Randomly generate, format, and validate IPv4 + IPv6 + MAC addresses.

💡 About

generate-ip is a lightweight, easy-to-use library that allows you to randomly generate, format & validate IP address(es).

• No external dependencies — Only built-in crypto methods used for secure randomization
• Multi-protocol support — IPv4 + IPv6 + MAC addresses supported
• Multi-environment support — Use in Node.js or the web browser
• Command line usable — Just type generate-ip, that's it

⚡ Installation

As a global utility:

$ npm install -g generate-ip

As a dev dependency, from your project root:

$ npm install -D generate-ip

As a runtime dependency, from your project root:

$ npm install generate-ip

🔌 Importing the APIs

Node.js

ECMAScript*:

import { ipv4, ipv6, mac } from 'generate-ip'

CommonJS:

const { ipv4, ipv6, mac } = require('generate-ip')

*Node.js version 14 or higher required

Web

<> HTML script tag:

<script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/[email protected]/dist/generate-ip.min.js"></script>

ES6:

(async () => {
    await import('https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/[email protected]/dist/generate-ip.min.js')
    // Your code here...
})()

Greasemonkey

...
// @require https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/[email protected]/dist/generate-ip.min.js
// ==/UserScript==

// Your code here...

📝 Note: To always import the latest version (not recommended in production!) remove the @2.9.1 version tag from the jsDelivr URL: https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/generate-ip/dist/generate-ip.min.js

📋 API usage

ipv4 methods

💡 Use the ipv4 methods to generate and validate IPv4 addresses.

ipv4.generate([options])

Generates one IPv4 address if qty option is not given, returning a string:

const ip = ipv4.generate()
console.log(ip) // sample output: '36.42.224.208'

...or multiple IPv4 addresses if qty option is given, returning an array of strings:

const ips = ipv4.generate({ qty: 3 })
console.log(ips)

/* sample output:

ipv4.generate() » Generating IPv4 addresses...
ipv4.generate() » IPv4 addresses generated!
ipv4.generate() » 194.84.176.172, 192.186.53.120, 50.191.111.87
[ '194.84.176.172', '192.186.53.120', '50.191.111.87' ]
*/

Available options:

Name | Type | Description | Default Value -------------|---------|----------------------------------------------------------|--------------- verbose | Boolean | Show logging in console/terminal. | true qty | Integer | Number of IP addresses to generate. | 1 sequential | Boolean | Generate addresses in sequence. | false network | String | Starting network address (required for sequential mode). | null

ipv4.validate(address[, options])

Checks if given address is a valid IPv4 address:

const ipIsValid = ipv4.validate('36.42.224.208')
console.log(ipIsValid)

/* outputs:

ipv4.validate() » Validating 36.42.224.208...
ipv4.validate() » IP is valid IPv4 address!
true
*/

Available options (passed as object properties):

Name | Type | Description | Default Value ------------|---------|-----------------------------------|--------------- verbose | Boolean | Show logging in console/terminal. | true

ipv6 methods

💡 Use the ipv6 methods to generate, format, and validate IPv6 addresses.

ipv6.generate([options])

Generates one IPv6 address if qty option is not given, returning a string:

const ip = ipv6.generate()
console.log(ip) // sample output: '1379:6748:810c:5e16:b6c9:ae2:939f:8f2a'

...or multiple IPv6 addresses if qty option is given, returning an array of strings:

const ips = ipv4.generate({ qty: 5 })
console.log(ips)

/* sample output:

ipv6.generate() » Generating IPv6 addresses...
ipv6.generate() » IPv6 addresses generated!
ipv6.generate() » 8218:19b9:7709:4282:65e1:7ee:319e:32ef, e940:754d:ae46:ae18:94dd:b43c:583:68c2, b570:b4f8:68f:62e2:99cb:ad0f:6237:9d51, 98a7:f4e5:2f4e:8a2d:56bb:dc28:f94a:46a8, ca59:590a:9b6c:ea25:94fa:37d6:9bac:7ff6
[
  '8218:19b9:7709:4282:65e1:7ee:319e:32ef',
  'e940:754d:ae46:ae18:94dd:b43c:583:68c2',
  'b570:b4f8:68f:62e2:99cb:ad0f:6237:9d51',
  '98a7:f4e5:2f4e:8a2d:56bb:dc28:f94a:46a8',
  'ca59:590a:9b6c:ea25:94fa:37d6:9bac:7ff6'
]
*/

Available options:

Name | Type | Description | Default Value ---------------|---------|----------------------------------------------------------|--------------- verbose | Boolean | Show logging in console/terminal. | true qty | Integer | Number of IP addresses to generate. | 1 leadingZeros | Boolean | Include leading zeros in hex pieces. | false doubleColon | Boolean | Replace series of zeros w/ :: | true sequential | Boolean | Generate addresses in sequence. | false network | String | Starting network address (required for sequential mode). | null

ipv6.format(ipv6address[, options])

Formats an IPv6 address according to options passed, returning a string:

const ipv6address = '0d::ffff:192.1.56.10/96',
      formattedAddress = ipv6.format(ipv6address, { leadingZeros: true, doubleColon: false })

console.log(formattedAddress)

/* outputs:

ipv6.format() » Expanding '::' into zero series...
ipv6.format() » Adding leading zeros...
ipv6.format() » IP formatted successfully!
ipv6.format() » 000d:0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:ffff:192.1.56.10/96
'000d:0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:ffff:192.1.56.10/96'
*/

Available options:

Name | Type | Description | Default Value ---------------|---------|--------------------------------------|--------------- verbose | Boolean | Show logging in console/terminal. | true leadingZeros | Boolean | Include leading zeros in hex pieces. | false doubleColon | Boolean | Replace series of zeros w/ :: | true

ipv6.validate(address[, options])

Checks if given address is a valid IPv6 address:

const ipIsValid = ipv6.validate('0:0:0:0:0:ffff:192.1.56.10/96')
console.log(ipIsValid)

/* outputs:

ipv6.validate() » Validating 0:0:0:0:0:ffff:192.1.56.10/96...
ipv6.validate() » IP is valid IPv6 address!
true
*/

Available options (passed as object properties):

Name | Type | Description | Default Value ------------|---------|-----------------------------------|--------------- verbose | Boolean | Show logging in console/terminal. | true

mac methods

💡 Use the mac methods to generate and validate MAC addresses.

mac.generate([options])

Generates one MAC address if qty option is not given, returning a string:

const macAddress = mac.generate()
console.log(macAddress) // sample output: '1d:3a:af:21:b1:8c'

...or multiple MAC addresses if qty option is given, returning an array of strings:

const macAddresses = mac.generate({ qty: 2 })
console.log(macAddresses)

/* sample output:

mac.generate() » Generating MAC addresses...
mac.generate() » MAC addresses generated!
mac.generate() » 1d:3a:af:21:b1:8c, af:fb:6f:b6:1b:8a
[ '1d:3a:af:21:b1:8c', 'af:fb:6f:b6:1b:8a' ]
*/

Available options:

Name | Type | Description | Default Value ---------------|---------|----------------------------------------------------------|--------------- verbose | Boolean | Show logging in console/terminal. | true qty | Integer | Number of IP addresses to generate. | 1 sequential | Boolean | Generate addresses in sequence. | false network | String | Starting network address (required for sequential mode). | null

mac.validate(address[, options])

Checks if given address is a valid MAC address:

const addressIsValid = mac.validate('1d:3a:af:21:b1:8c')
console.log(addressIsValid)

/* outputs:

mac.validate() » Validating 1d:3a:af:21:b1:8c...
mac.validate() » Address is valid MAC address!
true
*/

Available options (passed as object properties):

Name | Type | Description | Default Value ------------|---------|-----------------------------------|--------------- verbose | Boolean | Show logging in console/terminal. | true

💻 Command line usage

generate-ip can also be used directly from the command line. The basic command is:

$ generate-ip

Sample output:

📝 Note: To generate other address types, type generate-ipv6 or generate-mac

Command line options

Parameter options:
 --qty=n                     Generate n IP address(es).
 --ui-lang="code"            ISO 639-1 code of language to display UI in.
 --config="path/to/file"     Load custom config file.
 --network="address"         Starting network address (required for sequential mode).

Boolean options:
 -6, --ipv6                  Generate IPv6 address.
 -m, --mac                   Generate MAC address.
 -s, --sequential            Generate addresses in sequence.
 -q, --quiet                 Suppress all logging except errors.

Commands:
 -i, --init                  Create config file (in project root).
 -h, --help                  Display help screen.
 -v, --version               Show version number.
     --stats                 Show npm stats.
     --debug [targetKey]     Show debug logs.

Configuration file

generate-ip can be customized using a generate-ip.config.mjs or generate-ip.config.js placed in your project root.

Example defaults:

export default {
    qty: 5,          // # of IPs to generate
    ipv6mode: false, // Generate IPv6 address(es)
    macMode: false,  // Generate MAC address(es)
    quietMode: true  // Suppress all logging except errors
}

💡 Run generate-ip init to generate a template generate-ip.config.mjs in your project root.

🏛️ MIT License

Copyright © 2024–2026 Adam Lui & contributors.

Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:

The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.

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