NM-SETTINGS-KEYFILE(5)

NAME
nm-settings-keyfile - Description of keyfile settings plugin

DESCRIPTION

NetworkManager is based on the concept of connection profiles that contain network configuration (see nm-settings-nmcli(5) for details). The profiles can be stored in various formats. NetworkManager uses plugins for reading and writing the data. The plugins can be configured in NetworkManager.conf(5).

The keyfile plugin is the generic plugin that supports all the connection types and capabilities that NetworkManager has. The files are in a .ini-style format and located in /etc/NetworkManager/system-connections/, /usr/lib/NetworkManager/system-connections/ and /run/NetworkManager/system-connections/. This plugin is always enabled and will automatically be used to store any connections that are not supported by any other active plugin. For security, it will ignore files that are readable or writable by any user other than 'root' since private keys and passphrases may be stored in plaintext inside the file.

FILE FORMAT

The keyfile config format is a simple .ini-style format. It consists of sections (groups) of key-value pairs. More information of the generic key file format can be found at GLib key file format[1] (Lines beginning with a '#' are comments, lists are separated by character ; etc.).

Each section corresponds to a setting name as described in the settings specification (nm-settings-nmcli(5)). Each key/value pair in a section is one of the properties from the specification.

The majority of properties are written in the same format as the specification into the keyfile. However, some values are inconvenient for people to use so they are stored in the keyfile in more readable ways. These properties that differ from the specification are described below. An example could be IP addresses that are not written as integer arrays, but more reasonably as "1.2.3.4/12 1.2.3.254". Also, some lists of complex values (addresses, routes, routing-rules), instead of using a semicolon separated list, use one key-value pair per list element, with the key being the singular of the property name followed by the numeric index (i.e address1, address2, ...).

Users can create or modify the keyfile connection files manually, even if that is not the recommended way of managing the profiles. However, if they choose to do that, they must inform NetworkManager about their changes (for example via nmcli con (re)load).

Examples of keyfile configuration.

    A sample configuration for an ethernet network:
    [connection]
    id=Main eth0
    uuid=27afa607-ee36-43f0-b8c3-9d245cdc4bb3
    type=802-3-ethernet
    autoconnect=true
    [ipv4]
    method=auto
    [802-3-ethernet]
    mac-address=00:23:5a:47:1f:71

    A sample configuration for WPA-EAP (PEAP with MSCHAPv2) and always-ask secret:
    [connection]
    id=CompanyWIFI
    uuid=cdac6154-a33b-4b15-9904-666772cfa5ee
    type=wifi
    autoconnect=false
    [wifi]
    ssid=CorpWLAN
    mode=infrastructure
    security=802-11-wireless-security
    [wifi-security]
    key-mgmt=wpa-eap
    [ipv4]
    method=auto
    [ipv6]
    method=auto
    [802-1x]
    eap=peap;
    identity=joe
    ca-cert=/home/joe/.cert/corp.crt
    phase1-peapver=1
    phase2-auth=mschapv2
    password-flags=2

    A sample configuration for openvpn:
    [connection]
    id=RedHat-openvpn
    uuid=7f9b3356-b210-4c0e-8123-bd116c9c280f
    type=vpn
    timestamp=1385401165
    [vpn]
    service-type=org.freedesktop.NetworkManager.openvpn
    connection-type=password
    password-flags=3
    remote=ovpn.my-company.com
    cipher=AES-256-CBC
    reneg-seconds=0
    port=443
    username=joe
    ca=/etc/openvpn/ISCA.pem
    tls-remote=ovpn.my-company.com
    [ipv6]
    method=auto
    [ipv4]
    method=auto
    ignore-auto-dns=true
    never-default=true

    A sample configuration for a bridge and a bridge port:
    [connection]                                 [connection]
    id=MainBridge                                id=br-port-1
    uuid=171ae855-a0ab-42b6-bd0c-60f5812eea9d    uuid=d6e8ae98-71f8-4b3d-9d2d-2e26048fe794
    interface-name=MainBridge                    interface-name=em1
    type=bridge                                  type=ethernet
                                                 controller=MainBridge
    [bridge]                                     port-type=bridge
    interface-name=MainBridge

    A sample configuration for a VLAN:
    [connection]
    id=VLAN for building 4A
    uuid=8ce1c9e0-ce7a-4d2c-aa28-077dda09dd7e
    interface-name=VLAN-4A
    type=vlan
    [vlan]
    interface-name=VLAN-4A
    parent=eth0
    id=4

DETAILS

keyfile plugin variables for the majority of NetworkManager properties have one-to-one mapping. It means a NetworkManager property is stored in the keyfile as a variable of the same name and in the same format. There are several exceptions to this rule, mainly for making keyfile syntax easier for humans. The exceptions handled specially by keyfile plugin are listed below. Refer to nm-settings-nmcli(5) for all available settings and properties and their description.

Name aliases. Some of the NetworkManager setting names are somewhat hard to type or remember. Therefore keyfile introduces aliases that can be used instead of the names.
    setting name keyfile alias
    802-3-ethernet = ethernet
    802-11-wireless = wifi
    802-11-wireless-security = wifi-security

Table 1. 802-11-wireless setting (section)
Property | Keyfile Variable | Format | Description
ssid |  | string (or decimal-byte list - obsolete) | SSID of Wi-Fi network. Example: ssid=Quick Net
mac-address |  | usual hex-digits-and-colons notation | MAC address in traditional hex-digits-and-colons notation (e.g. 00:22:68:12:79:A2), or semicolon separated list of 6 bytes (obsolete) (e.g. 0;34;104;18;121;162).
cloned-mac-address |  | usual hex-digits-and-colons notation | Cloned MAC address in traditional hex-digits-and-colons notation (e.g. 00:22:68:12:79:B2), or semicolon separated list of 6 bytes (obsolete) (e.g. 0;34;104;18;121;178).
mac-address-blacklist |  | list of MACs (separated with semicolons) | MAC address blacklist. Example: mac-address-blacklist= 00:22:68:12:79:A6;00:22:68:12:79:78
mac-address-denylist |  | list of MACs (separated with semicolons) | MAC address denylist. Example: mac-address-denylist= 00:22:68:12:79:A6;00:22:68:12:79:78

Table 2. 802-3-ethernet setting (section)
Property | Keyfile Variable | Format | Description
mac-address |  | usual hex-digits-and-colons notation | MAC address in traditional hex-digits-and-colons notation (e.g. 00:22:68:12:79:A2), or semicolon separated list of 6 bytes (obsolete) (e.g. 0;34;104;18;121;162)
cloned-mac-address |  | usual hex-digits-and-colons notation | Cloned MAC address in traditional hex-digits-and-colons notation (e.g. 00:22:68:12:79:B2), or semicolon separated list of 6 bytes (obsolete) (e.g. 0;34;104;18;121;178).
mac-address-blacklist |  | list of MACs (separated with semicolons) | MAC address blacklist. Example: mac-address-blacklist= 00:22:68:12:79:A6;00:22:68:12:79:78
mac-address-denylist |  | list of MACs (separated with semicolons) | MAC address denylist. Example: mac-address-denylist= 00:22:68:12:79:A6;00:22:68:12:79:78

Table 3. bridge setting (section)
Property | Keyfile Variable | Format | Description
mac-address |  | usual hex-digits-and-colons notation | MAC address in traditional hex-digits-and-colons notation, or semicolon separated list of 6 decimal bytes (obsolete) Example: mac-address=00:22:68:12:79:A2 mac-address=0;34;104;18;121;162;

Table 4. connection setting (section)
Property | Keyfile Variable | Format | Description
uuid | uuid |  | UUID for the connection profile. When missing, NetworkManager creates the UUID by hashing the connection filename. Example: uuid=7bdbe39a-126c-3f94-ac5e-8f156ed38383

Table 5. infiniband setting (section)
Property | Keyfile Variable | Format | Description
mac-address |  | usual hex-digits-and-colons notation | MAC address in traditional hex-digits-and-colons notation, or semicolon separated list of 20 decimal bytes (obsolete) Example: mac-address= 80:00:00:6d:fe:80:00:00:00:00:00:00:00:02:55:00:70:33:cf:01

Table 6. ipv4 setting (section)
Property | Keyfile Variable | Format | Description
dns | dns | list of DNS IP addresses | List of DNS servers. Example: dns=1.2.3.4;8.8.8.8;8.8.4.4;
addresses | address1, address2, ... | address/prefix-length[,gateway] | Static IPv4 addresses, one address per variable. The variables can also contain the gateway after a comma or semicolon; it is recommended to use the "gateway" variable instead. Example: address1=192.168.100.100/24 address2=10.1.1.5/16 address1=192.168.100.100/24,192.168.100.1
gateway | gateway | string | Gateway IP address as a string. The gateway can be also specified in one of the "address1", "address2", etc. variables after the address, separated by a comma or semicolon (for example "address1=192.168.100.1/24,192.168.100.254"). The value from the "gateway" variable takes precedence over any gateway specified in one of the "address*" variables. Example: gateway=192.168.100.254
routes | route1, route2, ... | route/plen[,gateway,metric] | List of IP routes. Example: route1=8.8.8.0/24,10.1.1.1,77 route2=7.7.0.0/16
routes (attributes) | route1_options, route2_options, ... | key=val[,key=val...] | Attributes defined for the routes, if any. The supported attributes are explained in ipv4.routes entry in `man nm-settings-nmcli`. Example: route1_options=mtu=1000,onlink=true
routing-rules | routing-rule1, routing-rule2, ... | routing rule string | Routing rules as defined with `ip rule add`, but with mandatory fixed priority. The "lookup" and "table" options don't support a table name, only a number. Example: routing-rule1=priority 5 from 192.167.4.0/24 table 45

Table 7. ipv6 setting (section)
Property | Keyfile Variable | Format | Description
dns |  | list of DNS IP addresses | List of DNS servers. Example: dns=2001:4860:4860::8888;2001:4860:4860::8844;
addresses | address1, address2, ... | address/plen[,gateway] | Static IPv6 addresses, one address per variable. The variables can also contain the gateway after a comma or semicolon; it is recommended to use the "gateway" variable instead. Example: address1=abbe::cafe/96 address2=2001::1234/56 address1=fd01::2000/64;fd01::1
gateway | gateway | string | Gateway IP address as a string. The gateway can be also specified in one of the "address1", "address2", etc. variables after the address, separated by a comma or semicolon (for example "address1=fd01::2000/64;fd01::1"). The value from the "gateway" variable takes precedence over any gateway specified in one of the "address*" variables. Example: gateway=abbe::1
routes | route1, route2, ... | route/plen[,gateway,metric] | List of IP routes. Example: route1=2001:4860:4860::/64,2620:52:0:2219:222:68ff:fe11:5403
routes (attributes) | route1_options, route2_options, ... | key=val[,key=val...] | Attributes defined for the routes, if any. The supported attributes are explained in ipv6.routes entry in `man nm-settings-nmcli`. Example: route1_options=mtu=1000,onlink=true
routing-rules | routing-rule1, routing-rule2, ... | routing rule string | Routing rules as defined with `ip rule add`, but with mandatory fixed priority. Example: routing-rule1=priority 5 from 2001:4860:4860::/64 table 45

Table 8. serial setting (section)
Property | Keyfile Variable | Format | Description
parity |  | 'e', 'o', or 'n' | The connection parity; even, odd, or none. Note that older versions of NetworkManager stored this as an integer: 69 ('E') for even, 111 ('o') for odd, or 110 ('n') for none. Example: parity=n

Table 9. vpn setting (section)
Property | Keyfile Variable | Format | Description
data | separate variables named after keys of the dictionary |  | The keys of the data dictionary are used as variable names directly under [vpn] section. Example: remote=ovpn.corp.com cipher=AES-256-CBC username=joe
secrets | separate variables named after keys of the dictionary |  | The keys of the secrets dictionary are used as variable names directly under [vpn-secrets] section. Example: password=Popocatepetl

Table 10. wifi-p2p setting (section)
Property | Keyfile Variable | Format | Description
peer |  | usual hex-digits-and-colons notation | MAC address in traditional hex-digits-and-colons notation (e.g. 00:22:68:12:79:A2), or semicolon separated list of 6 bytes (obsolete) (e.g. 0;34;104;18;121;162).

Table 11. wpan setting (section)
Property | Keyfile Variable | Format | Description
mac-address |  | usual hex-digits-and-colons notation | MAC address in hex-digits-and-colons notation (e.g. 76:d8:9b:87:66:60:84:ee).

  Secret flags

Each secret property in a NetworkManager setting has an associated flags property that describes how to handle that secret. In the keyfile plugin, the value of -flags variable is a decimal number (0 - 7) defined as a sum of the following values:

    • 0 - (NM owned) - the system is responsible for providing and storing this secret.

    • 1 - (agent-owned) - a user-session secret agent is responsible for providing and storing this secret; when it is required, agents will be asked to provide it.

    • 2 - (not-saved) - this secret should not be saved but should be requested from the user each time it is required.

    • 4 - (not-required) - in some situations it cannot be automatically determined that a secret is required or not. This flag hints that the secret is not required and should not be requested from the user.

FILES

/etc/NetworkManager/system-connections/*

SEE ALSO

nm-settings-nmcli(5), nm-settings-ifcfg-rh(5), NetworkManager(8), NetworkManager.conf(5), nmcli(1), nmcli-examples(7)

NOTES

1.  GLib key file format
    https://developer.gnome.org/glib/stable/glib-Key-value-file-parser.html#glib-Key-value-file-parser.description