NetworkManager-1.42.0

Config Files

/etc/NetworkManager/NetworkManager.conf

Configuration Information

For NetworkManager to work, at least a minimal configuration file must be present. Such a file is not installed with make install. Issue the following command as the root user to create a minimal NetworkManager.conf file:

cat >> /etc/NetworkManager/NetworkManager.conf << "EOF"
[main]
plugins=keyfile
EOF

This file should not be modified directly by users of the system. Instead, system specific changes should be made using configuration files in the /etc/NetworkManager/conf.d directory.

To allow polkit to manage authorizations, add the following configuration file:

cat > /etc/NetworkManager/conf.d/polkit.conf << "EOF"
[main]
auth-polkit=true
EOF

To use something other than the built-in dhcp client (recommended if using only nmcli), use the following configuration (valid values include either dhclient or internal):

cat > /etc/NetworkManager/conf.d/dhcp.conf << "EOF"
[main]
dhcp=dhclient
EOF

To prevent NetworkManager from updating the /etc/resolv.conf file, add the following configuration file:

cat > /etc/NetworkManager/conf.d/no-dns-update.conf << "EOF"
[main]
dns=none
EOF

For additional configuration options, see man 5 NetworkManager.conf.

To allow regular users to configure network connections, you should add them to the netdev group, and create a polkit rule that grants access. Run the following commands as the root user:

groupadd -fg 86 netdev &&
/usr/sbin/usermod -a -G netdev <username>

cat > /usr/share/polkit-1/rules.d/org.freedesktop.NetworkManager.rules << "EOF"
polkit.addRule(function(action, subject) {
    if (action.id.indexOf("org.freedesktop.NetworkManager.") == 0 && subject.isInGroup("netdev")) {
        return polkit.Result.YES;
    }
});
EOF

Systemd Unit

To start the NetworkManager daemon at boot, enable the previously installed systemd unit by running the following command as the root user:

systemctl enable NetworkManager

Starting in version 1.11.2 of NetworkManager, a systemd unit named NetworkManager-wait-online.service is enabled, which is used to prevent services that require network connectivity from starting until NetworkManager establishes a connection. To disable this behavior, run the following command as the root user:

systemctl disable NetworkManager-wait-online