Want to install Nautobot quickly on your Mac? This comprehensive tutorial will walk you through deploying Nautobot using Docker, the fastest and most reliable method for getting your network automation platform up and running.

What is Nautobot?

Similar to NetBox, Nautobot is an extensible Network Source of Truth and Network Automation Platform that serves as the foundation for modern network automation architectures. Installing Nautobot via Docker provides a production-ready environment with minimal setup complexity.

Prerequisites to Install Nautobot

Before you install Nautobot, ensure you have:

• Docker Desktop installed on your Mac
• Git for cloning repositories
• Basic command line familiarity

Verify Docker installation by running:

docker run hello-world

docker run hello-world

Step 1: Clone the Nautobot Docker Repository

Start the Nautobot installation process by cloning the official Docker Compose repository:

git clone https://github.com/nautobot/nautobot-docker-compose.git
cd nautobot-docker-compose

git clone https://github.com/nautobot/nautobot-docker-compose.git
cd nautobot-docker-compose

Step 2: Configure Environment Files

To properly install Nautobot, you need to set up two essential configuration files:

# Create local environment configuration
cp environments/local.example.env environments/local.env

# Create credentials configuration
cp environments/creds.example.env environments/creds.env

# Create local environment configuration
cp environments/local.example.env environments/local.env

# Create credentials configuration
cp environments/creds.example.env environments/creds.env

Step 3: Enable Superuser Creation

Edit the environments/creds.env file to enable automatic superuser creation during the Nautobot installation:

nano environments/creds.env

nano environments/creds.env

Change the following line:

NAUTOBOT_CREATE_SUPERUSER=true

NAUTOBOT_CREATE_SUPERUSER=true

The default superuser credentials will be:

• Username: admin
• Email: admin@example.com
• Password: admin

Step 4: Install Nautobot with Docker Compose

If you have Poetry installed, use the invoke command to install Nautobot:

poetry install
poetry run invoke start

poetry install
poetry run invoke start

Alternatively, install Nautobot directly with Docker Compose:

docker-compose up -d

docker-compose up -d

Step 5: Verify Your Nautobot Installation

Check that all containers are running properly:

➜  nautobot-docker-compose git:(main) docker ps | grep nau
a46ad5287851   yourrepo/nautobot-docker-compose:local   "sh -c 'nautobot-ser…"   About an hour ago   Up About an hour (healthy)   8080/tcp, 8443/tcp                          nautobot_docker_compose-celery_worker-1
06e6638f7b89   yourrepo/nautobot-docker-compose:local   "sh -c 'nautobot-ser…"   About an hour ago   Up About an hour             8080/tcp, 8443/tcp                          nautobot_docker_compose-celery_beat-1
53f9a38211fe   yourrepo/nautobot-docker-compose:local   "/docker-entrypoint.…"   About an hour ago   Up About an hour (healthy)   0.0.0.0:8080->8080/tcp, :::8080->8080/tcp   nautobot_docker_compose-nautobot-1
44cac78fab26   redis:6-alpine                           "docker-entrypoint.s…"   About an hour ago   Up About an hour             6379/tcp                                    nautobot_docker_compose-redis-1
c8b042983d1f   postgres:13-alpine                       "docker-entrypoint.s…"   About an hour ago   Up About an hour (healthy)   5432/tcp                                    nautobot_docker_compose-db-1

➜  nautobot-docker-compose git:(main) docker ps | grep nau
a46ad5287851   yourrepo/nautobot-docker-compose:local   "sh -c 'nautobot-ser…"   About an hour ago   Up About an hour (healthy)   8080/tcp, 8443/tcp                          nautobot_docker_compose-celery_worker-1
06e6638f7b89   yourrepo/nautobot-docker-compose:local   "sh -c 'nautobot-ser…"   About an hour ago   Up About an hour             8080/tcp, 8443/tcp                          nautobot_docker_compose-celery_beat-1
53f9a38211fe   yourrepo/nautobot-docker-compose:local   "/docker-entrypoint.…"   About an hour ago   Up About an hour (healthy)   0.0.0.0:8080->8080/tcp, :::8080->8080/tcp   nautobot_docker_compose-nautobot-1
44cac78fab26   redis:6-alpine                           "docker-entrypoint.s…"   About an hour ago   Up About an hour             6379/tcp                                    nautobot_docker_compose-redis-1
c8b042983d1f   postgres:13-alpine                       "docker-entrypoint.s…"   About an hour ago   Up About an hour (healthy)   5432/tcp                                    nautobot_docker_compose-db-1

You should see containers for Nautobot, PostgreSQL, Redis, and Celery workers.

Step 6: Access Your Nautobot Installation

Once the installation completes, access Nautobot by navigating to:

http://localhost:8080

http://localhost:8080

Log in using the superuser credentials configured in Step 3.

Troubleshooting Common Installation Issues

Apple Silicon Mac Compatibility

If you encounter ARM64 compatibility issues during installation, the Docker Compose method is recommended over single container deployments.

Creating Superuser After Installation

If you forgot to enable superuser creation, create one manually:

docker exec -it nautobot_docker_compose-nautobot-1 nautobot-server createsuperuser

docker exec -it nautobot_docker_compose-nautobot-1 nautobot-server createsuperuser

Viewing Installation Logs

Monitor the Nautobot installation progress with:

docker-compose logs nautobot

docker-compose logs nautobot

Next Steps After Installing Nautobot

With Nautobot successfully installed, you can:

• Configure network devices and inventory
• Install Nautobot apps for extended functionality
• Set up network automation workflows
• Integrate with existing network management tools

Why Install Nautobot with Docker?

Installing Nautobot via Docker provides several advantages:

• Consistent environment across different systems
• Easy updates and version management
• Isolated dependencies preventing conflicts
• Production-ready configuration out of the box

This Docker-based installation method ensures you have a robust Nautobot deployment ready for both development and production use cases.

Your Nautobot installation is now complete and ready to serve as your network source of truth platform.