Can I download the MAC vendor database?

Yes. The vendor database is free to download, with no account and no key, in three formats: JSON, CSV, and Cisco's vendorMacs.xml. Each file maps a MAC prefix to the organization registered to it, so an application can resolve an address locally instead of calling the API once per lookup.

The three formats

  • JSON — one structured record per prefix. The format to choose when a program consumes the file.
  • CSV — the same data as rows, for spreadsheets and for import into a database.
  • Cisco vendorMacs.xml — the layout network equipment and monitoring tools already read.

What a file contains

Each file holds the MAC prefixes in the database and the organization each one is registered to. A prefix is the part of an address a lookup matches on, so a row answers "who registered this prefix", not "which device is this". The number of prefixes is stated on each download page and moves as registrations are added; the database-wide update date is stated there too.

Keeping a copy current

A downloaded file is a snapshot. It carries the date it was generated, and the site's copy changes as new registrations arrive, so any application that relies on the data needs a way to take a fresh copy periodically. How often that needs to happen depends on the application: a registration list for a network you already own changes rarely, while a security tool scanning new hardware sees new prefixes constantly. How often the database is updated covers what makes the data change.

What the data does not say

  • It does not identify a device model, an owner or a location. A prefix names the organization an allocation was made to — what a lookup can identify sets out the limits.
  • It contains no row for a locally administered or randomized address, because those belong to no registered block.
  • It is a prefix table, so it cannot tell two devices apart, and it cannot tell you whether a particular address is in use.

For a single address, or for data you would rather not keep a copy of, use the MAC address lookup or the free API.

Related questions

Sources and review

Last reviewed: . Technical claims on this page follow the primary sources below; operating-system interfaces change between releases, so check them against your own device version.