IPv6-First Development

IPv6-First Development

Overview

IPv6 is the present and future of networking. IPv4 is legacy.

This skill enforces IPv6-first development across all code, tests, documentation, and infrastructure.

Core principle: Design for IPv6. Add IPv4 only when legacy compatibility is explicitly required.

Announce at start: "I'm following ipv6-first principles - IPv6 is the primary protocol, IPv4 only for legacy support."

The Rule

What This Means

Code

# CORRECT: IPv6 first
def connect(host: str, port: int) -> Connection:
    # Try IPv6 first
    for family in [socket.AF_INET6, socket.AF_INET]:
        try:
            return _connect(host, port, family)
        except OSError:
            continue
    raise ConnectionError(f"Cannot connect to {host}:{port}")

# WRONG: IPv4 assumed
def connect(host: str, port: int) -> Connection:
    sock = socket.socket(socket.AF_INET, socket.SOCK_STREAM)  # IPv4 only!
    sock.connect((host, port))

Socket Binding

# CORRECT: Dual-stack with IPv6 primary
sock = socket.socket(socket.AF_INET6, socket.SOCK_STREAM)
sock.setsockopt(socket.IPPROTO_IPV6, socket.IPV6_V6ONLY, 0)  # Accept IPv4 via mapped addresses
sock.bind(('::', port))

# WRONG: IPv4 only
sock = socket.socket(socket.AF_INET, socket.SOCK_STREAM)
sock.bind(('0.0.0.0', port))

Configuration Files

# CORRECT: IPv6 addresses shown first, with examples
server:
  # Primary: IPv6 (recommended)
  bind: "::1"
  # Legacy: IPv4 (for compatibility only)
  # bind: "127.0.0.1"

  # Examples:
  # IPv6: "2001:db8::1", "::1", "::"
  # IPv4 (legacy): "192.168.1.1", "127.0.0.1", "0.0.0.0"

# WRONG: IPv4 as default with no IPv6 mention
server:
  bind: "127.0.0.1"

Documentation

## CORRECT: IPv6 first in docs

### Connecting to the Server

Connect using the server's IPv6 address:

    ssh user@2001:db8:85a3::8a2e:370:7334

For legacy IPv4 networks:

    ssh [email protected]

---

## WRONG: IPv4 assumed

### Connecting to the Server

    ssh [email protected]

Tests

# CORRECT: Test IPv6 primarily, IPv4 as legacy path
class TestNetworkConnection:
    def test_ipv6_connection(self):
        """Primary test: IPv6 connectivity."""
        conn = connect("::1", 8080)
        assert conn.family == socket.AF_INET6

    def test_ipv4_legacy_connection(self):
        """Legacy support: IPv4 connectivity for older networks."""
        conn = connect("127.0.0.1", 8080)
        assert conn.family == socket.AF_INET

    def test_dual_stack_prefers_ipv6(self):
        """When both available, IPv6 should be preferred."""
        conn = connect("localhost", 8080)
        assert conn.family == socket.AF_INET6

# WRONG: Only testing IPv4
class TestNetworkConnection:
    def test_connection(self):
        conn = connect("127.0.0.1", 8080)
        assert conn.is_connected()

DNS and Hostname Resolution

# CORRECT: Request AAAA records first
def resolve_host(hostname: str) -> list[str]:
    addresses = []

    # IPv6 first (AAAA records)
    try:
        for info in socket.getaddrinfo(hostname, None, socket.AF_INET6):
            addresses.append(info[4][0])
    except socket.gaierror:
        pass

    # IPv4 fallback (A records) for legacy
    try:
        for info in socket.getaddrinfo(hostname, None, socket.AF_INET):
            addresses.append(info[4][0])
    except socket.gaierror:
        pass

    return addresses

# WRONG: Only resolving A records
def resolve_host(hostname: str) -> str:
    return socket.gethostbyname(hostname)  # IPv4 only!

Environment Variables and Defaults

# CORRECT: IPv6 defaults
export SERVER_HOST="${SERVER_HOST:-::1}"
export BIND_ADDRESS="${BIND_ADDRESS:-::}"

# WRONG: IPv4 defaults
export SERVER_HOST="${SERVER_HOST:-127.0.0.1}"
export BIND_ADDRESS="${BIND_ADDRESS:-0.0.0.0}"

Database Connection Strings

# CORRECT: IPv6 address format (brackets required for port separation)
DATABASE_URL = "postgresql://user:pass@[2001:db8::1]:5432/​mydb"

# Also correct: IPv6 localhost
DATABASE_URL = "postgresql://user:pass@[::1]:5432/​mydb"

# Legacy IPv4
DATABASE_URL = "postgresql://user:[email protected]:5432/​mydb"

URL Construction

# CORRECT: Handle IPv6 addresses in URLs (require brackets)
def build_url(host: str, port: int, path: str = "") -> str:
    if ":" in host:  # IPv6 address
        return f"http://[{host}]:{port}{path}"
    return f"http://{host}:{port}{path}"

# Usage:
# build_url("2001:db8::1", 8080, "/​api") -> "http://[2001:db8::1]:8080/​api"
# build_url("192.168.1.1", 8080, "/​api") -> "http://192.168.1.1:8080/​api"

Validation Patterns

IP Address Validation

import ipaddress

def validate_ip(addr: str) -> tuple[str, str]:
    """
    Validate IP address and return (normalized_address, version).
    IPv6 is preferred.
    """
    try:
        ip = ipaddress.ip_address(addr)
        version = "ipv6" if ip.version == 6 else "ipv4-legacy"
        return (str(ip), version)
    except ValueError as e:
        raise ValueError(f"Invalid IP address: {addr}") from e

def is_ipv6(addr: str) -> bool:
    """Check if address is IPv6 (the preferred protocol)."""
    try:
        return ipaddress.ip_address(addr).version == 6
    except ValueError:
        return False

Network Range Validation

# CORRECT: Support both, prefer IPv6
ALLOWED_NETWORKS = [
    # IPv6 networks (primary)
    ipaddress.ip_network("2001:db8::/​32"),
    ipaddress.ip_network("fd00::/​8"),  # ULA

    # IPv4 networks (legacy support)
    ipaddress.ip_network("10.0.0.0/​8"),
    ipaddress.ip_network("192.168.0.0/​16"),
]

Comments and Naming

When IPv4 is included for legacy support, comment it as such:

# Bind to all interfaces
# IPv6 (primary) - handles both IPv6 and IPv4-mapped addresses
server.bind("::", port)

# Legacy IPv4-only fallback (deprecated path)
if not ipv6_available:
    server.bind("0.0.0.0", port)

# Variable naming should reflect the hierarchy
primary_address: str  # IPv6
legacy_address: str   # IPv4 (only when needed)

# NOT:
ipv4_address: str
ipv6_address: str  # This implies equal status

Error Messages

# CORRECT: IPv6-first messaging
raise ConnectionError(
    f"Cannot connect to {host}. "
    f"Ensure the server is accessible via IPv6 (preferred) or IPv4 (legacy)."
)

# WRONG: IPv4 assumed
raise ConnectionError(
    f"Cannot connect to {host}. Check your network connection."
)

When IPv4 is Required

Add IPv4 support only when:

1. Interfacing with legacy systems that don't support IPv6
2. Required by external API or service constraints
3. Explicitly requested for backward compatibility
4. Cloud provider or infrastructure limitation (document this!)

Always document why IPv4 is needed:

# IPv4 required: AWS Classic Load Balancer doesn't support IPv6
# TODO: Migrate to ALB when possible for IPv6 support
# See: https://github.com/​org/​repo/​issues/​123
legacy_endpoint = "http://192.0.2.1:8080/​api"

Checklist

When writing network code:

• Default addresses use IPv6 (::/::1 not 0.0.0.0/127.0.0.1)
• Socket creation uses AF_INET6 by default
• Dual-stack is enabled where appropriate
• Tests cover IPv6 primarily, IPv4 as legacy path
• Documentation shows IPv6 examples first
• Configuration examples use IPv6 addresses
• URL handling accounts for IPv6 bracket notation
• IPv4 code paths are commented as "legacy"
• Any IPv4-only code has documented justification