Chapter 3. Customizing the registries
This chapter describes how to build and run custom registries for CodeReady Workspaces.
3.1. Understanding the CodeReady Workspaces registries
CodeReady Workspaces uses two registries: the plug-ins registry and the devfile registry. They are static websites publishing the metadata of CodeReady Workspaces plug-ins and devfiles. When built in offline mode they also include artifacts.
The devfile and plug-in registries run in two separate Pods. Their deployment is part of the CodeReady Workspaces installation.
The devfile and plug-in registries
- The devfile registry
-
The devfile registry holds the definitions of the CodeReady Workspaces stacks. Stacks are available on the CodeReady Workspaces user dashboard when selecting Create Workspace. It contains the list of CodeReady Workspaces technological stack samples with example projects. When built in offline mode it also contains all sample projects referenced in devfiles as
zip
files. - The plug-in registry
- The plug-in registry makes it possible to share a plug-in definition across all the users of the same instance of CodeReady Workspaces. When built in offline mode it also contains all plug-in or extension artifacts.
Additional resources
3.2. Building custom registry images
3.2.1. Building a custom devfile registry image
This section describes how to build a custom devfile registry image. The procedure explains how to add a devfile. The image contains all sample projects referenced in devfiles.
Prerequisites
- A running installation of podman or docker.
- Valid content for the devfile to add. See: Authoring devfiles version 2.
Procedure
Clone the devfile registry repository and check out the version to deploy:
$ git clone git@github.com:redhat-developer/codeready-workspaces.git $ cd codeready-workspaces $ git checkout crw-2.11-rhel-8
In the
./dependencies/che-devfile-registry/devfiles/
directory, create a subdirectory<devfile-name>/
and add thedevfile.yaml
andmeta.yaml
files.Example 3.1. File organization for a devfile
./dependencies/che-devfile-registry/devfiles/ └── <devfile-name> ├── devfile.yaml └── meta.yaml
-
Add valid content in the
devfile.yaml
file. For a detailed description of the devfile format, see Authoring devfiles version 2. Ensure that the
meta.yaml
file conforms to the following structure:Table 3.1. Parameters for a devfile meta.yaml Attribute Description description
Description as it appears on the user dashboard.
displayName
Name as it appears on the user dashboard.
icon
Link to an
.svg
file that is displayed on the user dashboard.tags
List of tags. Tags typically include the tools included in the stack.
globalMemoryLimit
Optional parameter: the sum of the expected memory consumed by all the components launched by the devfile. This number will be visible on the user dashboard. It is informative and is not taken into account by the CodeReady Workspaces server.
Example 3.2. Example devfile
meta.yaml
displayName: Rust description: Rust Stack with Rust 1.39 tags: ["Rust"] icon: https://www.eclipse.org/che/images/logo-eclipseche.svg globalMemoryLimit: 1686Mi
Build a custom devfile registry image:
$ cd dependencies/che-devfile-registry $ ./build.sh --organization <my-org> \ --registry <my-registry> \ --tag <my-tag>
NoteTo display full options for the
build.sh
script, use the--help
parameter.
Additional resources
3.2.2. Building a custom plug-ins registry image
This section describes how to build a custom plug-ins registry image. The procedure explains how to add a plug-in. The image contains plug-ins or extensions metadata.
Prerequisites
- NodeJS 12.x
- A running version of yarn. See: Installing Yarn.
-
./node_modules/.bin
is in thePATH
environment variable. - A running installation of podman or docker.
Procedure
Clone the plug-ins registry repository and check out the version to deploy:
$ git clone git@github.com:redhat-developer/codeready-workspaces.git $ cd codeready-workspaces $ git checkout crw-2.11-rhel-8
-
In the
./dependencies/che-plugin-registry/
directory, edit theche-theia-plugins.yaml
file. -
Add valid content to the
che-theia-plugins.yaml
file, for detailed information see: Adding a VS Code extension to the Che plug-ins registry. Build a custom plug-ins registry image:
$ cd dependencies/che-plugin-registry $ ./build.sh --organization <my-org> \ --registry <my-registry> \ --tag <my-tag>
NoteTo display full options for the
build.sh
script, use the--help
parameter. To include the plug-in binaries in the registry image, add the--offline
parameter.Observe the contents of
./dependencies/che-plugin-registry/v3/plugins/
present in the container after building the registry. Allmeta.yaml
files resulting from a successful plug-ins registry build will be located here../dependencies/che-plugin-registry/v3/plugins/ ├── <publisher> │ └── <plugin-name> │ ├── latest │ │ └── meta.yaml │ └── latest.txt
Additional resources
3.3. Running custom registries
Prerequisites
The my-plug-in-registry
and my-devfile-registry
images used in this section are built using the docker
command. This section assumes that these images are available on the OpenShift cluster where CodeReady Workspaces is deployed.
These images can be then pushed to:
-
A public container registry such as
quay.io
, or the DockerHub. - A private registry.
3.3.1. Deploying registries in OpenShift
Procedure
An OpenShift template to deploy the plug-in registry is available in the deploy/openshift/
directory of the GitHub repository.
To deploy the plug-in registry using the OpenShift template, run the following command:
NAMESPACE=<namespace-name> 1 IMAGE_NAME="my-plug-in-registry" IMAGE_TAG="latest" oc new-app -f openshift/che-plugin-registry.yml \ -n "$\{NAMESPACE}" \ -p IMAGE="$\{IMAGE_NAME}" \ -p IMAGE_TAG="$\{IMAGE_TAG}" \ -p PULL_POLICY="Always"
- 1
- If installed using crwctl, the default CodeReady Workspaces project is
openshift-workspaces
. The OperatorHub installation method deploys CodeReady Workspaces to the users current project.
The devfile registry has an OpenShift template in the
deploy/openshift/
directory of the GitHub repository. To deploy it, run the command:NAMESPACE=<namespace-name> 1 IMAGE_NAME="my-devfile-registry" IMAGE_TAG="latest" oc new-app -f openshift/che-devfile-registry.yml \ -n "$\{NAMESPACE}" \ -p IMAGE="$\{IMAGE_NAME}" \ -p IMAGE_TAG="$\{IMAGE_TAG}" \ -p PULL_POLICY="Always"
- 1
- If installed using crwctl, the default CodeReady Workspaces project is
openshift-workspaces
. The OperatorHub installation method deploys CodeReady Workspaces to the users current project.
Verification steps
The <plug-in> plug-in is available in the plug-in registry.
Example 3.3. Find <plug-in> requesting the plug-in registry API.
$ URL=$(oc get route -l app=che,component=plugin-registry \ -o 'custom-columns=URL:.spec.host' --no-headers) $ INDEX_JSON=$(curl -sSL http://${URL}/v3/plugins/index.json) $ echo ${INDEX_JSON} | jq '.[] | select(.name == "<plug-in>")'
The <devfile> devfile is available in the devfile registry.
Example 3.4. Find <devfile> requesting the devfile registry API.
$ URL=$(oc get route -l app=che,component=devfile-registry \ -o 'custom-columns=URL:.spec.host' --no-headers) $ INDEX_JSON=$(curl -sSL http://${URL}/v3/plugins/index.json) $ echo ${INDEX_JSON} | jq '.[] | select(.name == "<devfile>")'
CodeReady Workspaces server points to the URL of the plug-in registry.
Example 3.5. Compare the value of the
CHE_WORKSPACE_PLUGIN__REGISTRY__URL
parameter in theche
ConfigMap with the URL of the plug-in registry route.Get the value of the
CHE_WORKSPACE_PLUGIN__REGISTRY__URL
parameter in theche
ConfigMap.$ oc get cm/che \ -o "custom-columns=URL:.data['CHE_WORKSPACE_PLUGIN__REGISTRY__URL']" \ --no-headers
Get the URL of the plug-in registry route.
$ oc get route -l app=che,component=plugin-registry \ -o 'custom-columns=URL: .spec.host' --no-headers
CodeReady Workspaces server points to the URL of the devfile registry.
Example 3.6. Compare the value of the
CHE_WORKSPACE_DEVFILE__REGISTRY__URL
parameter in theche
ConfigMap with the URL of the devfile registry route.Get the value of the
CHE_WORKSPACE_DEVFILE__REGISTRY__URL
parameter in theche
ConfigMap.$ oc get cm/che \ -o "custom-columns=URL:.data['CHE_WORKSPACE_DEVFILE__REGISTRY__URL']" \ --no-headers
Get the URL of the devfile registry route.
$ oc get route -l app=che,component=devfile-registry \ -o 'custom-columns=URL: .spec.host' --no-headers
If the values do not match, update the ConfigMap and restart the CodeReady Workspaces server.
$ oc edit cm/codeready (...) $ oc scale --replicas=0 deployment/codeready $ oc scale --replicas=1 deployment/codeready
The plug-ins are available in the:
- Completion to chePlugin components in the Devfile tab of a workspace details
- Plugin Che-Theia view of a workspace
- The devfiles are available in the Quick Add and Custom Workspace tab of the Create Workspace page on the user dashboard.
3.3.2. Adding a custom plug-in registry in an existing CodeReady Workspaces workspace
The following section describes two methods of adding a custom plug-in registry in an existing CodeReady Workspaces workspace:
- Adding a custom plug-in registry using Command palette - For adding a new custom plug-in registry quickly, with a use of text inputs from Command palette command. This method does not allow a user to edit already existing information, such as plug-in registry URL or name.
-
Adding a custom plug-in registry using the
settings.json
file - For adding a new custom plug-in registry and editing of the already existing entries.
3.3.2.1. Adding a custom plug-in registry using Command Palette
Prerequisites
- An instance of CodeReady Workspaces
Procedure
In the CodeReady Workspaces IDE, press F1 to open the Command Palette, or navigate to View
Find Command in the top menu. The command palette can be also activated by pressing Ctrl+Shift+p (or Cmd+Shift+p on macOS).
-
Enter the
Add Registry
command into the search box and pres Enter once filled. Enter the registry name and registry URL in next two command prompts.
- After adding a new plug-in registry, the list of plug-ins in the Plug-ins view is refreshed, and if the new plug-in registry is not valid, a user is notified by a warning message.
3.3.2.2. Adding a custom plug-in registry using the settings.json
file
The following section describes the use of the main CodeReady Workspaces Settings menu to edit and add a new plug-in registry using the settings.json
file.
Prerequisites
- An instance of CodeReady Workspaces
Procedure
- From the main CodeReady Workspaces screen, select Open Preferences by pressing Ctrl+, or using the gear wheel icon on the left bar.
Select Che Plug-ins and continue by Edit in
setting.json
link.The
setting.json
file is displayed.Add a new plug-in registry using the
chePlugins.repositories
attribute as shown below:{ “application.confirmExit”: “never”, “chePlugins.repositories”: {“test”: “https://test.com”} }
Save the changes to add a custom plug-in registry in an existing CodeReady Workspaces workspace.
-
A newly added plug-in validation tool checks the correctness of URL values set in the
chePlugins.repositories
field of thesettings.json
file. -
After adding a new plug-in registry, the list of plug-ins in the Plug-ins view is refreshed, and if the new plug-in registry is not valid, a user is notified by a warning message. This check is also functional for plug-ins added using the Command palette command
Add plugin registry
.
-
A newly added plug-in validation tool checks the correctness of URL values set in the