impala
impala copied to clipboard
pythops
NetworkManager Support
Hi pythops,
I love your TUI programms and use bluetui daily. Impala is great too, but it only supports iwd. I've recently switched from iwd to NetworkManager, since I'm planning to use Mobile Broadband, which iwd doesn't support.
I've used the TUI for NetworkManager (nmtui) but it's absolutely inferior to Impala for iwd. I wonder if you're willing to make a impala/bluetui-like TUI for NetworkManager?
Thanks for your work!
Thanks, Glad that you liked them :)
Currently nothing is planned to support networkmanager as backend, but if there many users asking for it, then yes I can implement it
ofc PRs are always welcome :)
PS: if someone wants to implement it, maybe we can sync before so we can agree on a design
nmtui is so bad... 😭😭😭
I'm even considering switching back to iwd for impala, as I don't really see a downside to using iwd instead of networkmanager. I mean, I'm not doing Mobile Broadband anytime soon I don't think.
I have been using iwd for a while now and never felt I need to change to something else :)
Oh. I really hope it happens, some of the older packages still need network manager
maybe if I get some sponsors that will motivate me to do it. it will be lot of work cause I need to build a new crate like iwdrs
the work on it has started. if anyone wants to join forces plz let me know
big thanks for @TobiKuik for your sponsor 🙏
Thank for your work. While waiting for NetworkManager support, could you add connman in addition to iwd to the requirements in the README ?
the work on it has started. if anyone wants to join forces plz let me know
Hi @pythops I am interested in joining
I also use NertworkManager because of VPNs for work and both apps just fight who to connect the wifi which very fristrating
yea, NetworkManager is good at handling VPNs. It's the only thing preventing me from switching to impala.
Just wanted to chime in and say I would really like this too. Specifically because my VPN application requires it work properly. Hopefully the progress on this has continued.
Hi everyone,
I recently reflected on this issue and I am wondering if the supporting NetworkManager is really the best way forward.
I feel that many people who wants this are more interested in VPN client rather than WiFi client. It happens that NetworkManager handles both but those are really separate things.
I personally like the unix philosophy where a program does one thing and does it well instead of tools trying to do everything at once.
My suggestion and I am willing to listen to your feedback is keep impala with iwd backend only, and I will build a new TUI only for VPN. What do you guys think ? is this a good idea or should I continue adding support for NetworkManager as a backend ?
I'd use impala on Ubuntu as an alternative to nmtui. But for simplicity sake, maybe a fork dedicated to network manager would be the best path forward. Another way is to add an abstraction layer between the ui and the network tooling.
@landure , I never said I am giving up on adding NetworkManager as backend, I will do what the users want at the end, I am just exploring another possibility.
@pythops No, I agree with that stance. I think you brought up a good point. I personally would be totally fine using a different TUI built around NM instead of retooling the Impala TUI to handle NM and iwd.
I'd also love to help (if I can) with this. If you were to build another TUI on NM, would you use Rust?
@pythops thank you for your work. Supporting network manager Wifi in impala would be great. I don't see a great need for VPN support. nm-tui (or cli) is sufficient to turn on or off a VPN connection in network-manager. And creating a TUI only for VPN without network manager is an endless work due to the quantity of VPN solutions out there (wireguard, openvpn, ipsec, nebula, tailscale, …)
@pythops I agree with you as well. A seperate program with a different name that is built for NetworkManager is the best option here. I don't know about VPNs though.
@pythops I've had to switch to NetworkManager to handle wwan. Would be interested in helping out with the networkmanager-migration, though i'm very new to this stuff so maybe not the best to contribute. Made some small rust binaries for the sake of learning, thats it. Great work, keep it up!
While waiting for impala to support NetworkManager if it will ever happen, I would recommend using this TUI instead https://github.com/shazow/wifitui
I'm in the same boat with other VPN folks.
Also wanted to note that networkmanager can use iwd as a backend, I've bee using it this way for years.
tbh, what I actually need is iwd + wg (wireguard) combo not another nm gui.
would adding hooks on network up and down, and "healthcheck" actions be a way to add VPN support without adding complexity to Impala by allowing to start and shutdown vpn with wifi networks ?
Maybe change Impala description to "🛜 TUI for managing wifi on Linux with iwd" and follow KISS principle ?
@landure I want to make it clear: I don't mind adding support for networkmanager at all. It is just lof of work for the moment while there are some necessary feat to add to impala already. Anything related to VPN, I don't want it in impala, this is something for a different tool.
Conclusion: I will keep this issue open as it make sense to add NetworkManager as backend for impala. It might take a while before it is implemented. Meanwhile, there are TUIs out there that work well with NetworkManager, so feel free to use them.