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Appliance Loading

Where does GNS3 load appliance (.gns3a) files from? What is the priority?​

GNS3 loads .gns3a appliance files from two directories:

  1. Builtin appliances directory: ~/.local/share/GNS3/appliances/

    • Stores automatically downloaded devices from GNS3 registry
    • Maintained and updated by the system automatically

  2. Custom appliances directory: ~/GNS3/appliances/

    • Stores user-customized or modified appliance files
    • Manually managed by users

Loading priority: Builtin appliances are loaded first, then custom appliances. If a device with the same device_id exists in both directories, the custom file overwrites the builtin one. This design allows users to customize devices without modifications being overwritten by automatic registry updates.