wakeonlan

What it is and what it does

wakeonlan is a lightweight Python module that implements the wake-on-LAN protocol to remotely power on computers across a network. It sends specially formatted magic packets to a target MAC address, optionally with SecureOn password authentication, and can route packets through specific network interfaces or external hosts. The package works as both a Python library and a standalone command-line tool.

Typical use cases include remote system administration, lab automation, and power management in networked environments. The module requires only typing_extensions as a runtime dependency and supports Python 3.10 and later. It is actively maintained, production-stable, and carries no known security vulnerabilities.

Use it for:

• Wake a single remote computer by MAC address for scheduled maintenance or remote access.
• Power on multiple computers in sequence for lab or cluster initialization.
• Integrate wake-on-LAN into automation scripts or system administration tools.
• Route magic packets through a specific network interface or external gateway for cross-subnet waking.
• Enforce SecureOn password authentication when waking sensitive network devices.

Worth the install?

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

Sends wake-on-LAN magic packets to power on computers remotely by MAC address, with support for SecureOn passwords, custom hosts, ports, and network interfaces.

Yes. wakeonlan is a stable, actively maintained, single-purpose tool with minimal dependencies and no security issues. Install it if you need to remotely power on computers via wake-on-LAN; the low friction and permissive MIT license make it a straightforward choice. The only prerequisite is that wake-on-LAN must be enabled in your target hardware's BIOS.

Install

wakeonlan on PyPI

pip install wakeonlan

uv add wakeonlan

poetry add wakeonlan

Installing wakeonlan

Before you install

Low friction: pure Python wheel with a single lightweight dependency (typing_extensions). Active maintenance with a recent release 47 days ago and 309 repository stars.

License in practice

MIT license permits unrestricted use, modification, and distribution with minimal attribution requirements—no licensing friction for any use case.

Quickstart

pip install wakeonlan

import wakeonlan

wakeonlan.wake('ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff')

# Or with custom host and port:
wakeonlan.wake('ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff', host='192.168.1.1', port=9)

Wake-on-LAN must be enabled in the target computer's BIOS; the target computer must have a MAC address but does not need an IP address at wake time.

Verify before relying

• Whether the package handles IPv6 wake-on-LAN in addition to IPv4 (CLI shows both flags but Python API documentation is not detailed).
• Performance characteristics when waking many computers in sequence or in parallel.

Package facts

Evidence: wakeonlan-4.0.0-py3-none-any.whl

Tags

More Networking packages