We report on an approach to integration-by-parts reduction based on Gr\"obner bases. We establish the underlying noncommutative rational double-shift algebra wherein the integration-by-parts relations form a left ideal. We describe in detail the one-loop massless box as an example where we achieved the full reduction to master integrals by means of the Gr\"obner basis approach, and report on the performance of the implementation. We also identify potential bottlenecks in more complicated examples and elaborate on interesting further directions.