Oxidized is a network device configuration backup tool that replaces RANCID.
The tool solves the problem of systematically backing up network device configurations across heterogeneous environments. It works by automatically connecting to network devices, retrieving their running configurations, and storing them in a version-controlled repository. The tool dynamically adjusts the number of concurrent retrieval threads to meet a configured backup interval, ensuring consistent polling schedules across large device inventories.
Oxidized suits organizations managing multiple network devices that need auditable configuration history and change tracking. It works well for teams already using Git for version control, since the Git output module integrates change authorship information—capturing which user made each configuration change so that Git blame shows the responsible party for each line. The tool supports over 130 operating system types, making it applicable across diverse vendor equipment. It exposes a REST API for operational integration, allowing external systems to trigger immediate backups, reload device lists, fetch specific configurations, and query version history and diffs. Configuration sources can be CSV files, SQL databases, HTTP endpoints, or SQLite, and output destinations include Git repositories, encrypted Git repositories, HTTP endpoints, and plain files. Hooks enable notifications to Slack, XMPP, GitHub, and AWS SNS when configurations change.
The project is seeking additional maintainers and has a maintainer-wanted notice in the README. Development activity appears limited, with the codebase in a stable but not actively evolving state. The tool is documented with guides for creating custom models and extending functionality through its Ruby API, indicating a design intended for customization by adopting teams.
