NetBox FolderView

A NetBox plugin with two independent features:

• Prefix Tree — a collapsible folder-tree view of IP prefixes, similar to SolarWinds IPAM or phpIPAM
• Catalogs — user-defined hierarchical folder structures for organizing any NetBox object type

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Compatible NetBox Versions

Plugin Version	NetBox Version
0.1.x	4.5.x
0.2.x	4.5.x
0.3.x	4.5.x – 4.6.x

Python: 3.10 – 3.13 (matching the supported NetBox releases).

Note: This plugin relies on internal NetBox APIs. Compatibility with versions below 4.5.0 is not guaranteed.

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Features

Prefix Tree

• Two-pane tree view — prefix hierarchy on the left, IP addresses on the right
• Lazy loading — child prefixes and IP addresses are fetched on demand
• Filter-aware tree — apply any NetBox prefix filter and the tree reorganizes automatically
• Saved filters — the saved filter dropdown from the standard Prefixes view is available in the tree header
• Column configuration — configurable per-user, persisted via NetBox's native UserConfig mechanism
• Respects NetBox RBAC — all queries are restricted to the authenticated user's object-level permissions

Catalogs

• Any object type — create catalogs for Devices, Prefixes, VLANs, Circuits, VMs, and any other NetBox type that has a registered filterset
• Hierarchical folders — nest folders inside folders to any depth
• Static folders — manually curate which objects belong in each folder
• Dynamic folders — reference a NetBox Saved Filter; membership is resolved at runtime, always current
• Duplicate control — optionally prevent an object from appearing in more than one static folder within a catalog
• Two-pane catalog view — folder tree on the left, filtered object table on the right with native NetBox columns, filters, and search
• Bulk operations — add, remove, and move objects across folders in bulk
• Respects NetBox RBAC — object queries are restricted to the user's existing NetBox permissions; Catalog and Folder access is governed by standard NetBox object-level permissions

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Installation

1. Install the package

From PyPI:

pip install netbox-folderview

From source (development):

git clone https://github.com/averyhabbott/netbox-folderview.git
cd netbox-folderview
pip install -e .

2. Add to NetBox configuration

In your NetBox configuration.py:

PLUGINS = [
    'netbox_folderview',
]

PLUGINS_CONFIG = {
    'netbox_folderview': {},
}

3. Run migrations

python manage.py migrate

4. Restart NetBox

sudo systemctl restart netbox netbox-rq

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Permissions

FolderView uses NetBox's standard object-level permissions system. No special configuration is required for the Prefix Tree — it respects existing prefix permissions automatically.

For Catalogs, two object types appear in NetBox's permission picker: Catalog and Folder. Users need view permission on both to see a catalog and its contents. Granting only one is not sufficient.

Recommended setup

Create a single permission entry covering both object types:

1. In NetBox, go to Admin → Permissions → Add Permission
2. Set a name (e.g. "View all catalogs")
3. Under Object Types, select both netbox_folderview | catalog and netbox_folderview | folder
4. Set Actions to view (add add, change, delete as needed)
5. Leave Constraints empty to grant access to all catalogs, or scope them (see below)
6. Assign the permission to the appropriate users or groups

Scoping access to specific catalogs

To give a user access to only certain catalogs, use constraints on separate permission entries:

Catalog permission — constrains which catalogs the user can see:

{"name": "My Devices Catalog"}

Folder permission — must be scoped to match:

{"catalog__name": "My Devices Catalog"}

Without the matching Folder constraint, the user can see the catalog in the nav but none of its folders will load.

Object permissions in the right pane

Objects displayed inside a folder are always filtered by the user's existing NetBox permissions for that object type. FolderView does not grant access to objects — it only organizes them. A user without view permission on Devices will see an empty folder even if devices are in it.

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How to Use

Using the Prefix Tree

Navigate to FolderView → Prefix Tree in the left-hand nav.

• Left pane — collapsible prefix hierarchy. Click the chevron to expand/collapse. Single-click a prefix to load its IPs on the right. Double-click to navigate to the NetBox detail page.
• Right pane — IP addresses within the selected prefix. Double-click any row to navigate to its detail page.
• Filtering — use the quick search, saved filter dropdown, or the Filters tab for the full NetBox prefix filter panel.
• Column configuration — click Configure in either pane to choose which columns are shown; preferences are saved per-user.

Using Catalogs

Navigate to FolderView → Manage Catalogs to create and manage catalogs, or click directly on a catalog name in the nav to open it.

Creating a catalog

1. Click + Add on the Manage Catalogs page
2. Choose a name and Object Type (the type of objects this catalog will organize)
3. Set Allow Duplicates — when disabled, each object may only appear in one static folder within this catalog
4. Set Default: Show Nested Objects — controls whether new folders in this catalog show objects from all descendant folders by default

Creating folders

Within a catalog, click + Add Folder to create a folder:

• Parent Folder — leave blank for a root-level folder, or select a parent to nest it
• Folder Type — Static (manual) or Dynamic (filter-driven)
• Show Nested Objects — when enabled, the folder displays objects from all descendant folders recursively
• Saved Filter — required for dynamic folders; only shared filters matching the catalog's object type are shown

Dynamic folders cannot be parents of static folders.

Adding objects (static folders)

Click Add Objects in the right pane when a static folder is selected. This opens a full NetBox-native list view for the catalog's object type, with all standard filters and search. Select objects and click Add to Folder.

Moving and removing objects

Per-row and bulk actions are available in the right pane when a static folder is selected:

• Remove / Remove Selected — deletes the folder membership; the object itself is unaffected
• Move / Move Selected — moves objects to another static folder within the same catalog atomically

Finding duplicate objects

If a catalog has Allow Duplicates disabled, use the Find Duplicate Objects action (available in the action dropdown on the Manage Catalogs page) to see any objects that appear in more than one static folder.

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REST API

FolderView exposes Catalog and Folder through NetBox's standard REST API, under the plugin's API namespace:

• GET|POST /api/plugins/folderview/catalogs/ — list / create
• GET|PATCH|PUT|DELETE /api/plugins/folderview/catalogs/{id}/ — retrieve / update / delete
• GET|POST /api/plugins/folderview/folders/ — list / create
• GET|PATCH|PUT|DELETE /api/plugins/folderview/folders/{id}/ — retrieve / update / delete

These follow the usual NetBox conventions: Bearer-token authentication, paginated list responses, and filtering. Catalogs can be filtered by name and object_type; folders by name, catalog, and folder_type.

curl -s -H "Authorization: Token $NETBOX_TOKEN" \
  "https://netbox.example.com/api/plugins/folderview/catalogs/?object_type=ipam.prefix"

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Development

git clone https://github.com/averyhabbott/netbox-folderview.git
cd netbox-folderview
pip install -e .
# Add to configuration.py, run migrate, restart NetBox

Running the tests

python manage.py test netbox_folderview

The suite must run under a configuration that lists netbox_folderview in PLUGINS — i.e. your normal configuration.py, not netbox.configuration_testing (which resets PLUGINS to only the bundled dummy plugin, so none of these tests would load). Django's test runner creates and tears down its own throwaway test_* database, so it is safe to run against a live development install.

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License

This project is licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0 or later (GPLv3). See LICENSE for the full text.