/build-plugin

Build a NetBox Plugin

Guide the user through scaffolding a new NetBox plugin. Reference the netbox-plugin-development skill for detailed implementation patterns.

Step 1: Gather Requirements

Ask the user:

1. Plugin name (e.g., netbox-my-plugin)
2. What does it do? (new data models, UI extensions, background jobs, etc.)
3. Target NetBox version (4.x recommended)

Step 2: Scaffold Directory Structure

netbox-my-plugin/
├── netbox_my_plugin/
│   ├── __init__.py              # PluginConfig class
│   ├── models.py                # Django models
│   ├── views.py                 # UI views
│   ├── api/
│   │   ├── __init__.py
│   │   ├── serializers.py       # DRF serializers
│   │   ├── views.py             # API viewsets
│   │   └── urls.py              # API URL routing
│   ├── forms.py                 # Django forms
│   ├── filtersets.py            # Filtering logic
│   ├── tables.py                # django-tables2 table classes
│   ├── urls.py                  # UI URL routing
│   ├── navigation.py            # Menu items
│   ├── templates/
│   │   └── netbox_my_plugin/    # Template files
│   └── migrations/
│       └── __init__.py
├── setup.py                     # or pyproject.toml
├── MANIFEST.in
├── README.md
└── requirements.txt

Step 3: PluginConfig

from netbox.plugins import PluginConfig

class MyPluginConfig(PluginConfig):
    name = 'netbox_my_plugin'
    verbose_name = 'My Plugin'
    description = 'Description of what this plugin does'
    version = '0.1.0'
    base_url = 'my-plugin'
    min_version = '4.0.0'

Step 4: Decision Table

Need	Approach	Key Files
New data model	Django model + migration	models.py, migrations/
Custom UI pages	Views + templates	views.py, templates/
REST API endpoints	DRF viewsets	api/views.py, api/serializers.py
Navigation menu items	PluginMenuItem	navigation.py
Background processing	NetBox Job framework	jobs.py
Template extensions	TemplateExtension class	template_content.py
Custom validators	Validator classes	validators.py
Event-driven actions	Event rules	event_rules.py

Step 5: Install and Test

# Development install
pip install -e .

# Add to NetBox configuration.py
PLUGINS = ['netbox_my_plugin']

# Run migrations
cd /opt/netbox/netbox
python manage.py migrate

# Restart services
sudo systemctl restart netbox netbox-rq

Example Invocations

• "Build a plugin to track maintenance windows for devices"
• "Scaffold a plugin that adds a contracts model linked to tenants"
• "Create a plugin with a background job that syncs data from ServiceNow"

For detailed implementation patterns (model mixins, API serializers, testing, packaging), load the netbox-plugin-development skill.