. The project has moved to OpenDev, suggesting the PyPI version may no longer receive updates or security patches.

License in practice: Licensed under Apache License, Version 2.0 (permissive), which allows commercial and private use with minimal restrictions, though you should verify the current license status at the new OpenDev location.

Quickstart:

pip install pyghmi
import pyghmi.ipmi
ipmi_conn = pyghmi.ipmi.create_ipmi_console(bmc='hostname', userid='admin', password='pass')

Requires network access to an IPMI-capable BMC (Baseboard Management Controller); local testing without hardware is limited.

Verify before relying:

- Whether the PyPI version 1.6.19 receives security updates or if the OpenDev fork is the active maintenance point
- Current Python version support—classifiers list 2.7 and 3.6–3.8, but modern Python compatibility is unclear
- Whether IPMI protocol features and BMC vendor support are sufficient for your specific hardware
- Actual IPMI API surface and which hardware vendors are tested and supported

## Package facts

- License: Apache License, Version 2.0 (permissive)
- Python support: unspecified
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: abandoned
- Downloads: 579.7K/month (top 15,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

ipmi python library, hardware management interface, server remote management, bmc communication python, system monitoring ipmi, intelligent platform management, remote server control, ipmi, hardware-management, abandoned

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