To create a new pipeline, navigate to the Search Pipelines screen using the Piplelines menu, and click on the Create button.  To edit an existing pipeline, click on the Pipeline Name column of the target pipeline in the search results, or select the row and click the Edit button.


Field

Description

Name

The name of the pipeline.

Updated On

The user who last updated the pipeline verson (read-only).

Updated By

The last update date/time of the pipeline version (read-only).

Definition

The Definition tab provides the definition of the pipeline stages, and their steps and gates.  Changes to the pipeline, like a workflow, are versioned so that changes can be published to consumers, or previous versions can be reverted.


Field

Description

Description

A free-form description of the pipeline version.


To add stages to the pipeline version, see Creating/Editing a Pipeline Stage


Once the stages are added to the pipeline version you can reorder by clicking the arrows  on the stage, or delete the stage by clicking the delete  button.  To view/edit the stage, click on the maximize  button.

Click the  button to save your changes and continue with further updates, or the  button to save your changes and return to the previous page.  The  button reverts the changes and returns to the previous page.  


Click the  button to set the selected pipeline version as active, and be sure to save your changes.  Upon activation, the previously active version becomes inactive.  Once a version has been activated it is locked from future edits, and you must click the  button to create a new version in order to make further changes.  You can switch the editor to another version of the pipeline by selecting the pipeline version name in the Switch Version drop-down.

Any pipeline version which is active, or has ever been active, is locked from future edits.  You must make a copy in order to make further changes.

Team

A Team defines a set of roles which will participate during execution of the pipeline.  Roles assigned to the pipeline may then be used within the defined gates and steps (i.e. an approval step).  A role contains default members, which can be FlexDeploy Groups, FlexDeploy Users, or email addresses (used for notifications only).  A release which consumes the pipeline inherits the roles and default members from the pipeline, and can override those members.  For example, the Release Manager members can be different across releases.

  • Groups may not be assigned directly to gates or steps.  Instead, you must create a pipeline role and assign the appropriate group as a member. 
  • As a best practice, avoid assigning users directly to pipeline roles.  Instead, create a group with assigned users, and assign the group to the role.  This allows managing users in a centralized location, and avoids management across potentially many pipelines and releases.
  • Establish defaults in the role definitions of the pipeline, especially if team members are common across releases, to eliminate the need to configure the team on each and every release. 


In addition to members, a role defined within a pipeline also establishes default permissions.  When a release consumes the pipeline, it inherits the role's default permissions, but can override them for that particular role.  In other words, a role may have different permissions from release to release if necessary.

To create a new Role, click the  icon.  To edit an existing Role, click on the role name.  To delete a new Role, click the  icon. If a role is used in older versions of the pipeline, but not the active version it will be inactivated instead of deleted.

Add FlexDeploy Group or FlexDeploy User members to the role by shuttling them from the Available lists on the left to the Member lists on the right.

Filter the list of available Groups or Users by typing all or part of its name into the Search fields.


Field

Description

Name

The name of the pipeline role.
Manage Stage ExecutionWhether or not this role has permission perform actions on the pipeline stage in the release dashboard (e.g. Replay Stage).
Manage Step ExecutionWhether or not this role has permission perform actions on the pipeline stage step in the release dashboard (e.g. Replay Step, Skip Step).
Upload Execution InfoWhether or not this role has permission to upload execution information in the release dashboard (e.g. Inputs, Change Tickets).
ActiveIndicates whether this pipeline role is active.  
Available GroupsAll FlexDeploy Groups defined within the Security.
Member GroupsFlexDeploy Groups assigned as members of this role.

Available Users

All FlexDeploy Users defined within the Security.
Member UsersFlexDeploy Users assigned as members of this role.
Email RecipientsSemi-colon or comma delimited list of email addresses assigned to this role.  Used for email notification only.

Click the  button to save the changes to the role (be sure to also save the pipeline, or changes will be lost), or  to revert any unsaved changes.

Properties

Pipeline Properties are used to decorate a release with some context.  Values for the properties are provided on each release, and may be used in various groovy scripts within the pipeline definition.  For example, only execute a particular step in the pipeline if the "Release Type" is "Security".


To create a new Pipeline Property, click the  icon.  To edit an existing Pipeline Property, click on the Property Code .

Field

Description

Active

Indicates whether the pipeline property is active.  Inactive properties will not appear on the release.
CodeA code for the property, as appropriate for variables within Groovy or Shell scripts.  (e.g. no spaces or special characters other than underscore.)

Description

A meaningful description for the property.  
Data TypeThe data type for this property. Valid types are Boolean, Double, Integer, String.
SubtypeNot currently used.
Default ValueA default value to assign to the property if not specified on the release.
RowsDefines the height of the component to display when capturing the value from the user.
ColumnsDefines the length of the component to display when capturing the value from the user.
Display NameA meaningful name for the property used for display.
List Data

A list of valid values for the property.  Optional, and only applicable for String data type.  Allowed formats:

  • Value1,Value2,Value3
  • Key1,Value1##Key2,Value2##Key3,Value3       (e.g. Key1 will be what is displayed, Value1 will be the actual value when selected)
  • ,Value1,Value2       (e.g. Note comma in the front - will result in empty item in list)
  • ##,Key2,Value2       (e.g. Empty item in list)
EncryptedWhether or not to encrypt the value, not display on screen or in the logs.  Only applicable for String data type.
MultiselectWhether multiple values can be selected from the List Data.  Only applicable for String data type, and when List Data is provided.
LengthThe maximum allowed length of the property value.  Optional, and only applicable for String data type.
RequiredWhether or not a value is required for this property.
Min ValueMinimum allowed value.  Optional, and only applicable for Integer and Double data types.
Max ValueMaximum allowed value.  Optional, and only applicable for Integer and Double data types.
Validator1

Optional Groovy Script to validate provided value.  The script should return true if the value is valid, and false otherwise.  The user specified value is available to the script in the Value variable.  If not valid, the ValidationMessage is displayed to the user.

For example,

if ("BAD".equals(Value)) {ValidationMessage="Bad value!!"; return false;} else {return true;}


Validator2Optional Groovy Script to validate provided value.  See Validator1.
Validator3Optional Groovy Script to validate provided value.  See Validator1.
Validator4Optional Groovy Script to validate provided value.  See Validator1.
Validator5Optional Groovy Script to validate provided value.  See Validator1.


Click the  button to save the changes to the property (be sure to also save the pipeline, or changes will be lost), or  to revert any unsaved changes.

Snapshot Variables

Snapshot variables provide state for the life of a snapshot.  Such state affords the ability to store some data as part of a step or gate in one stage, and consume it or make decisions in a later stage.  One classic example is to store off a CMS ticket which was entered or created in one stage, and feed it into another stage which will use the same ticket.  The pipeline defines the metadata for any snapshot variables which are available, and values can be set or retrieved using Custom Gates or Custom Steps.

To create a Snapshot Variable, click on the  icon.  Enter the required information and click Save.

FieldDescription
CodeThe identifier which is used to access the variable from Groovy
ActiveWhether the variable is active or not.  Defaults to true.
DescriptionA description for the variable.
Data TypeThe data type of the variable.  Allowed types are Boolean, Integer, Double, or String

Project Groups

Project Groups provide categorization tags for release content.  As such, pipelines define the tags, and deploy segments of the content based on those tags.  Releases consuming the pipeline can then tag its content as belonging to those groups.

For example, suppose a pipeline defines project groups Database, Configuration, and Applications.  The steps within a pipeline stage can then deploy all Database, deploy all Configuration, and finally, deploy all Applications.  The release which consumes the pipeline, then defines which content is tagged with Database, Configuration, and Applications.



Field

Description

Active

Indicates whether the project group is active.  Inactive project groups will not appear on the release or be available to the pipeline steps.
CodeA name for the project group.


To add a new project group, click the  icon.  Enter the Group Name.

To edit a project group, modify the Group Name, or set the Active flag.

To delete a project group, click on the  icon for the project group you wish to remove.

Referenced By

Identifies the Releases which are referencing this pipeline.


Field

Description

Release

The internal id of the release.
NameThe name of the release.
DescriptionThe description of the release.
Start DateThe start date of the release.
End DateThe end date of the release.
StatusThe status of the release.