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netbox-custom-objects (prototype)

Technology prototype — no warranty

This repository is not an official NetBox Labs release. It is a technology prototype that demonstrates ideas for extending the Custom Objects plugin (COT metadata, Related Tabs, portable schema UI, COT Views, local bundles).

It is not maintained as error-free or production-ready, makes no claim to completeness or stability, and must not be adopted as-is into NetBox Labs or production. Use at your own risk.

Example bundles (Security, IPAM tree, Cisco demos) live in a companion repository: github.com/christianbur/netbox-custom-objects-bundels

What this prototype demonstrates

Built on a NetBox Labs baseline (Custom Objects with Related Tabs), this fork adds:

Area Summary
COT metadata Fields link_table, menu_name, metadata on Custom Object Type
Related Tabs Outgoing references, n:m junction traversal, separate tabs per menu_name
Field groups Sections ordered by display weight instead of alphabetical group name
Portable schema UI Export tab and define-via-text (JSON/YAML) in the plugin admin
COT Views Registerable extra tabs / proxy list pages per COT (views field)
Local bundles Drop-in packages under bundles_path (default /opt/netbox/local) with GUI enable/disable
object_proxy Field type: list page shows instances of a referenced type
Branching Extra hooks when netbox_branching is installed

Detailed design notes:

n:m link tables (link_table) — in plain terms

Many-to-many (n:m) means many objects on side A can relate to many on side B — e.g. many devices linked to many security zones.

In Custom Objects this is usually a junction COT: a dedicated type whose rows are links, with two object fields (one endpoint each).

Example (security-object-link):

  • Field netbox_object → device, prefix, interface, …
  • Field policy_object → zone, address, service, …

Without link_table, the Custom Objects tab on a device lists the link rows themselves. With link_table: true, the tab traverses the junction and shows the far endpoint (the zone or address you care about), with the link as secondary via context.

Example bundles

Working demos use bundles from the companion repo:

git clone https://github.com/christianbur/netbox-custom-objects-bundels.git /opt/netbox/local

Includes security/ (policy COTs, rulebook / matrix / IP-analyzer views), ipam_tree/, and cisco_* schema demos.

After cloning: enable bundles under Plugins → Custom Objects → Bundles, then restart NetBox workers (views and URLs register at startup).

Installation (prototype)

Do not use pip install netboxlabs-netbox-custom-objects — this fork diverges from upstream.

git clone https://github.com/christianbur/netbox-custom-objects.git
cd netbox-custom-objects
pip install -e .

configuration.py:

PLUGINS = [
    # ...
    "netbox_custom_objects",
]

PLUGINS_CONFIG = {
    "netbox_custom_objects": {
        "bundles_path": "/opt/netbox/local",
    },
}

PYTHONPATH must include the bundle root (e.g. /opt/netbox/local) so bundle packages such as security are importable.

./manage.py migrate netbox_custom_objects
# Restart NetBox + workers

Migrations (0015–0020)

Adds link_table / menu_name / metadata, COT views, Bundle model, and object_proxy field type. Run migrate after every pull.

Upstream

Production documentation and releases:

License

Same as upstream — see LICENSE.md.