Network Devices

Modern routers, switches, and firewalls are often managed programmatically rather than by typing commands one at a time. Two standards dominate: NETCONF and RESTCONF. The Bridge can broker both, giving you policy control and full recording over how network gear is configured.

Native clients connect through Bridge. There is no browser client for these protocols.

Granting access. Settings here enable NETCONF/RESTCONF for the deployment. To grant a person access to a device, create a checkout - see the credentials and command filtering fields.

NETCONF

NETCONF is a configuration protocol that runs over SSH. Tools connect, exchange structured XML, and apply configuration changes to the device. Port 830 is its conventional port.

bridge.yaml

netconf:
  idle_timeout: 30m
  max_auth_tries: 3
  native:
    enabled: true
    listen: "830"

Because NETCONF rides on SSH, you can limit how many authentication attempts are allowed before the connection is dropped, just as with SSH.

A native NETCONF checkout can also set ldap_auth_passthrough to log in to the device with the user’s own directory password - useful for devices that authenticate against a directory rather than a local account. It is offered after any private_key or target_password on the checkout, so an explicit credential always wins.

NETCONF option reference

Option	Type	Default	Description
`netconf.idle_timeout`	duration	`30m`	Close a session after this much inactivity.
`netconf.native.enabled`	bool	`false`	Turn on native NETCONF (a listening port).
`netconf.native.listen`	string (port)	`830`	Port the Bridge listens on. Required when native is enabled.
`netconf.max_auth_tries`	int	`3`	Maximum authentication attempts before disconnect. Raised to a floor of 50 whenever password authentication is available, exactly as native SSH does, and logged when it happens.

RESTCONF

RESTCONF does the same job as NETCONF but over ordinary web requests (HTTPS). The Bridge acts as a reverse proxy in front of the device: requests come to the Bridge, the Bridge forwards them to the device, and the responses come back through the Bridge so they can be recorded. Bridge listens on port 8444 by default.

NETCONF verifies the target SSH host key. Supply target_ssh_host_key from a trusted source. A missing or mismatched pin prevents access unless the deployment explicitly permits unpinned targets.

RESTCONF defaults to port 8444; the HTTP proxy defaults to 8443. Both client and target RESTCONF connections use HTTPS with verified target trust.

bridge.yaml

restconf:
  idle_timeout: 30m
  native:
    enabled: true
    listen: "8444"   # 8443 is the HTTP proxy's default port

Response-body redaction applies to RESTCONF. Because the Bridge can see the data coming back from the device, it can mask secrets in the recorded response bodies. This is governed by the recording setting server.recording.redact_response_bodies (on by default) and can be overridden per checkout.

Bridge retains full raw request and response bodies for authorized administrator review, subject to the 1 GiB per-body limit and recording-space reserve. Derived summaries can be truncated or partially decoded. Required recording failures end the affected operation.

RESTCONF option reference

Option	Type	Default	Description
`restconf.idle_timeout`	duration	`30m`	Close a session after this much inactivity.
`restconf.native.enabled`	bool	`false`	Turn on native RESTCONF (a listening port).
`restconf.native.listen`	string (port)	`8444`	Port the Bridge listens on. Required when native is enabled.

Last updated on November 2, 2026

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