Netbox Deployment

GitOps deployment for Netbox with Tailscale HTTPS access via Komodo.

Prerequisites

PostgreSQL Database

Connect to your PostgreSQL server and create the database:

CREATE DATABASE netbox;
CREATE USER netbox WITH PASSWORD 'your-secure-password';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON DATABASE netbox TO netbox;
ALTER DATABASE netbox OWNER TO netbox;
-- Required for netbox-branching plugin
GRANT CREATE ON DATABASE netbox TO netbox;

Generate Secret Key

python3 -c "import secrets; print(secrets.token_urlsafe(50))"

Tailscale Auth Key

Generate a reusable auth key from https://login.tailscale.com/admin/settings/keys

Deployment with Komodo

1. Add Git Provider (if using private repo)

In Komodo UI: Settings → Git Providers → Add your Gitea instance credentials.

2. Create Stack

1. Navigate to Stacks → New Stack
2. Configure:
   • Name: netbox
   • Server: Select your target server
   • Source: Git Repo
   • Git Provider: gitea.arnodo.fr (or your provider)
   • Repo: Damien/netbox-deployment
   • Branch: main

3. Configure Environment Variables

In the stack configuration, add the following environment variables:

Variable	Description	Example
TS_AUTHKEY	Tailscale auth key (reusable)	tskey-auth-xxx
DB_HOST	PostgreSQL host	postgresql.taila5ad8.ts.net
DB_PORT	PostgreSQL port	5432
DB_NAME	Database name	netbox
DB_USER	Database user	netbox
DB_PASSWORD	Database password	secret
SECRET_KEY	Django secret key	generated
SUPERUSER_NAME	Initial admin username	admin
SUPERUSER_EMAIL	Initial admin email	admin@example.com
SUPERUSER_PASSWORD	Initial admin password	secret
SKIP_SUPERUSER	Skip superuser creation	false

Tip

: Use Komodo's secret variables (marked with 🔒) for sensitive values like passwords and keys.

4. Deploy

Click Deploy in Komodo. The stack will:

1. Clone this repository
2. Pull container images
3. Start all services with the configuration files from the repo

After First Deployment

Set SKIP_SUPERUSER=true to prevent superuser recreation on redeploy.

GitOps Workflow

Auto-deploy on Git Push

1. In Komodo, go to your stack settings
2. Enable Auto Deploy on push
3. Copy the webhook URL
4. Add it to your Gitea repository: Settings → Webhooks

Any push to the main branch will automatically redeploy the stack.

Updating Configuration

Simply edit configuration.py, plugins.py, or serve-config.json in the repo and push. Komodo will detect the changes and redeploy if auto-deploy is enabled.

Access

Once deployed: https://netbox.taila5ad8.ts.net

Architecture

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                     Tailscale Network                       │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                             │
│  ┌─────────────┐     ┌─────────────┐     ┌──────────────┐  │
│  │  Tailscale  │────▶│   NetBox    │────▶│  PostgreSQL  │  │
│  │   Sidecar   │     │   Server    │     │  (external)  │  │
│  │   :443      │     │   :8080     │     │              │  │
│  └─────────────┘     └──────┬──────┘     └──────────────┘  │
│                             │                               │
│                      ┌──────▼──────┐                       │
│                      │    Redis    │                       │
│                      │  (caching)  │                       │
│                      └─────────────┘                       │
│                                                             │
│  ┌─────────────────┐     ┌─────────────────┐               │
│  │  NetBox Worker  │     │   Housekeeping  │               │
│  │  (background)   │     │   (scheduled)   │               │
│  └─────────────────┘     └─────────────────┘               │
│                                                             │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Repository Structure

netbox-deployment/
├── docker-compose.yml     # Stack definition (relative paths)
├── configuration.py       # NetBox configuration
├── plugins.py             # Plugins activation
├── serve-config.json      # Tailscale HTTPS serve config
└── README.md

Troubleshooting

View Logs in Komodo

Click on the stack → select a service → Logs tab.

Manual Redeploy

If auto-deploy doesn't trigger, click Pull then Deploy in Komodo.

Check Service Health

All services show their status in the Komodo UI. Redis includes a healthcheck that must pass before NetBox starts.