ImproperlyConfigured: Unable to import plugin netbox_map although module is installed

[le-renard-12]

Hi,

I’m encountering an issue while following the NetBox plugin tutorial and trying to load a simple custom plugin (netbox-map).

The plugin appears to be correctly installed in the NetBox virtual environment:

(venv) root@netbox:~/netbox-plugin# pip3 show netbox-map
Name: netbox-map
Version: 0.1
Summary: A NetBox plugin to add a map
Location: /opt/netbox/venv/lib/python3.13/site-packages
Editable project location: /root/netbox-plugin

However, when starting NetBox with:

python3 /opt/netbox/netbox/manage.py runserver

I receive the following error:

django.core.exceptions.ImproperlyConfigured:
Unable to import plugin netbox_map: Module not found.
Check that the plugin module has been installed within the correct Python environment.

---

Plugin configuration

The plugin structure and configuration follow the official tutorial:
https://github.com/netbox-community/netbox-plugin-tutorial/blob/main/tutorial/step01-initial-setup.md

netbox_map/__init__.py

from netbox.plugins import PluginConfig

class NetBoxMapConfig(PluginConfig):
    name = 'netbox_map'
    verbose_name = 'NetBox map'
    description = 'A NetBox plugin to add a map'
    version = '0.1'
    base_url = 'map'

config = NetBoxMapConfig

setup.py

from setuptools import find_packages, setup

setup(
    name='netbox-map',
    version='0.1',
    description='A NetBox plugin to add a map',
    install_requires=[],
    packages=find_packages(),
    include_package_data=True,
    zip_safe=False,
)

---

Additional context

• The plugin is installed inside the active NetBox virtual environment
• PLUGINS = ['netbox_map'] is set in configuration.py
• The package can be found in site-packages
• This setup follows the tutorial exactly, but NetBox fails during plugin import

At this point, it’s unclear whether:

• an additional step is required for recent NetBox versions, or
• the tutorial is missing or outdated regarding plugin discovery

Any clarification or guidance would be appreciated.
Thanks for maintaining the tutorial and the NetBox plugin framework.

[cruse1977]

on which version of netbox ?

[le-renard-12]

on which version of netbox ?

Both 4.4.8 & 4.4.9.

[jnovinger]

However, when starting NetBox with:

python3 /opt/netbox/netbox/manage.py runserver

I receive the following error:

django.core.exceptions.ImproperlyConfigured:
Unable to import plugin netbox_map: Module not found.
Check that the plugin module has been installed within the correct Python environment.

Just to be absolutely clear, the virtualenv is activated when running the above? I willing to bet it is, but you included the (venv) in the prompt from a previous step and I didn't see it here.

on which version of netbox ?

Both 4.4.8 & 4.4.9.

Does this imply it works in NetBox <= v4.4.7? Or just that these are the ones you have tried?

v4.4.10 is releasing tomorrow, so if this is a bug in core NetBox, I'd love to identify it ASAP. Thanks!