Updating Objects

The Updating Records section shows how to use the ~pynautobot.core.response.Record.update{.interpreted-text role="py:meth"} method to update fields <Terminology>. Another way to accomplish update operations is to update the ~pynautobot.core.response.Record object\'s attributes, and call the ~pynautobot.core.response.Record.save{.interpreted-text role="py:meth"} method. The main difference with this approach is that changes are not synced to Nautobot until the ~pynautobot.core.response.Record.save{.interpreted-text role="py:meth"} method is called.

Modifying a Record by Attribute Updates

The below example will:

• make updates to a Device
• show that updates haven\'t synced to Nautobot before saving.
• show that updates are synced after calling the save method.

>>> device = nautobot.dcim.devices.get(name="hq-access-03")
>>>
>>> # Show that device is active
>>> device.status
<pynautobot.core.response.Record ('Active') at ...>
>>>
>>> # Update status and name fields
>>> device.comments = "removed from service"
>>> device.status = "Decommissioned"
>>>
>>> # Show that changes haven't been synced
>>> tmp_device = nautobot.dcim.devices.get(name="hq-access-03")
>>> tmp_device.status
<pynautobot.core.response.Record ('Active') at ...>
>>>
>>> # Save updates and show that changes have been synced
>>> device.save()
>>> updated_device = nautobot.dcim.devices.get(name="hq-access-03")
>>> updated_device.comments
'removed from service'
>>> updated_device.status
<pynautobot.core.response.Record ('Decommissioned') at ...>

Errors with updates

Since the Update operation behaves similarly to the Create operation, performing an update can have the some of the same errors. The two examples below are the same issues outlined in The Data Sent Does Not Adhere to the Database Schema{.interpreted-text role="ref"}.

The first example uses the ~pynautobot.core.response.Record.update{.interpreted-text role="py:meth"} method and returns an exception immediately. The second example modifies the objects position attribute, and the exception is not raised until the ~pynautobot.core.response.Record.save{.interpreted-text role="py:meth"} method is called.

Invalid Type

>>> # Get a device record
>>> hq_access_4 = devices.get(name="hq-access-04")
>>>
>>> # Attempt to update position with an invalid type
>>> hq_access_4.update({"postition": "high"})
False

Invalid Schema

>>> # Get a device record
>>> hq_access_4 = devices.get(name="hq-access-04")
>>>
>>> # Attempt to provide invalid rack unit for position
>>> hq_access_4.position = 100
>>>
>>> # The exception is only raised when save() is called
>>> hq_access_4.save()
Traceback (most recent call last):
...
pynautobot.core.query.RequestError:
The request failed with code 400 Bad Request:
{
  'position': [
    'U100 is already occupied or does not have sufficient space' \
    'to accommodate this device type: c9300-48 (1U)'
  ]
}

Atomic

One important feature of the Nautobot API is that updates are Atomic. If any of the fields being updated causes an error, then all updates are aborted. The following example updates the face and position fields. An error is raised for the position field, and fetching the object from Nautobot shows that face has also been left unchanged.

>>> # Get a device record
>>> hq_access_4 = devices.get(name="hq-access-04")
>>>
>>> # Set the face attribute
>>> hq_access_4.face = "front"
>>>
>>> # Attempt to provide invalid rack unit for position
>>> hq_access_4.position = 100
>>>
>>> # An exception is raised
>>> hq_access_4.save()
Traceback (most recent call last):
...
pynautobot.core.query.RequestError:
The request failed with code 400 Bad Request:
{
  'position': [
    'U100 is already occupied or does not have sufficient space' \
    'to accommodate this device type: c9300-48 (1U)'
  ]
}

>>> # Show that the object's face field has not changed
>>> tmp_hq_access_4 = devices.get(name="hq-access-04")
>>> tmp_hq_access_4.face is None
True
>>>
>>> # Fix the position field and retrigger update
>>> hq_access_4.position = 42
>>> hq_access_4.save()
True
>>>
>>> # Show that updates have taken affect
>>> tmp_hq_access_4 = devices.get(name="hq-access-04")
>>> tmp_hq_access_4.face
<pynautobot.core.response.Record ('Front') at 0x7f65000ade90>
>>> tmp_hq_access_4.position
42

Updating objects without loading data

In some cases it may not be necessary to load an object to update it, for example if the ID and updated fields are known, the call HTTP PATCH may be made without performing an ~pynautobot.core.endpoint.Endpoint.get{.interpreted-text role="py:meth"} first.

In this case, the ~pynautobot.core.endpoint.Endpoint.update{.interpreted-text role="py:meth"} method may be used to directly submit a PATCH to the Nautobot REST API. Using this reduces the number of API calls. It can be particularly useful as a way to update data fetched from the GraphQL API.

The examples updates a Device record, however this can apply to other API ~pynautobot.core.endpoint.Endpoint{.interpreted-text role="py:class"} types.

>>> import os
>>> from pynautobot import api
>>>
>>> url = os.environ["NAUTOBOT_URL"]
>>> token = os.environ["NAUTOBOT_TOKEN"]
>>> nautobot = api(url=url, token=token)
>>>
>>> # Update status and name fields
>>> result = nautobot.dcim.devices.update(
>>>   id="491d799a-2b4d-41fc-80e1-7c5cbb5b71b6",
>>>   data={
>>>     "comments": "removed from service",
>>>     "status": "Decommissioned",
>>>   },
>>> )
>>>
>>> result
True

References:

• Gathering Data from GraphQL Endpoint

Updating Multiple Objects

The ~pynautobot.core.endpoint.Endpoint.update{.interpreted-text role="py:meth"} method can also be used to update multiple items with a single call. You can pass in a list of dictionaries, each containing the id and the fields to be updated, or a list of ~pynautobot.core.response.Record.

>>> import os
>>> from pynautobot import api
>>>
>>> url = os.environ["NAUTOBOT_URL"]
>>> token = os.environ["NAUTOBOT_TOKEN
>>> nautobot = api(url=url, token=token)
>>>
>>> # Add a comment to multiple devices by passing in a list of dictionaries
>>> updated_devices = nautobot.dcim.devices.update([
>>>     {"id": "db8770c4-61e5-4999-8372-e7fa576a4f65", "comments": "removed from service"},
>>>     {"id": "e9b5f2e0-4f20-41ad-9179-90a4987f743e", "comments": "removed from service"},
>>> ])
>>>
>>> # Get a list of all devices
>>> devices = nautobot.dcim.devices.all()
>>> # Update the status and name fields for all records
>>> for device in devices:
>>>     device.status = "Decommissioned"
>>>     device.comments = "removed from service"
>>> # And then update them all at once
>>> updated_devices = nautobot.dcim.devices.update(devices)