Meraki Dashboard API: Your First Script

Mental model

Meraki is cloud-managed, so there is no on-prem controller to log into. Your API calls go to api.meraki.com; Cisco routes them to your organisation.

Cisco objective 3.9.a says “Obtain a list of network devices by using Meraki, Cisco Catalyst Center, ACI, Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN, or NSO”. 3.9.c adds “Obtain a list of clients / hosts seen on a network using Meraki or Cisco Catalyst Center”. This topic covers the Meraki side; the pattern transfers to the others.

Credentials

1. Log into dashboard.meraki.com with your account.
2. Click your name (top right) → My profile.
3. Find “API access”; click Generate new API key.
4. Copy the key immediately. You cannot see it again.
5. Treat it like a password: put it in $MERAKI_API_KEY, add .env to .gitignore.

Base URL and the one required header

curl -H "X-Cisco-Meraki-API-Key: $MERAKI_API_KEY" \
     https://api.meraki.com/api/v1/organizations

Response: a JSON array of orgs you have access to.

[
  {"id": "123456", "name": "ACME Networks", "url": "https://n123.meraki.com/..."},
  {"id": "789000", "name": "Lab Org",       "url": "https://n789.meraki.com/..."}
]

Keep the id. Everything else keys off it.

List networks in an org

curl -H "X-Cisco-Meraki-API-Key: $MERAKI_API_KEY" \
     https://api.meraki.com/api/v1/organizations/123456/networks

Returns an array of networks (each has id, name, productTypes, timeZone).

List devices in an org

curl -H "X-Cisco-Meraki-API-Key: $MERAKI_API_KEY" \
     https://api.meraki.com/api/v1/organizations/123456/devices

Returns each device: serial, mac, name, model, networkId, firmware.

List clients on a specific device

curl -H "X-Cisco-Meraki-API-Key: $MERAKI_API_KEY" \
     https://api.meraki.com/api/v1/devices/Q2XX-XXXX-XXXX/clients

Returns clients the device has seen recently: mac, ip, hostname, vlan, etc.

Create a new network

curl -X POST \
  -H "X-Cisco-Meraki-API-Key: $MERAKI_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"name":"lab-01","productTypes":["switch"],"timeZone":"America/Los_Angeles"}' \
  https://api.meraki.com/api/v1/organizations/123456/networks

Response: 201 Created with the new network’s id.

Python with the Meraki SDK

import meraki

dashboard = meraki.DashboardAPI(api_key="your-key-here", output_log=False)

orgs = dashboard.organizations.getOrganizations()
for o in orgs:
    print(o["id"], o["name"])
    nets = dashboard.organizations.getOrganizationNetworks(o["id"])
    print(f"  {len(nets)} networks")

The SDK handles pagination for you — getOrganizationNetworks fetches every page.

Python with requests only

import os, requests

KEY = os.environ["MERAKI_API_KEY"]
HEADERS = {"X-Cisco-Meraki-API-Key": KEY}
BASE = "https://api.meraki.com/api/v1"

r = requests.get(f"{BASE}/organizations", headers=HEADERS, timeout=10)
r.raise_for_status()
for o in r.json():
    print(o["id"], o["name"])

Pagination

Most Meraki endpoints support perPage (max varies per endpoint, 100-1000) and a cursor via startingAfter. The SDK follows cursors for you; with raw requests you check the Link header for rel="next" and loop until it is absent.

Rate limiting

• 10 requests per second per organisation.
• On 429, honour the Retry-After header (seconds).
• The SDK handles backoff automatically.

FAQ

Can I use the Meraki API from on-prem Python? Yes. Meraki Dashboard API is cloud-hosted; your laptop (anywhere) can call it over HTTPS.

My org has multiple API keys. Which does what? Each key is tied to a user’s account and inherits that user’s permissions. For scripts, create a service-account user with least-privilege roles, then generate the key under it.

Where do I find the serial number of a device? In the dashboard: Monitor → Overview → Devices. Programmatically: GET /organizations/{id}/devices or /networks/{id}/devices.

Why do production scripts fail with 429 but mine does not? Scale. Running one script by hand hits rate limits rarely; a scheduled job polling every org every minute will. Build retry-on-429 even for tiny scripts; thank yourself later.