Building a network rack can feel straightforward—until you actually start installing hardware. Suddenly you’re wondering whether everything will fit, whether the layout makes sense, and whether airflow, spacing, and organization were properly considered.
Racula exists to solve exactly that problem.
Racula is an open-source rack layout planning tool that allows you to visually design your rack before mounting a single device. It provides a simple, interactive interface where you can drag, drop, arrange, and preview equipment so that your physical deployment is clean and intentional.
And yes, it looks like “Dracula,” but it’s Racula.
Create and Configure Your Rack
When you first open Racula, you’re prompted to define your rack parameters:
- Standard 19-inch width or custom width
- Predefined height options (full rack, half rack, etc.)
- Custom U-height if needed
Once created, your rack becomes a blank canvas ready for hardware. You can:
- Rename the rack
- Modify height and dimensions
- Add notes
- Duplicate or delete layouts
Everything is designed to be quick and visual, which makes planning significantly easier than sketching diagrams manually.
Drag-and-Drop Hardware Library
Racula includes both generic and vendor-specific hardware options.
You’ll find common categories like:
- Routers
- Switches
- Power equipment
- AV hardware
More interestingly, Racula includes vendor-specific hardware from manufacturers such as Dell, HPE, and Ubiquiti. That means you can drop a Dell PowerEdge server directly into your rack and visualize how it fits alongside your switching gear.
Some hardware includes front and rear images, allowing you to toggle between views depending on whether you’re planning cable routing or front-panel access.
If a device doesn’t include an image, you can upload custom front and rear images yourself. That flexibility makes Racula useful even if your exact hardware isn’t preloaded.
View Modes and Layout Customization
Racula supports multiple display modes:
- Label-only view
- Image-only view
- Combined image and label view
- Annotation view with labels positioned beside equipment
You can also switch between light and dark mode.
Export options are extensive. Layouts can be exported as:
- PNG
- JPEG
- SVG
- CSV
You can customize exports with:
- Dark or light theme
- Transparent background
- Included legends
- Shareable QR codes
There’s also a share feature that generates a link and QR code so others can quickly view your layout.
NetBox Integration and Custom Devices
If you’re already using NetBox, Racula allows you to import NetBox YAML files. That means your inventory data can directly inform your rack layout.
You can also define entirely custom devices and assign your own colors, giving you full control over how your infrastructure is represented.
For a lightweight tool with no database or persistent backend, it offers impressive flexibility.
A Note on Current Limitations
Racula is a new project, and like many new open-source tools, it still has some rough edges. For example, certain fields such as IP address and notes may not persist as expected.
That said, the core rack layout functionality works well, and the project is actively evolving.
Built with AI: The Bigger Conversation
One of the most interesting aspects of Racula is how it was built.
The project openly states that much of the code was generated using AI-assisted development, specifically with Claude. The maintainer clearly documents AI contributions and marks commits appropriately rather than pretending otherwise.
This raises an important discussion for the open-source community:
- Does AI-assisted development reduce quality?
- Does it introduce security concerns?
- Or does it empower people with good ideas to build useful tools without deep coding expertise?
Racula serves as a practical example of what AI-driven development looks like in the real world. The transparency is commendable, and it gives users the opportunity to evaluate the project with full awareness.
We are likely going to see more projects like this in the near future.
Self-Hosting Racula
Racula is extremely lightweight. It has:
- No database
- No persistent volumes
- No complex dependencies
- A simple Docker deployment
It can be run locally or made internet-facing depending on your needs. The full SYNACK Time video walks through deployment using Docker and Portainer, including how to adjust ports and test the running container.
If you want to see it built live and deployed step-by-step, the video covers the entire process.
Final Thoughts
If you’ve ever built a rack and wished you had mapped it out first, Racula is worth a look. It’s fast, visual, and practical.
Beyond its functionality, it also represents something larger: the growing role of AI in open-source software development. Whether that excites you or makes you cautious, tools like Racula are likely only the beginning.
If you’d like to see Racula in action and watch it deployed in a self-hosted environment, check out the full SYNACK Time video.
