Configure NetBox for your team

The previous page left you with a working NetBox and one administrator. Before colleagues get the URL, a handful of settings turn it from an install into your instance. Most of them live in configuration.py; the rest is done through the REST API, so you can replay it on the next instance.

Before you start

$curl -sf -H 'Authorization: Token ${NETBOX_TOKEN}' https://netbox.example.com/api/status/ | python3 -m json.tool | head -3

{
"django-version": "5.x",

Instance settings

Append to /opt/netbox/netbox/netbox/configuration.py:

TIME_ZONE = 'Europe/Paris'
BANNER_TOP = 'Lab instance — data may be reset'
LOGIN_REQUIRED = True
CHANGELOG_RETENTION = 180

Outgoing mail

EMAIL = {
    'SERVER': 'smtp.example.com',
    'PORT': 587,
    'USE_TLS': True,
    'FROM_EMAIL': 'netbox@example.com',
    'TIMEOUT': 10,
}

After a restart (next section), send a test message to yourself:

$sudo /opt/netbox/venv/bin/python /opt/netbox/netbox/manage.py sendtestemail you@example.com

Test email sent to: you@example.com

Groups and permissions

$API=https://netbox.example.com/api
$AUTH="Authorization: Token ${NETBOX_TOKEN}"
$curl -sf -H "$AUTH" -H 'Content-Type: application/json' "$API/users/groups/" -d '{"name": "netops"}'
$curl -sf -H "$AUTH" -H 'Content-Type: application/json' "$API/users/groups/" -d '{"name": "readers"}'

Plugins

$echo netbox-topology-views | sudo tee -a /opt/netbox/local_requirements.txt

Enable them in configuration.py (module names use underscores):

PLUGINS = ['netbox_topology_views']

Then install and migrate:

$sudo /opt/netbox/upgrade.sh

Custom fields

$curl -sf -H "$AUTH" -H 'Content-Type: application/json' "$API/extras/custom-fields/" -d '{
$  "name": "asset_tag_internal",
$  "label": "Internal asset tag",
$  "type": "text",
$  "object_types": ["dcim.device"],
$  "required": false,
$  "filter_logic": "exact"
$}'

Restart and verify

$sudo systemctl restart netbox netbox-rq

$systemctl is-active netbox netbox-rq

active
active

$curl -sf -H 'Authorization: Token ${NETBOX_TOKEN}' https://netbox.example.com/api/users/groups/ | python3 -c 'import sys,json; print([g["name"] for g in json.load(sys.stdin)["results"]])'

['netops', 'readers']

$curl -sf -H 'Authorization: Token ${NETBOX_TOKEN}' https://netbox.example.com/api/plugins/ | grep -o '"name": "[^"]*"'

"name": "Topology views"

Done

Your instance has a name on every page, sends mail, knows who may change what, and carries the first fields your data needs. Next: keeping it that way, with upgrades, backups and monitoring.