Dynamic Commands

Every NetBox resource reachable through the API is automatically registered as a Typer subcommand, derived from the bundled OpenAPI schema at import time. This means --help works at every level and shell completion is fully supported.

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Command structure

nbx <group> <resource> <action> [options]

For example:

nbx dcim devices list
nbx dcim devices get --id 1
nbx ipam prefixes create --body-json '{...}'

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Discovery

Use the discovery commands to explore what's available:

# All app groups
nbx groups
# → circuits, core, dcim, extras, ipam, plugins, tenancy, users, virtualization, vpn, wireless

# Resources in a group
nbx resources dcim
# → cable-terminations, cables, console-ports, device-bays, device-roles, devices, …

# Include plugin/custom-object resources from the configured NetBox instance
nbx resources plugins --live

# Help at any level
nbx dcim --help
nbx dcim devices --help
nbx dcim devices list --help

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Actions

Action	HTTP method	Path	Notes
list	GET	/api/<group>/<resource>/	Returns paginated list; supports --all
get	GET	/api/<group>/<resource>/{id}/	Requires --id
create	POST	/api/<group>/<resource>/	Requires --body-json or --body-file
update	PUT	/api/<group>/<resource>/{id}/	Requires --id and body
patch	PATCH	/api/<group>/<resource>/{id}/	Requires --id and body
delete	DELETE	/api/<group>/<resource>/{id}/	Requires --id
bulk-update	PUT	/api/<group>/<resource>/	Array body; no --id; list path
bulk-patch	PATCH	/api/<group>/<resource>/	Array body; no --id; list path
bulk-delete	DELETE	/api/<group>/<resource>/	Array body; no --id; list path
filters	—	local only	Prints available filter parameters from schema

Not every resource supports all actions — availability depends on the OpenAPI schema.

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Options (all actions)

Flag	Description
--netbox-version / --api-version	Global option to force a supported bundled schema release line (4.3 through 4.6)
--id INTEGER	Object ID for detail operations (get, update, patch, delete)
-q / --query KEY=VALUE	Query string filter (repeatable)
-H / --header HEADER=VALUE	HTTP header for the request; Header: Value is also accepted (repeatable)
--body-json TEXT	Inline JSON request body
--body-file PATH	Path to JSON file for request body
--all	Auto-paginate: follow next links and return all records (list only)
--max-records INTEGER	Upper bound for --all (default: 10 000)
--json	Output raw JSON
--yaml	Output YAML
--markdown	Output table-first Markdown
--trace	Fetch and render ASCII cable trace (interfaces only, get only)
--select TEXT	JSON dot-path to extract specific field from response (e.g., results.0.name)
--columns TEXT	Comma-separated list of columns to display in table output
--max-columns INTEGER	Maximum number of columns to display (default: 6)
--dry-run	Preview write operation without executing (create/update/patch/delete only)

--json, --yaml, and --markdown are mutually exclusive.

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NetBox version selection

nbx supports NetBox 4.5 and 4.6 command surfaces in parallel:

• By default, the static command tree uses the bundled NetBox 4.6 schema so 4.6 resources such as dcim/cable-bundles are available.
• During command execution, discovery helpers, and TUI launch, nbx checks the configured instance version and uses the matching bundled schema for supported release lines.
• Use --netbox-version / --api-version or NETBOX_SDK_NETBOX_VERSION to pin the bundled schema explicitly.

# Default 4.6 command discovery
nbx dcim cable-bundles list --help

# Pin command discovery and execution to NetBox 4.5
nbx --netbox-version 4.5 dcim devices list
NETBOX_SDK_NETBOX_VERSION=4.5 nbx resources dcim

Patch versions normalize to their release line: 4.5.10 uses 4.5, and 4.6.2 uses 4.6.

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Filtering

The -q / --query flag maps to NetBox API query parameters:

nbx dcim devices list -q site=nyc01
nbx dcim devices list -q status=active -q role=spine
nbx ipam prefixes list -q family=6 -q status=active
nbx dcim interfaces list -q device_id=1
nbx extras tags list -q tag=prod -q tag=edge

Multiple -q flags are ANDed together. Repeating the same key preserves repeated query parameters, which NetBox uses for filters such as multiple tags.

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HTTP headers

Use -H / --header on dynamic commands, nbx call, and nbx dev http when the API interaction needs conditional headers such as If-Match or custom headers:

nbx dcim devices patch --id 42 -H 'If-Match: "etag-value"' --body-json '{"status":"active"}'
nbx call PATCH /api/dcim/devices/42/ -H 'If-Match: "etag-value"' --body-json '{"status":"active"}'
nbx dev http get --path /api/dcim/devices/ -H 'Accept: application/json'

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Filter discovery (filters)

The filters action prints the available query parameters for a resource directly from the bundled schema — no HTTP request is made:

nbx dcim devices filters
nbx extras tags filters
nbx ipam prefixes filters

Example output for extras tags:

Filter parameters for extras/tags:

  q          (string)  — Search
  color      (string)
  id         (integer)
  name       (string)
  slug       (string)

Use this to discover what -q keys are valid before running a filtered list.

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Auto-pagination (--all)

By default, list returns one page (up to the NetBox server page size, typically 50 records). Use --all to follow every next link and receive a single synthesised response containing all matching records:

# Fetch all devices regardless of page size
nbx dcim devices list --all

# Cap at 200 records across all pages
nbx dcim devices list --all --max-records 200

# Combine with filters
nbx dcim devices list --all -q status=active --json

--max-records defaults to 10 000. When the accumulated count reaches the cap, pagination stops and the partial result is returned.

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Bulk operations

Bulk operations target the list path with an array body — no --id is needed or accepted.

# Bulk-patch: partial update for multiple objects
nbx extras tags bulk-patch --body-json '[{"id":1,"color":"aa1409"},{"id":2,"color":"0c7a00"}]'

# Bulk-update: full replacement for multiple objects (all required fields must be present)
nbx extras tags bulk-update --body-json '[{"id":1,"name":"tag-a","slug":"tag-a","color":"ff0000"}]'

# Bulk-delete: delete multiple objects by id
nbx extras tags bulk-delete --body-json '[{"id":1},{"id":2}]'

These actions are only registered for resources where the OpenAPI schema exposes PUT/PATCH/DELETE on the list path.

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Output formats

Rich table (default)JSONYAMLMarkdown

nbx dcim devices list

Renders a Rich table with prioritized columns: id, name, status, site, role, type, etc.

nbx dcim devices list --json

Prints the raw paginated API response as indented JSON. Useful for piping to jq.

nbx dcim devices list --yaml

Renders the response as YAML.

nbx dcim devices list --markdown

Renders API JSON as table-first Markdown output.

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Field selection (--select)

Extract specific fields from the JSON response using dot notation:

# Get the first device's name
nbx dcim devices list --select results.0.name

Only numeric list indices are supported in paths (no wildcards such as [*]).

Supported path patterns: - results.0.name — Access nested object at a numeric index - count — Access top-level fields

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Column control (--columns, --max-columns)

Limit which columns appear in table output:

# Display only specific columns
nbx dcim devices list --columns id,name,status

# Limit total columns to 3
nbx dcim devices list --max-columns 3

# Combine both
nbx dcim devices list --columns id,name,status --max-columns 2

The --columns flag accepts a comma-separated list of field names to display. The --max-columns flag limits the total number of columns shown, defaulting to 6.

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Dry run (--dry-run)

Preview what a write operation would send without actually executing it:

# Preview a create operation
nbx dcim devices create --dry-run --body-json '{"name":"test-device","site":1}'

# Preview an update operation
nbx dcim devices update --dry-run --id 1 --body-json '{"name":"updated-name"}'

# Preview a delete operation
nbx dcim devices delete --dry-run --id 1

Output shows the HTTP method, path, and request body in a formatted table. The --dry-run flag is only valid for write operations (create, update, patch, delete).

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Cable trace

For dcim/interfaces, the get action supports --trace to fetch and display the cable path as an ASCII diagram:

nbx dcim interfaces get --id 4 --trace

Output:

Cable Trace:
┌────────────────────────────────────┐
│         dmi01-akron-rtr01          │
│       GigabitEthernet0/1/1         │
└────────────────────────────────────┘
                │
                │  Cable #36
                │  Connected
                │
┌────────────────────────────────────┐
│       GigabitEthernet1/0/2         │
│         dmi01-akron-sw01           │
└────────────────────────────────────┘

Trace Completed - 1 segment(s)

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Demo profile variant

The same dynamic command tree is registered under nbx demo and targets demo.netbox.dev:

nbx demo dcim devices list
nbx demo ipam prefixes list
nbx demo dcim interfaces get --id 4 --trace

See Demo Profile for setup.

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How it works

At startup, _register_openapi_subcommands() in dynamic.py builds a network-free SchemaIndex from the bundled schema selected by --netbox-version / NETBOX_SDK_NETBOX_VERSION, defaulting to NetBox 4.6. It then creates a Typer sub-app for every group, a nested sub-app for every resource, and a command for every supported action. The same registration runs twice — once for the root app and once for demo_app with the demo client factory.

Actual command execution uses _get_runtime_index() from runtime.py. Explicit version overrides win; otherwise the CLI probes the configured instance and selects the matching bundled schema for supported NetBox release lines.

For plugin/custom-object resources, the bundled schema gives nbx the static command tree it knows about. Use --live with groups, resources, or ops to enrich that index from the configured NetBox instance via /api/plugins/ and /api/core/object-types/. Free-form dynamic invocations also try live enrichment when the requested resource is missing from the bundled schema.