# 12.20 `netrc` -- netrc file processing

New in version 1.5.2.

The `netrc` class parses and encapsulates the netrc file format used by the Unix ftp program and other FTP clients.

`netrc` ([file])
  A `netrc` instance or subclass instance enapsulates data from a netrc file. The initialization argument, if present, specifies the file to parse. If no argument is given, the file `.netrc` in the user's home directory will be read. Parse errors will raise `SyntaxError` with diagnostic information including the file name, line number, and terminating token.

- 12.20.1 netrc Objects