Create a Pipeline Template

When you create a pipeline template, you start with the underlying JSON of a pipeline that already resembles the template you want. You turn this JSON into template JSON.

1. Get a pipeline’s JSON

Use spin CLI to get the JSON of an existing pipeline that is close to what your template will be. Alternatively, you can create a new pipeline in the model of your intended template.

1. Install the spin CLI , if you haven’t already done so.

2. Get the pipeline.

   spin pipeline get --name <pipelineName> --application <appName>
   

   …where <pipelineName> and <appName> are the names shown for the pipeline in the Deck UI.

   This returns the pipeline JSON. You’ll create a pipeline template from this by saving the contents to a file and editing the JSON.

You can also view the pipeline JSON from within the Deck UI, copy it there, and and paste it into a file.

2. Save the pipeline JSON to a file

If you want, you can do this when you first get the pipeline:

spin pipeline get --name <pipelineName> --application <appName> | tee new_template.txt

…and then edit the content in that file. But you can also copy the pipeline JSON and paste it into your favorite editor. The important thing is to wind up with a file that you can make available to spin CLI.

3. Edit the file for template format

Just by adding a few fields, you can turn this pipeline JSON into pipeline-template JSON.

The following is the pipeline-template config format. Note the "pipeline": section; it contains the pipeline JSON, the same as what’s in ordinary pipeline JSON, but referencing any variables that are used. So as you start with a pipeline blob, you move that entire JSON fragment to the pipeline section.

1. Add a reference to the pipeline templates schema.

   "schema": "v2",
   

2. Declare your variables.

   Add a variables section, in which to list all the variables that you reference in this template:

   "variables": [
     {
       "type": "<type>",
       "defaultValue": <defaultValue>,
       "description": "<some description>",
       "name": "<name of this variable>"
     },
     {
       "type": "<type>",
       "defaultValue": <defaultValue>,
       "description": "<some description>",
       "name": "<name of this variable>"
     }
   ]
   

3. For everything in the pipeline section that will be a variable, replace the value of each item with a SpEL expression that references the variable declared in variables:

   ${ templateVariables.<varName> }

   For example in a non-templated pipeline, the amount of time to wait in a Wait stage would be represented by…

   "waitTime": <time>

   In our parameterized template, it would be…

   "waitTime": "${ templateVariables.timeToWait }",

   …where timeToWait is declared in the variables section of the template for this purpose.

Here’s a complete set of pipeline-template JSON, with the schema, variables list, and the pipeline definition:

{
  "schema": "v2", # Reference to the MPTv2 schema
  "variables": [
    {
      "type": "int",
      "defaultValue": 42,
      "description": "The time a wait stage shall pauseth",
      "name": "timeToWait" # This is the name that's referenced in the SpEL expression later
    }
  ],
  "id": "newSpelTemplate", # Main identifier to reference this template from instance
  "protect": false,
  "metadata": {
    "name": "Variable Wait",
    "description": "A demonstrative Wait Pipeline.",
    "owner": "example@example.com",
    "scopes": ["global"]
  },
  "pipeline": { # A "normal" pipeline definition.
    "lastModifiedBy": "anonymous",
    "updateTs": "0",
    "parameterConfig": [],
    "limitConcurrent": true,
    "keepWaitingPipelines": false,
    "description": "",
    "triggers": [],
    "notifications": [],
    "stages": [
      {
        "waitTime": "${ templateVariables.timeToWait }", # Templated field.
        "name": "My Wait Stage",
        "type": "wait",
        "refId": "wait1",
        "requisiteStageRefIds": []
      }
    ]
  }
}

4. Save the template

spin pipeline-templates save --file my_template.txt

…where my_template.txt is the file in which you constructed the template JSON.

spin checks that the file has a reference to the v2 schema and that it has a pipeline section.

Spinnaker uses the value of the id field in the JSON as the name of the pipeline template. That’s the name you use when you reference the template from a pipeline instance , and the name a user looks for when listing pipeline templates. So it’s a good practice to give your templates descriptive names. You might also institute a naming convention for your team or teams that makes it even clearer what each template is meant for.

Next steps

• Visualize a hydrated pipeline
• Create a pipeline from the template