A simple external IP address monitoring solution that sends an email when the external IP address is changed and a configurable reminder that is sent periodically if the IP hasn't changed.

Clone the repository and fill in the fields in the conf.json file as outlined. The usr and pwd fields are for logging into the SMTP server. Ideally, the pwd field or the entire conf.json would be encrypted...

If using Gmail I recommend creating a new dev account. You need to turn on access for Less Secure Apps or if using 2FA get a token. The latter case requires rewriting some of the SMTP code. If not using Gmail the SMTP domain in the ip_addr_mon.py script needs to be updated.

Copy the following bash script and fill out the fields.

#!/usr/bin/sh

cd <directory>
/usr/bin/python <directory>/ip_addr_mon.py

Schedule a cron job to run at the desired monitoring frequency that runs the aforementioned script. Use Crontab on Linux for example.

Good devices for this to run on are a server, BeagleBone or RaspberryPi.

It isn't always possible to get a static external IP as a non-business customer. Some IOT, home entertainment servers and home security devices require you to address/access them via IP. If away from home, checking your external IP can be a hassle/challenge. This monitoring solution allows for periodic checks to your external IP when away from home and alerting via email, which is simple enough that anyone can use it.

Python 3, and the requests package (sometimes not in the default installation).

In theory this should work on any device that runs Python (Linux, Windows, MacOS). Although I've only tested it on low power Linux devices.