What is NetBox used for?

NetBox is an open-source source of truth for network infrastructure, covering IP address management and data center documentation with a programmable API. It is a good fit for network source of truth for automation pipelines, documenting data center racks and cabling, and tracking IP address allocations.

Is NetBox open source?

Yes. NetBox is open source under the Apache-2.0 licence. Its source code is on GitHub at netbox-community/netbox and is written mainly in Python.

Yes. NetBox is open source, so the software itself is free to use. A managed cloud version is also available.

Can I self-host NetBox?

Yes. NetBox can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure.

What is NetBox an alternative to?

NetBox is an open-source alternative to Auvik. Other open-source alternatives to Auvik include NetAlertX, Oxidized and Scanopy.

Is NetBox actively maintained?

Yes. The most recent commit to NetBox was on 2 October 2026, and the latest release is v4.7.2, published on 29 September 2026. The project has 22k stars on GitHub.

NetBox: open-source alternative to Auvik

About NetBox

NetBox is a web application for documenting and modeling network infrastructure. It acts as the source of truth for what a network is supposed to look like, storing racks, devices, cables, IP addresses, VLANs, circuits, power and VPNs in one interlinked data model. It is built for network engineers who need that record to be accurate and queryable.

Rather than talking to network devices directly, NetBox exposes its data through a web interface and programmable APIs so that separate automation, monitoring and assurance tools can consume the intended state. That separation lets a team swap individual tools while keeping a predictable workflow, and a plugin system extends the core data model.

The Community edition is open source under the Apache 2.0 license, runs on Python and Django, and can be deployed on your own servers. NetBox Labs also offers NetBox Cloud as a managed service and NetBox Enterprise as a commercial edition. It is often described as a successor to older IPAM and DCIM applications.

Key features

Rack, device and cable documentation
IP address and VLAN management
Circuit, power and VPN tracking
Programmable APIs for automation tools
Plugin support for extending the data model
Built on Python and Django

Good fit for

→Network source of truth for automation pipelines
→Documenting data center racks and cabling
→Tracking IP address allocations

Built with: Python; Django
Tags: netbox; ipam; dcim; network-automation; infrastructure; source-of-truth; django; self-hosted

NetBox: questions and answers

What is NetBox used for?: NetBox is an open-source source of truth for network infrastructure, covering IP address management and data center documentation with a programmable API. It is a good fit for network source of truth for automation pipelines, documenting data center racks and cabling, and tracking IP address allocations.
Is NetBox open source?: Yes. NetBox is open source under the Apache-2.0 licence. Its source code is on GitHub at netbox-community/netbox and is written mainly in Python.
Is NetBox free?: Yes. NetBox is open source, so the software itself is free to use. A managed cloud version is also available.
Can I self-host NetBox?: Yes. NetBox can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure.
What is NetBox an alternative to?: NetBox is an open-source alternative to Auvik. Other open-source alternatives to Auvik include NetAlertX, Oxidized and Scanopy.
Is NetBox actively maintained?: Yes. The most recent commit to NetBox was on 2 October 2026, and the latest release is v4.7.2, published on 29 September 2026. The project has 22k stars on GitHub.