Connect a NetBox

Designs plans each design against a NetBox you connect, and applies plans to it. An org admin connects one, and everyone the NetBox Labs console invites to your organization is an org admin. Everyone in the organization then sees and uses that NetBox, as they do its designs and deployments.

1. Go to Deploy Targets and select Connect a NetBox.
2. Fill in the dialog:
   • Connection Name: how Designs refers to this NetBox, such as netbox-test. You choose it when you plan.
   • NetBox URL: the address NetBox Cloud reaches it at, such as https://netbox-test.example.com. Without https://, Designs adds it.
   • API Token: the token Designs uses to read and write this NetBox. See what the token needs.
3. Select Connect.

Designs checks the URL and token, and asks NetBox which version it runs. A NetBox older than 4.6.0, or on a version Designs doesn't support yet, is refused with a message saying which version it reported.

What the token needs

• A v2 token, which starts nbt_, with Write enabled. Create one in NetBox under your user's API Tokens, and paste the whole token, without Bearer or Token in front of it. Designs doesn't accept v1 tokens, which NetBox deprecates: a NetBox connected with one has to be deleted from Designs and connected again with a v2 token.
• Its user's permissions: to view, add, change and delete the object types your designs manage, and to view the changelog (Core > Object changes), which Designs reads to keep up with changes made in NetBox. On a NetBox you test with, a superuser's token is simplest.
• To plan into a branch, the user also needs netbox-branching's permissions to create and use branches.

Check the connection

1. In the Deploy Targets list, select the arrow beside your NetBox to open it.
2. Select Refresh from NetBox.

Designs reads the objects it manages from NetBox and lists how many of each type it found. The NetBox's status becomes ready, and Deploy a Design becomes available.

Next, add and apply your first design.