Inspect Live Network State with netplan status

netplan status shows the network state actually running right now: online state, addresses, routes, DNS, and how it compares with your YAML. Allow about ten minutes. It is read-only, but it can try to start systemd-networkd when that service is not masked, so do not fire the first command blindly on a production host where service activation needs a change window.

This guide describes Netplan from netplan.io version 1.1.2-8ubuntu1~24.04.3, installed on Ubuntu 24.04 here. Your output will have different interface names, addresses and routes. Do not copy those host-specific values into a configuration file.

1. Check the installed command

Start with help and package information. Ordinary, read-only, normally no elevated privileges needed:

$ command -v netplan
/usr/sbin/netplan
$ dpkg-query -W -f='${Package} ${Version}\n' netplan.io
netplan.io 1.1.2-8ubuntu1~24.04.3
$ netplan status --help
usage: /usr/sbin/netplan status [-h] [--debug] [-a] [-v] [-f FORMAT] [--diff]
                                [--diff-only] [--root-dir ROOT_DIR]
                                [ifname]

status is a subcommand of netplan; there is no separate netplan-status executable. The optional final argument is an interface name such as enp1s0 or eno1.

2. Read the normal human-readable status

Run it with no interface to see online state, DNS information, and the interfaces Netplan can read from its current data source:

$ netplan status
     Online state: online
    DNS Addresses: 127.0.0.53 (stub)
       DNS Search: .

●  2: enp1s0 ethernet UP (networkd: enp1s0)
      MAC Address: 52:54:00:12:34:56
        Addresses: 192.0.2.25/24
           Routes: default via 192.0.2.1 (static)

The exact layout depends on the host. Look for administrative and operational state, addresses, DNS addresses, routes, and for bridges, attached interfaces. An interface shown as unmanaged is still visible, it just is not being managed by the reported Netplan backend.

3. Focus on one interface

List likely names first without changing anything:

$ ip -brief link
lo               UNKNOWN        00:00:00:00:00:00
enp1s0           UP             52:54:00:12:34:56
$ netplan status enp1s0

Replace enp1s0 with an exact name from your machine. The focused result still shows the host's online and DNS summary, followed by the selected interface. If Netplan says the interface does not exist, check spelling with ip -brief link; do not guess a name from a YAML file.

Inactive interfaces can be hidden by default. Add --all when you need the full picture:

$ netplan status --all
$ netplan status --all enp1s0

The second form is handy when you want the selected interface while also making the inclusion rule explicit. It does not activate anything.

4. Export data for a script

Use --format json or --format yaml when another tool needs stable, machine-readable output. The short form is -f:

$ netplan status --format json > /tmp/netplan-status.json
$ python3 -m json.tool /tmp/netplan-status.json > /dev/null
$ netplan status -f yaml > /tmp/netplan-status.yaml
$ test -s /tmp/netplan-status.yaml && echo 'YAML snapshot written'
YAML snapshot written

Redirection here just writes files under /tmp; it does not touch networking. JSON keys include global state and interface names, and interface records can carry administrative state, operational state, addresses, routes, DNS data and backend details. Treat addresses and MAC addresses as host data, not fixed schema examples.

$ rm -- /tmp/netplan-status.json /tmp/netplan-status.yaml

That removal is irreversible. Skip it if you need the snapshots for an incident record, and store them under your normal data-retention rules.

5. Compare live state with Netplan YAML

Use --diff to compare current system configuration with the network definitions in the YAML files. The comparison covers addresses, routes, MAC addresses, DNS addresses, search domains and missing interfaces:

$ netplan status --diff
--- system
+++ netplan
... lines depend on the host ...

A plus sign marks data present only in the system, a minus sign marks data present only in Netplan. The terminal may add colour, but read the signs rather than trust colour alone. This is an analysis command: it does not reconcile the two states and does not apply the YAML.

For a script or a review that only needs mismatches, use --diff-only:

$ netplan status --diff-only
No differences were reported.

The exact no-difference output can vary by release and host. A permission error is different from an empty diff: it means the process could not read one or more configuration files. Check access first:

$ find /etc/netplan -maxdepth 1 -type f -readable -print
$ namei -l /etc/netplan

If policy allows it, repeat the same read-only comparison with elevated privileges:

$ sudo netplan status --diff-only

6. Inspect an alternate YAML root

--root-dir makes Netplan read YAML files from another root instead of /, useful when examining a mounted system or a staged filesystem. The argument is a directory, not the path to one YAML file:

$ sudo netplan status --root-dir /mnt/target --diff-only

This still queries the running system for current state while reading definitions below /mnt/target. It does not chroot into that tree, and it does not apply its configuration. Confirm the mount and directory before running the comparison:

$ mountpoint /mnt/target
$ find /mnt/target/etc/netplan -maxdepth 1 -type f -print

If the directory is not the root of the system you mean to inspect, stop and correct the path. A misleading diff is worse than a failed one.

7. Add detail only when needed

--verbose adds extra information, --debug prints diagnostic messages during processing. Use them when a normal query does not explain a result:

$ netplan status --verbose enp1s0
$ netplan --debug status enp1s0 2> /tmp/netplan-status-debug.log
$ sed -n '1,120p' /tmp/netplan-status-debug.log

Debug output can include interface and configuration details. Treat the log as operational data and remove it when done:

$ rm -- /tmp/netplan-status-debug.log

If status tries to start systemd-networkd, remember that is a service action even though the command is meant for inspection. On a machine using NetworkManager or another renderer, check the host's design and service state before trusting the result. A masked systemd-networkd stops Netplan starting it, but that can also leave this data source unavailable.