A Self-Contained Object Type

Scenario: you want to track support contracts in NetBox: who each one is with, its contract number, when it starts and ends, its status, and a link to the vendor's portal. Contracts don't need to reference anything else in NetBox yet.

You'll use: Custom Object Types, fields of several types, a choice set, the display name, list and detail views, and search.

Before You Start

Custom Objects is installed.
Your user can add Custom Object Types and fields, and custom field choice sets (or is a superuser). See Permissions.

Steps

1. Create a Choice Set for the Status

Go to Customization > Custom Field Choices and click Add.
Set Name to Contract status.

In Extra choices, enter one choice per line:

active:Active
pending:Pending
expired:Expired

Click Create.

2. Create the Custom Object Type

Go to Custom Objects > Custom Object Types and click Add.

Fill in:

Field	Value
Internal name	`support_contract`
Display name (singular)	`Support Contract`
Display name (plural)	`Support Contracts`
URL path/slug	`support-contracts` (filled in from the plural name when you leave that field)
Description	`Vendor support contracts`

Click Create. NetBox shows the new type's page.

3. Add the Fields

For each row below, click Add on the type's page, choose Field, fill in the values, and click Create. NetBox returns to the type's Fields tab after each one; Create & Add Another keeps the form open for the next field instead.

Name	Label	Type	Display weight	Other settings
`contract_number`	Contract number	Text	100	Required, Primary name field
`vendor`	Vendor	Text	110	Required
`status`	Status	Selection	120	Choice set: Contract status; Default value: `"active"`
`start_date`	Start date	Date	130
`end_date`	End date	Date	140
`portal`	Support portal	URL	150
`notes`	Notes	Text (long)	160

Display weight (under Behavior) sets the order of the fields in forms, on the detail page and in the list. Fields with the same weight are sorted by name, so without these weights the end date would come before the start date.

4. Set the Display Name (Optional)

By default, each contract is named after its contract number, the primary name field. To include the vendor:

On the type's page, click Edit.
Set Display expression to {{ vendor }} {{ contract_number }}.
Click Save.

5. Add Some Contracts

In the navigation menu, under Custom Objects > Objects, click the + next to Support Contracts.
Fill in a contract, e.g. vendor Acme, contract number ACME-1001, start and end dates a year apart, and the vendor's portal URL.
Click Create, then add two or three more.

6. Find and Review Them

Click Support Contracts in the navigation menu to open the list view. Every field has a column; use Configure Table to hide the ones you don't need.
On the Filters tab, choose Active under Status and click Search.
Search for ACME-1001 in NetBox's global search. The contract appears in the results, matched on its display name.
Open a contract and check its Changelog and Journal tabs.

Result

You have a Support Contract type with its own menu entry, list and detail views, REST API endpoint and search results, and a few contracts in it.