CiscoTools.dev — Free Network Engineering Toolkit

Problem

Network engineers waste hours on repetitive config work that should take minutes. Comparing two versions of a config to build a change window script means manually scanning hundreds of lines. Migrating an IOS campus switch to NX-OS requires translating syntax by hand, cross-referencing documentation for every feature. Sharing configs with vendors means manually hunting down every password, SNMP community string, and API key. Building per-site configs from a master template means copying files and substituting variables — and inevitably missing one.

Free alternatives exist but they’re slow, ugly, or require a signup to get results. Most are also single-purpose. Engineers end up context-switching between five different tools just to prep for a maintenance window.

Solution

Built CiscoTools.dev — a suite of 4 free, no-signup tools with an embedded AI assistant and a technical blog, all at a single URL:

Config Diff — Side-by-side visual diff between two configs with syntax highlighting, plus an auto-generated migration script (no, shut / commands in correct order) ready to paste into a change ticket.
IOS↔NX-OS Translator — Bidirectional translation between IOS and NX-OS syntax. Handles interface renaming, feature keyword changes, and ACL format differences. Flags items requiring manual review rather than silently producing incorrect output.
Config Sanitizer — Strips passwords, enable secrets, SNMP community strings, RADIUS/TACACS keys, and API keys. Optional IP anonymization for sharing configs with vendors without revealing network addressing.
Config Template Manager — {{VAR}} substitution syntax with per-device variable overrides, IP/CIDR validation filters, interface port mapping (GigE, TenGig, FortyGig, NX-OS Ethernet), and bulk ZIP download for full site deployments.
AI Chatbot Widget — Cisco-specialized AI assistant embedded directly into the toolkit. Contextual “Ask AI” buttons on each tool page pass the engineer’s current config context to the chatbot, so answers are specific to what they’re working on — not generic. Shadow DOM encapsulation means the widget works without interfering with the tool UI.
Blog — Technical articles on network engineering and AI automation, published at bradmccloskey.com/blog.

Architecture

Browser (Svelte 5 SPA)
    │
    ├── Config Diff ──────────────────→ FastAPI /diff
    ├── IOS↔NX-OS Translator ─────────→ FastAPI /translate
    ├── Config Sanitizer ─────────────→ FastAPI /sanitize
    ├── Template Manager (client-only)
    │         │
    │   localStorage (templates + vars)
    │   JSZip (bulk download)
    │   File export (per-device configs)
    │
    └── AI Chatbot Widget (Shadow DOM)
              │
         "Ask AI" buttons ────────────→ FastAPI /api/chat
              │                              │
         Tool context passed           Claude Haiku
         with each query               Rate-limited free tier

FastAPI Backend
    └── ciscoconfparse2 (structured config parsing)
    └── Claude API (Haiku) for AI chatbot
    └── Cloudflare Tunnel → ciscotools.dev

Hash routing keeps the SPA navigation clean without a server. Tool pages are lazy-loaded so the initial bundle stays small. The template manager has no backend dependency — all interpolation, validation, and ZIP packaging happens in the browser.

Key Decisions

JSON-only API payloads. Cisco configs sent as raw text in POST bodies triggered Cloudflare WAF rules (config syntax matches known attack patterns). Wrapping config strings in JSON objects ({"config": "..."}) passes cleanly through WAF inspection without requiring rule exceptions.

Template manager as pure client-side. Template interpolation doesn’t require server compute — it’s string substitution with validation. Keeping it entirely in localStorage and browser JS means zero backend costs, instant response times, and configs never leave the browser. For engineers who are cautious about pasting production configs into external services, this matters.

Bidirectional translation with explicit manual-review flags. A translator that silently produces wrong output is worse than no translator at all. Rather than attempting to translate constructs with no clean equivalent, the tool emits inline ! MANUAL REVIEW REQUIRED: <reason> comments. Engineers know exactly what to verify before applying the output.

Contextual AI over generic chatbot. The “Ask AI” buttons on each tool page pass the current config context to the chatbot. An engineer running a diff who sees an unfamiliar command gets an answer specific to that config — not a generic explanation. This context-aware approach makes the AI dramatically more useful than a standalone chat window.

Glass morphism dark theme. Network engineers live in dark terminals. The UI uses a dark glass morphism aesthetic that’s visually comfortable for long sessions and looks deliberately different from enterprise vendor portals — approachable rather than corporate.

Results

4 production tools + AI chatbot + blog live at ciscotools.dev
244+ passing tests covering parsers, translators, and sanitizer logic
AI chatbot with contextual “Ask AI” buttons on every tool page
Template manager supports GigE, TenGig, FortyGig, and NX-OS Ethernet interface normalization
SEO-optimized landing pages targeting “cisco config diff”, “ios to nxos converter”, “cisco config sanitizer”
Zero-competition positioning for bidirectional IOS↔NX-OS translation — no other free tool exists for this
Config Sanitizer handles 8 secret types: enable/service passwords, SNMP communities, RADIUS/TACACS keys, VPN pre-shared keys, API tokens, BGP passwords
Bulk ZIP download generates per-device configs for full site deployments in one click
Technical blog with articles on network engineering and AI automation

How This Scales

Additional tools — Planned: config compliance checker (validate against CIS benchmarks), BGP policy diff, and ACL hit count analyzer.
VS Code extension — Surface the diff and sanitizer tools directly inside VS Code where engineers already edit configs, without leaving the editor.
API access — JSON API endpoints are already live. Document them publicly and offer higher rate limits for paid API subscribers running automated pipelines.
Multi-vendor expansion — Extend the translator to cover Juniper JunOS and Arista EOS, capturing a wider audience than Cisco-only tools.

Tech Stack

Frontend: Svelte 5, hash routing, lazy-loaded tool pages, jsDiff, JSZip
AI Chatbot: Claude API (Haiku), Shadow DOM widget, contextual “Ask AI” buttons
Backend: Python, FastAPI, uvicorn, ciscoconfparse2
Deployment: Cloudflare Tunnel at ciscotools.dev
Testing: pytest (244+ tests)
Styling: Glass morphism dark theme (custom CSS)