NETCONF Get Capabilities

List capabilities advertised by device NETCONF sessions using ncclient or Scrapli. Use netconf_get_capabilities to check protocol features and advertised YANG modules.

Output

Each host has a server_capabilities list of capability URIs. A capability filter with no matches returns an empty list. add_details=True includes metadata and to_dict=False returns serialized records. Connection errors mark hosts as failed.

Examples

CLIPython

nf# nornir netconf get-capabilities plugin ncclient FC spine
nf# nornir netconf get-capabilities plugin scrapli capab-filter *candidate* FC leaf

from norfab.core.nfapi import NorFab

with NorFab(inventory="inventory.yaml") as nf:
    client = nf.make_client()
    result = client.run_job(
        "nornir", "netconf_get_capabilities",
        kwargs={"plugin": "scrapli", "capab_filter": "*candidate*", "FC": "leaf"},
    )
    print(result)

Notes

• capab_filter is a case-sensitive glob. Omit it to retrieve all capability URIs.
• Host filters select devices. The capability filter selects URIs within each reply.
• Capabilities describe the session. Use YANG Library or NETCONF monitoring for a fuller module inventory. Retrieve module source with get-schema.
• Configure the backend using the NETCONF inventory.

Troubleshooting

Check NETCONF connectivity and credentials for connection errors. An empty filtered list means no advertised URI matched. It does not indicate a failed RPC.

Task Command Shell Reference

nf#man tree nornir.netconf.get_capabilities

R - required field, M - supports multiline input, D - dynamic key

root
└── nornir:    Nornir service
    └── netconf:    Manage devices using NETCONF
        └── get-capabilities:    List NETCONF capabilities
            ├── timeout:    Job timeout
            ├── workers:    Filter workers to target, default 'all'
            ├── verbose-result:    Control output details, default 'False'
            ├── nowait:    Do not wait for job to complete, default 'False'
            ├── FO:    Filter hosts using a Nornir-Salt Filter Object
            ├── FB:    Filter hosts by name using glob patterns
            ├── FH:    Filter hosts by hostname
            ├── FC:    Filter hosts by name containment pattern
            ├── FR:    Filter hosts by name using regular expressions
            ├── FG:    Filter hosts by group
            ├── FP:    Filter hosts by hostname using IP prefix
            ├── FL:    Filter hosts by names list
            ├── FM:    Filter hosts by platform
            ├── FX:    Exclude hosts by name
            ├── FN:    Negate the host filter match
            ├── on-failed:    Run task on hosts currently marked as failed by Nornir, default 'False'
            ├── to-dict:    Return task results as a dictionary keyed by host, default 'True'
            ├── add-details:    Add Nornir task execution details to results, default 'False'
            ├── progress:    Emit progress events during task execution, default 'True'
            ├── num-workers:    RetryRunner number of threads for task execution
            ├── num-connectors:    RetryRunner number of threads for device connections
            ├── connect-retry:    RetryRunner number of connection attempts
            ├── task-retry:    RetryRunner number of attempts to run each task
            ├── reconnect-on-fail:    RetryRunner reconnects to a host after task failure
            ├── connect-check:    RetryRunner tests TCP connectivity before opening connection
            ├── connect-timeout:    RetryRunner TCP connection check timeout in seconds
            ├── creds-retry:    RetryRunner connection credentials and parameters to retry
            ├── tf:    File group name to save task results on the worker
            ├── tf-skip-failed:    Skip failed task results when saving to file
            ├── diff:    File group name to diff task results against
            ├── diff-last:    Previous saved file version to diff against
            ├── plugin:    NETCONF backend, default 'NetconfPlugin.ncclient'
            └── capab-filter:    Capability glob filter
nf#

Common host filters and job options apply.

Python API Reference

List NETCONF capabilities advertised by devices.

Parameters:

Name	Type	Description	Default
job	Job	NorFab job metadata.	required
plugin	str	Backend name: ncclient (default) or scrapli.	'ncclient'
capab_filter	str	Optional case-sensitive glob pattern to filter capability URIs. Omit to return all capabilities advertised for the session.	None
**kwargs	Any	Common host filters, retries and serialization options.	{}

Returns:

Name	Type	Description
Result	Result	Capability URI lists under each host's server_capabilities key, or serialized records with to_dict=False. An unmatched capability filter returns an empty list. Unmatched host filters return status no_match. Connection errors mark hosts as failed. Capabilities describe the current session and do not necessarily provide a complete inventory of available YANG modules.

Source code in norfab\workers\nornir_worker\netconf_task.py

@Task(
    fastapi={"methods": ["POST"]},
    input=NetconfGetCapabilitiesInput,
    output=NetconfResult,
    mcp={
        "annotations": {
            "title": "NETCONF Get Capabilities",
            "readOnlyHint": True,
            "destructiveHint": False,
            "idempotentHint": True,
            "openWorldHint": True,
        }
    },
)
def netconf_get_capabilities(
    self,
    job: Job,
    plugin: str = "ncclient",
    capab_filter: str = None,
    **kwargs: Any,
) -> Result:
    """List NETCONF capabilities advertised by devices.

    Args:
        job: NorFab job metadata.
        plugin: Backend name: ncclient (default) or scrapli.
        capab_filter: Optional case-sensitive glob pattern to filter capability
            URIs. Omit to return all capabilities advertised for the session.
        **kwargs: Common host filters, retries and serialization options.

    Returns:
        Result: Capability URI lists under each host's server_capabilities
            key, or serialized records with to_dict=False. An unmatched
            capability filter returns an empty list. Unmatched host filters
            return status no_match. Connection errors mark hosts as failed.
            Capabilities describe the current session and do not necessarily
            provide a complete inventory of available YANG modules.
    """
    return self._run_netconf(
        job,
        call="server_capabilities",
        plugin=plugin,
        capab_filter=capab_filter,
        **kwargs,
    )