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authors: [bsmeding] title: Nautobot Zero to Hero – Part 1: Install Nautobot tags: ["network automation", "nautobot", "docker", "installation"] toc: true layout: single comments: true draft: true

Nautobot Zero to Hero – Part 1: Install Nautobot

Install Nautobot with Docker in a Virtual Machine

Get your Nautobot environment up and running with Docker within 5 minutes.

Index

1. Introduction

In this first part of the series, we'll install Nautobot using Docker in a virtual machine. We'll use the comprehensive installation guide and setup scripts from the nautobot_zero_to_hero repository.

We'll:

  1. Clone the nautobot_zero_to_hero repository
  2. Follow the installation instructions
  3. Deploy Nautobot with Docker Compose
  4. Verify the installation is working correctly

Estimated Time: ~0.5 hours

2. Prerequisites

  • A virtual machine (VM) with:
  • Linux (Ubuntu 20.04+ recommended) or macOS/Windows with Docker Desktop
  • At least 4GB RAM
  • 20GB free disk space
  • Docker and Docker Compose installed
  • Git installed
  • Basic familiarity with command-line operations

3. Clone the Repository

The nautobot_zero_to_hero repository contains everything you need to get started, including Docker Compose files, configuration templates, and installation scripts.

git clone https://github.com/bsmeding/nautobot_zero_to_hero.git
cd nautobot_zero_to_hero

4. Install Nautobot

The repository includes an automated installation script (install.sh) that will: - Install Docker and Docker Compose (if not already installed) - Install Containerlab (for network lab setup) - Update /etc/hosts with lab device hostnames - Optionally install desktop environment (XFCE, VS Code, Firefox) for GUI support

Standard Installation (Headless): 

bash install.sh

This installs Docker, Docker Compose, Containerlab, and updates /etc/hosts with lab device hostnames.

Installation with Desktop Environment (Optional): 

INSTALL_DESKTOP=true bash install.sh

This includes everything from the standard installation plus: - XFCE desktop environment - Visual Studio Code - Firefox browser - ssh:// protocol handler (for clickable SSH links)

Note: The desktop environment is useful for WSL users or if you want GUI tools. For server installations, use the standard installation.

Option 2: Manual Installation

If you prefer to install manually, follow these steps:

  1. Create environment file: 

    cat > .env << EOF
NAUTOBOT_PORT=8080
POSTGRES_DB=nautobot
POSTGRES_USER=nautobot
POSTGRES_PASSWORD=nautobotpassword
SUPERUSER_NAME=admin
SUPERUSER_PASSWORD=admin
NAUTOBOT_CONTAINER_NAME=nautobot
POSTGRES_CONTAINER_NAME=postgres
REDIS_CONTAINER_NAME=redis
CELERY_BEAT_CONTAINER_NAME=nautobot_celery_beat
CELERY_WORKER_CONTAINER_NAME=nautobot_celery_worker_1
NAUTOBOT_DB_HOST=postgres
NAUTOBOT_REDIS_HOST=redis
EOF

  2. Start the services: 

    docker compose up -d

Important: On first startup, database migrations may take more than 5 minutes. Please be patient!

Note: ARM64 images are now available on Docker Hub, so Apple Silicon (M1, M2, M3, M4) users can use the standard docker compose up -d command without any special configuration.

  1. Wait for services to be healthy: 
    docker compose ps

All services should show as "healthy" or "running" before proceeding.

5. Access Nautobot

Once the installation is complete, you can access Nautobot:

  • URL: http://localhost:8080 (or the port configured in your .env file)
  • Alternative URL: http://nautobotlab.dev:8080 (if you ran install.sh which updates /etc/hosts)
  • Default Username: admin
  • Default Password: admin (change this immediately!)
  • Default API Token: 1234567890abcde0987654321 (found in user profile)

Nautobot Login page

After logging in, you should see the Nautobot dashboard.

Nautobot Dashboard

6. Verify Installation

Let's verify that all components are working correctly:

Check Service Status

docker compose ps

All services should show as "healthy" or "running":

  • nautobot - Main Nautobot application
  • postgres - PostgreSQL database
  • redis - Redis cache and message broker
  • celery-worker-1 - Background job worker
  • celery-beat - Scheduled task scheduler

docker compose ps output

Check Nautobot Health

curl http://localhost:8080/health/

You should see a JSON response indicating all services are healthy.

Access the API

curl -H "Authorization: Token YOUR_API_TOKEN" http://localhost:8080/api/

Replace YOUR_API_TOKEN with your API token (found in your user profile). Default: '1234567890abcde0987654321'

7. Wrap-Up

Congratulations! You have successfully: - ✅ Installed Nautobot with Docker - ✅ Set up PostgreSQL and Redis - ✅ Configured Celery workers for background jobs - ✅ Accessed the Nautobot web interface - ✅ Verified all services are running

8. Next Steps

Now that Nautobot is installed and running, proceed to Part 2: Getting Started with Nautobot to:

  • Explore what Nautobot can do
  • Deploy a demo environment using Jobs
  • Run the pre-flight job to create initial data

Happy automating! 🚀