# Collecting Device Configurations

**netlab collect** command uses Ansible *device facts* modules (or an equivalent list of Ansible tasks) to collect device configurations and store them in specified output directory.

A single configuration file in the output directory is created for most network devices; multiple files stored in host-specific subdirectory are collected from Cumulus VX.

After collecting the device configurations, you can save them in a tar archive with the `--tar` option and clean up the working directory with `--cleanup` option.

```{tip}
**netlab collect** command does not need a topology file (so you don't have to specify one even if you're using a non-default topology name). It's just a thin wrapper around an Ansible playbook which uses Ansible inventory created by **netlab create** or **netlab up** command.
```

## Usage

```text
usage: netlab collect [-h] [-v] [-q] [-o [OUTPUT]] [--tar TAR] [--cleanup]

Collect device configurations

optional arguments:
  -h, --help            show this help message and exit
  -v, --verbose         Verbose logging
  -q, --quiet           Run Ansible playbook and tar with minimum output
  -o [OUTPUT], --output [OUTPUT]
                        Output directory (default: config)
  --tar TAR             Create configuration tarball
  --cleanup             Clean up config directory and modified configuration file after
                        creating tarball

All other arguments are passed directly to ansible-playbook
```