How do I import discovered devices into my inventory?

Requires Pro

Quick answer

After a scan, Notory lists reachable hosts as discovered devices (status New). In the Discovered devices list, you import a device into your inventory — which creates an asset — or hide it with Ignore.

Prerequisites

Discovery module, from the Pro plan onward. On import, your license’s asset limit additionally applies.

Open discovered devices. In the Discovery module, choose a completed scan and then View devices — or open Show all to see every discovered device. The table shows IP address, hostname, open ports, and OS (guess).

Screenshot pending discovery-geraete-01 The 'Discovered devices' table with IP, hostname, open ports, and the actions Import and Ignore

The list of discovered devices with the 'Import' and 'Ignore' actions.
Import or ignore.
- Import — creates an asset (default type Hardware; name from hostname or IP). The device switches to the status Imported.
- Ignore — marks the device as Ignored without creating an asset.
Check the result. Imported devices immediately appear under Assets; IP, MAC, open ports, and the OS guess land in the asset’s custom fields.

You retrieve discovered devices via GET /api/v1/discovery/devices (optionally filtered by scan_job_id or status):

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer inv_dein_token" \
  "https://demo.notory.io/api/v1/discovery/devices?status=new"

You import a device via POST /api/v1/discovery/devices/{id}/import. All fields are optional — if omitted, asset_type = hardware applies and the name comes from the hostname/IP:

curl -X POST https://demo.notory.io/api/v1/discovery/devices/0190f3c1-2e20-7b30-ac40-3d50e60f7a80/import \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer inv_dein_token" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "name": "srv-web-01",
    "asset_type": "hardware",
    "location": "Hauptsitz Muenchen / RZ-1",
    "department": "IT-Betrieb"
  }'

{
  "id": "0190f3c1-2e20-7b30-ac40-3d50e60f7a80",
  "scan_job_id": "0190f3c0-1d10-7a20-9b30-2c40d50e6f70",
  "ip_address": "10.0.0.20",
  "hostname": "srv-web-01",
  "mac_address": null,
  "open_ports": [22, 80, 443],
  "os_guess": "Linux/Unix",
  "status": "imported",
  "asset_id": "0190f3c2-3f30-7c40-bd50-4e60f70a8b90",
  "created_at": "2026-07-08T10:35:00Z"
}

To hide a device, use POST /api/v1/discovery/devices/{id}/ignore (sets the status to ignored).

Possible errors: 401, 403 (no write access or the license’s asset limit has been reached), 404 (device not found), 409 (device already imported).

What happens behind the scenes?

Asset creation on import: Notory creates an asset with the status Active, the name from your input or the hostname/IP, and the note “Imported from network discovery”. IP, MAC, open ports, and the OS guess are carried over as custom fields (custom_fields); you are recorded as the creator.
License check (gating): Before creation, Notory checks your license’s asset limit. If it has been reached, the import is rejected with 403.
Duplicate import prevented: A device that has already been imported cannot be imported again — the second attempt ends with 409 Conflict. The device permanently references the created asset via asset_id.
Ignoring is meant to be reversible: “Ignored” only hides a device from further processing; no asset is created and nothing is deleted.