NetworkManager Connection Sync Script

A script to Sync wifi passwords between machines.

This repository contains a simple set of shell commands used to export, sanitize, and re‑import NetworkManager connection profiles between a local system and a shared location.

It is intended for Linux systems using NetworkManager (e.g. Debian, Ubuntu, RHEL-family).

Purpose

Back up NetworkManager .nmconnection profiles to a shared directory
Remove host-specific fields (interface-name, uuid)
Restore the cleaned profiles onto another system
Reload NetworkManager connections safely

This allows reuse of connection profiles across machines without UUID or interface conflicts.

Directory Structure

.
└── Connections/
    └── system-connections/

The Connections/system-connections/ directory must exist before running the export step.

Script Logic

1. Copy connections from local system to share

Shell

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Copies all NetworkManager connection profiles
Temporarily relaxes permissions to allow editing and sharing

2. Clean and rebuild connections from share to local

Shell

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Removes fields that must be regenerated per-host:

interface-name (hardware specific)
uuid (must be unique per system)

Shell

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Restores profiles to the correct system location
Applies required ownership and permissions for NetworkManager

3. Reload NetworkManager

Shell

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Reloads all connection profiles without restarting the NetworkManager service.

Requirements

Linux with NetworkManager
nmcli
Root (sudo) access
.nmconnection files (keyfile format)

Safety Notes

Do not keep /etc/NetworkManager/system-connections/ world-writable
Permissions must be:
- Mode: 600
- Owner: root:root
Failure to do so may cause NetworkManager to ignore the profiles

Reference:

NetworkManager keyfile permissions documentation

Typical Use Cases

Provisioning identical network configs across multiple hosts
Migrating Wi‑Fi / VLAN / VPN profiles
Lab or cluster deployments
Backup and restore of NetworkManager configs

Tested With

Debian / Ubuntu
NetworkManager keyfile backend
Wired, Wi‑Fi, VLAN, and VPN profiles