Connect Your Network Source of Truth to AI
Your agents drive NetPilot's MCP server, and NetPilot's agent reads your NetBox and builds runnable labs for your stack.
See It in Action
Describe a network — or point the agent at your NetBox — and get a running multi-vendor lab you can SSH into.
Trusted by network engineers worldwide
Which lab platforms integrate with NetBox and Nautobot?
Several do, by different routes. The open-source path exports your source of truth into a topology file you deploy yourself; NetPilot connects to your MCP server and lets the agent build the lab. Here is the honest comparison.
| Platform | How it reads NetBox / Nautobot | Real NOS images | Assembly required |
|---|---|---|---|
| NetPilot | A custom-built read-only integration with the NetBox or Nautobot MCP server you host; the agent queries it directly | ✅ | An MCP server you host. The integration is built for you, with no exporter pipeline |
| Containerlab | NetBox only — via netreplica/nrx, which exports a NetBox site to Containerlab topology files | ✅ | You run the exporter and maintain the pipeline |
| Cisco Modeling Labs | NetBox only — nrx exports to CML format; Cisco also publishes tooling to sync CML topologies back into NetBox | ✅ | Export step, plus CML licensing |
| NVIDIA Air | NetBox only — nrx exports to NVIDIA Air format | ✅ | Export step; Cumulus and data-center fabrics |
| EVE-NG | No widely used first-party path — teams write their own API glue | ✅ | Custom scripting end to end |
| GNS3 | No widely used first-party path — teams write their own API glue | ✅ | Custom scripting end to end |
Credit where it is due: the source-of-truth-to-lab pattern was proved in the open-source community by netreplica/nrx and Containerlab. If you want maximum control and are happy to maintain the pipeline, that stack is a genuinely good answer. NetPilot removes the assembly, not the credit.
Integrations that respect your source of truth
Custom-built for your workflow, read-only by design, wired for the change-rehearsal loop.
Read-only by construction
The agent is granted an allow-list of read tools — exact names, never a wildcard. Write and delete tools are never attached.
The alternative
DIY agent wiring hands the model a full API token and hopes the system prompt says “don't write.”
Source of truth → running lab
NetBox/Nautobot records become a deployed multi-vendor lab you can SSH into — rehearse the change before production.
The alternative
Topology exporters hand you YAML to maintain; model-based twins can't run a single show command.
Live network, still read-only
show-command access via Nornir with credentials brokered from your Nautobot at call time — NetPilot never stores them.
The alternative
Homegrown scripts with device passwords in env vars and nothing between the model and enable mode.
A few examples, then anything
NetBox, Nautobot and Nornir are a few examples. Anything with an API or an MCP server connects, built for your workflow.
The alternative
Point integrations cover one inventory tool; every new system in your stack means more glue code for your team.
AI agent integration with your network stack
Agentic AI built for network engineering. Bring your own agent to NetPilot's MCP server, or let NetPilot's agent connect to your systems over API or MCP. Every integration is a custom build for your workflow. NetBox, Nautobot and Nornir are just a few examples. On the outbound side, every integration exposes a curated, read-only tool surface to NetPilot's agent, nothing more. On the inbound side, your own agent builds and validates labs through NetPilot's MCP server.
NetBox
Speaks to the official read-only NetBox MCP server you host: devices, sites, prefixes, object search, and changelogs. Ask “what changed this week?” or “build a lab from site DC-East” and the agent reads the records and does the rest.
Nautobot
The full read surface of your Nautobot MCP server: devices, interfaces, racks, IPAM, circuits, tenants, GraphQL queries, and job logs. The mutating tools (create, update, delete, run-job) are never attached.
Nornir
Live read-only CLI access to your real network: show commands only, enforced server-side. Inventory and credentials are brokered from your Nautobot at call time and executed in your environment. NetPilot never stores them.
These three are a few examples, not the list. NetPilot connects to anything with an API or an MCP server, and our team builds each integration for your workflow. When a whole workflow needs an agent, NetPilot builds and delivers a custom AI agent that uses these integrations as its tools. Talk to us about your stack → Comparing tools first? See seven network automation tools compared on how they work with your own agent.
From records to a running network
The agent turns source-of-truth data into a deployed, verifiable lab — and checks it against reality.
The agent reads your source of truth
Devices, interfaces, prefixes, free IPs, changelogs — the agent queries your NetBox or Nautobot directly in chat and designs the matching topology from what's really there.
From records to a lab you can SSH into
The agent deploys the twin on real network OSes (15+ and growing) and runs the verification itself, and every device stays a normal SSH target, so you can check the routing table by hand.
Validate — source of truth vs lab vs live
Snapshot and diff lab state, spot-check the live network with read-only show commands, and catch drift between intended and actual before it bites a change window.
What you can do once your stack is connected
Ask in plain English: the agent picks the right read-only tools, and everything it builds is verifiable on real CLIs.
Twin lab from a NetBox site
“Build a lab from my NetBox site DC-East” — the agent pulls devices, interfaces, and prefixes, then deploys a matching multi-vendor lab on real NOSes.
IPAM answers in seconds
Free /28s, available IPs, VLAN and VRF lookups straight from Nautobot — asked and answered in the same chat that builds the lab.
Change rehearsal
Pull the affected segment from your source of truth, deploy the twin, apply the candidate change, and diff pre/post state — before production.
Drift detection
Compare intended state (NetBox/Nautobot records) against live state (show-command output) in one conversation and get the delta.
Read-only live checks
“Run show ip bgp summary on core-rtr-01” — Nornir executes read-only show commands with credentials brokered from your Nautobot, never stored.
Changelog forensics
“What changed in NetBox this week?” — the agent reads changelogs and job logs, without the ability to run or modify anything.
NetPilot integrations vs the DIY pipeline
The honest comparison: exporter scripts and hand-wired MCP servers work. They just cost engineering time NetPilot spends for you.
Bottom line
Pick the DIY pipeline when you need:
- •Free and open source, with full control of every YAML file and image
- •Runs fully offline on your own hardware
Pick NetPilot when you need:
- •Integration built for you, read-only by construction, with no glue code to write or maintain
- •The agent turns source-of-truth records into a running, SSH-able lab and validates the change
Verdict:DIY wins for hands-on control and zero budget; NetPilot wins when the goal is rehearsing real changes from real data: connected, deployed, and validated in one conversation.
Frequently asked questions
How teams connect their source of truth to NetPilot, safely
Where the integrations pay off
Network Automation Tools for Your Own AI Agent (2026)
Seven tools compared on source-of-truth input, a lab you can run, MCP, custom integrations and direction.
Network Change Validation
Rehearse BGP, ACL, and routing changes on a runnable mirror before production.
Network Digital Twin
A twin you can actually run — built from your source of truth, real CLIs via SSH.
Custom AI Agents
Any network engineering agent, built and delivered for you, using these integrations as its tools.
Connect your source of truth
Talk to us about wiring NetPilot into your stack. NetBox, Nautobot and Nornir are a few examples. Anything with an API or an MCP server connects.
Bigger stack? Talk to us about custom MCP integrations