How to generate a random IP address in Python

# Table of Contents

# Generate a random IP address in Python

To generate a random IP address:

Use the random.randint() method to generate a random number from 0 to 255.
Generate a random number in the range 4 times.
Use the str.join() method to join the numbers with a period separator.

main.py

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from random import randint


def generate_random_ip():
    return '.'.join(
        str(randint(0, 255)) for _ in range(4)
    )


random_ip = generate_random_ip()
print(random_ip)  # 👉️ 178.166.111.80

random_ip = generate_random_ip()
print(random_ip)  # 👉️ 124.56.199.70

generate random ip address

The code for this article is available on GitHub

We used a generator expression to iterate over a range object of length 4.

Generator expressions are used to perform some operation for every element or select a subset of elements that meet a condition.

The range() class is commonly used for looping a specific number of times.

main.py

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print(list(range(4))) # 👉️ [0, 1, 2, 3]

On each iteration, we use the random.randint() method to generate a random number from 0 to 255.

main.py

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from random import randint


def generate_random_ip():
    return '.'.join(
        str(randint(0, 255)) for _ in range(4)
    )


random_ip = generate_random_ip()
print(random_ip)  # 👉️ 178.166.111.80

The random.randint() function takes 2 numbers - a and b as parameters and returns a random integer in the range.

Note that the range is inclusive - meaning both a and b can be returned.

We used the str() class to convert each number to a string because the str.join() method can only be passed string values.

The str.join method takes an iterable as an argument and returns a string which is the concatenation of the strings in the iterable.

Note that the method raises a TypeError if there are any non-string values in the iterable.

The string the method is called on is used as the separator between the elements.

# Generating a list of N IP addresses

You can use the range() class to generate a list of N IP addresses.

main.py

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from random import randint


def generate_random_ip():
    return '.'.join(
        str(randint(0, 255)) for _ in range(4)
    )


a_list = []

for _ in range(3):
    a_list.append(generate_random_ip())


# 👇️ ['123.31.155.255', '70.22.71.106', '183.142.245.87']
print(a_list)

generating list of n ip addresses

The code for this article is available on GitHub

We used the range class to call the function 3 times and appended the IP addresses to a list.

Alternatively, you can use the Faker module.

# Generate a random IP address using Faker

This is a three-step process:

Install the Faker module by running pip install Faker.
Use the Faker class to create a Faker object.
Use the ipv4() method to generate a random IP address.

main.py

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from faker import Faker

fake = Faker()

ip_address = fake.ipv4()
print(ip_address)  # 👉️ 173.188.6.176

ip_address = fake.ipv4_public()
print(ip_address)  # 👉️ 54.45.106.198

ip_address = fake.ipv4_private()
print(ip_address)  # 👉️ 10.103.230.160

ip_address = fake.ipv6()
print(ip_address)  # 👉️ 120b:ecc2:fe2f:1db1:d79c:99e1:a960:3221

generate random ip address using faker

The code for this article is available on GitHub

Make sure to install the Faker module if you haven't.

main.py

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pip install Faker

# 👇️ or pip3
pip3 install Faker

# Generate random public or private IPv4 addresses

The faker.ipv4() method returns a random IPv4 address.

main.py

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from faker import Faker

fake = Faker()

ip_address = fake.ipv4()
print(ip_address)  # 👉️ 173.188.6.176

The code for this article is available on GitHub

The faker.ipv4_public() method returns a public IPv4 address excluding private blocks.

main.py

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from faker import Faker

fake = Faker()

ip_address = fake.ipv4_public()
print(ip_address)  # 👉️ 188.104.196.43

The faker.ipv4_private() returns a private IPv4 address.

main.py

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from faker import Faker

fake = Faker()

ip_address = fake.ipv4_private()
print(ip_address)  # 👉️ 172.18.1.188

# Generate random IPv6 addresses

The faker.ipv6() method returns a random IPv6 address.

main.py

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from faker import Faker

fake = Faker()

ip_address = fake.ipv6()
print(ip_address)  # 👉️ 2528:a863:c2ff:413f:b8de:28ff:3f92:5b7

The code for this article is available on GitHub

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How to generate a random IP address in Python

# Table of Contents

# Generate a random IP address in Python

# Generating a list of N IP addresses

# Generate a random IP address using Faker

# Generate random public or private IPv4 addresses

# Generate random IPv6 addresses

# Additional Resources

Borislav Hadzhiev