How to Use NetPlan in Ubuntu 18.04

In this video, I go over how to use NetPlan the new NetworkManager for Ubuntu 18+.

New configuration files
/etc/netplan/ (Yaml Files)

Configuring:

network:
Version: 2
Renderer: networkd
ethernets:
DEVICE_NAME:
Dhcp4: yes/no
Addresses: [IP/NETMASK]
Gateway: GATEWAY
Nameservers:
Addresses: [NAMESERVER, NAMESERVER]

Where:
-DEVICE_NAME is the actual device name to be configured.
-yes/no is an option to enable or disable dhcp4.
-IP is the IP address for the device.
-NETMASK is the netmask for the IP address.
-GATEWAY is the address for your gateway.
-NAMESERVER is the comma-separated list of DNS nameservers.

Generate Configuration:
$ sudo netplan generate

Applying Configuration:
$ sudo netplan apply .

[smibssmibs]

Great way to explain by showing mistakes in yaml formatting.
Anyway, what looks great about the actual netplan:
- single place to configure all the stuff
- validates the configuration before it is really applied (and tells you, where is the error)
- it builds on existing solutions (networkd or NetworkManager) making their use simple by providing unified configuration interface

I like it.

[nnaaaaaa]

netplan is a dream for automation because now you can just push a yaml file and provision a bunch of servers' networking. BAM done.

[digitalsparky]

I also really like netplan, the advanced stuff is also pretty simple to figure out as well.

[HikariKnight]

i configured netplan before in 18.04 for our server at my main job and i personally prefer it over the old method. personally i edit the yaml file with vim as i can set TAB to actually do 4 spaces instead :)

[desromic]

5:50 Yay, I love playing "which of these invisible characters doesn't belong?" Netplan is fun for the whole family.

[mrshodz]

Nice explanation. I like how you demonstrated how netplan works by breaking it.

[marmiz]

Super.W końcu ktoś konkretnie i na temat wytłumaczył co i jak i działa mi wszystko na Ubuntu 20.04.1 LTS

[loukasmaki]

OMG YES (I screamed when I saw the title and thumbnail for this video)

[MMWA.F]

Dude thank you so much. I was using the old networking commands and was stuck for about a good 2 hours before your video. I had to make some minor adjustments but your video without a doubt pointed me in the right direction and saved me so much time.

[zia.rehman]

This is the best example I have came across

[Speccyk]

Hi, a tutorial with a Wifi interface would be great 😉

[antiantiantiantiantiantian]

Thanks a lot! After struggling for hours with a malfunctioning network configuration (after cloning and migrating some VMs) Your video was quite an eye opener.
Bad luck for me, that most google-search-results point to solutions referring to /etc/network/interfaces.

[gaiusbaltar]

To make it the easy way, go to and make a copy of static.yaml to /etc/netplan then, put the right values in it, and you're good to go.

[dexterlowery]

Thanks for including those common errors towards the end.

[benriful]

Yeah Yaml's got the same issue as Python, "tab" is a bad idea.
BTW, you can configure nano to auto convert tabs to spaces for you. Make a .nanorc file in your home folder and place the following lines into it:
set tabsize 4
set tabstospaces

Alternatively create an alias for nano to include the commandline parameters: nano -E -T 4

I'd actually go with the alias idea and give it some other name, so I can use nano in "yaml / python" mode, while for other stuff I can still use tabs if I want.

[motsgar]

As a new guy to linux, i think that this is awesome

[josephroblesjr.]

I was just looking for how to do this and then you posted this! Than you!

[reubenmartinez]

Thank you for your tutorial. I found it very helpful in troubleshooting some issues I was having.

[miveliino]

If you forget the sudo, you can just use "sudo !!" it will fill in the last command.

[jim]

Great video, I love you showed the errors and then fixing them. More realistic when learning and new things.