The Red Hat Edge Manager Software Catalog provides a curated list of operating system images, application images, and application data that you can discover and deploy from the Flight Control web console.

You can install or update software on a device or apply catalog software through a fleet device template. Every device selected into the fleet receives the configuration without entering Open Container Initiative (OCI) image references manually.

Catalog content can come from Git-synchronized catalog definitions managed by administrators, from image builds published through ImagePromotion, or from both sources in the same organization. For the build-to-catalog workflow, see Publishing an image build to the Software Catalog in the Additional resources section.

Catalog content sources

The Software Catalog can display items from the following sources:

• Git-synchronized definitions: Administrators configure a catalog ResourceSync that imports Catalog and CatalogItem YAML from a Git repository. See Managing a catalog repository on the CLI in the Additional resources section.
• image builder promotions: Operators or administrators publish completed image builds to a catalog by creating an ImagePromotion resource. Each successful promotion adds or updates a catalog item version with registry and export artifact references.

Every organization also has a default catalog that is created automatically. Image promotions can target this catalog without additional administrator setup.

Catalog contents

The catalog can include:

• Operating system images: Bootable container (bootc) images that you can deploy or update on edge devices. OS catalog content is available only to image-mode devices. Package-mode devices cannot receive OS image deployments from the catalog.
• Application images: Containerized applications (Compose, Quadlet, Container, or Helm) that you can deploy to devices.
• Application data: OCI artifacts such as AI models that applications might require.

Application catalog content (application images and application data) is fully available to both image-mode and package-mode devices.

Catalog contents are provided by catalog sources configured by your administrator. The catalog surface in the web console is analogous to the Software Catalog in the Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform web console.

Configuring catalog sources (administrators)

Administrators configure one or more catalog sources in Flight Control so that operators see a curated list of software. For Git-backed catalogs, create a catalog Repository and ResourceSync. For image-build content, ensure that OCI repositories and base image lists are configured and that publishers have permission to create ImagePromotion resources. Access to the catalog is controlled by permissions; operators either have access to view the catalog or they do not. The same catalog content is available to every operator who has access, regardless of which devices or fleets they manage; fleet-specific or environment-specific catalog visibility is not supported.

Catalog repository type

Flight Control supports a catalog resource sync in addition to fleet resource syncs. A catalog resource sync points to a catalog source and can use optional authentication. For details, see Managing a catalog repository in the Additional resources section.

Using the Software Catalog (operators)

Browsing the catalog

In the Flight Control web console, open the Software Catalog to browse available operating system images, application images, and application data. Filter by catalog when your organization defines more than one catalog, including the automatically provisioned default catalog. Published catalog definitions can organize versions into channels (for example, stable, candidate, or testing) when your administrator or publisher configures them that way. A version can belong to more than one channel. The catalog shows eligible versions and, where applicable, validated upgrade paths so you can select appropriate updates. When image builds are published to an existing catalog item, version history stays on that item (for example 1.0.0, 1.1.0, 1.2.0) instead of creating unrelated entries.

Update availability and release information

The Flight Control web console monitors catalog software on each device. When a newer version exists along an allowed update path, the console shows that an update is available. The same applies when a fleet device template defines catalog software for its devices. The update notification appears on the Catalog tab when you open a device or view fleet details.

If the catalog publisher includes release notes or change highlights for a version, that information is displayed when you review an update so you can decide whether and when to apply it. Which details you see depends on what your administrator publishes in the catalog definitions.

Validated upgrade paths and compatibility

Catalog items can define an upgrade graph. Each published version is a node, and each allowed upgrade path connects one version to the next. That model follows the Cincinnati update protocol, which Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform uses for cluster updates. The graph lets your organization expose tested transitions instead of every tag in a registry.

You might not be offered every newer tag as a direct update from your current version. An update is offered only when the target version includes the same channel as the currently deployed version. When the graph does not define a direct jump, apply the intermediate versions that the console offers first. Alternatively, ask your administrator to extend the catalog definitions. The console guides you toward allowed targets and avoids disallowed jumps when those guardrails are enforced.

Deploying catalog software by using the API or CLI

When you deploy catalog software by using the Flight Control CLI or API instead of the web console, you reference catalog items directly in Device and Fleet specification YAML by using the catalogItemRef field. The catalogItemRef field provides a first-class, API-validated mechanism that replaces manual entry of OCI image references for catalog-sourced deployments.

For the complete field specification, sub-field descriptions, and YAML examples, see Catalog item reference field specification in the Additional resources section.

Catalog references are resolved server-side during device rendering. The Red Hat Edge Manager service looks up the catalog item version and substitutes a concrete OCI image URL into the rendered device specification. The device agent receives only standard image references and does not need to know about catalog items. For details about how resolution works, see How catalog references are resolved for devices in the Additional resources section.

Important

The label-based catalog reference model is deprecated and is replaced by the catalogItemRef field. If you use the CLI or API to manage catalog associations, update your workflows and automation to use catalogItemRef. Existing label-based references are automatically migrated during upgrade. For details, see Deprecation of label-based catalog references and Migrate label-based catalog references in the Additional resources section.

Installing from the catalog

You can install an OS image or application on a single device, or add it to a fleet device template so that all devices in the fleet receive it, directly from the catalog.

Note

When deploying to an individual device, the following restrictions apply:

• OS images: The device must be a fleetless device and must not be in package-mode. For devices that are bound to a fleet, OS updates must be applied at the fleet level through the fleet device template.
• Application and data catalog items: Application catalog items are available to both image-mode and package-mode devices. Data catalog items can be included only as volumes within an existing catalog item application and are supported in Container, Quadlet, and Compose application types.
• The Catalog tab on a package-mode device shows only application and data catalog content. OS image catalog items are not available for deployment to package-mode devices.

1. In the Flight Control web console, open the Software Catalog.
2. Select the item you want to deploy, such as an operating system image or application.
3. Choose Deploy and select the target device or fleet (for a fleet, the catalog updates the fleet device template for devices that match the fleet label selector).
4. For applications, set the parameters for the deployment in the Configuration step:
   • Form view: Displayed when the catalog item defines a configSchema. Fill in the validated fields. Pre-populated values come from the defaultValues map in the catalog item definition.
   • YAML view: Available for all application types. Enter configuration as valid YAML that matches the CatalogItem configSchema:

     envVars:
       APP_MODE: production
       LOG_LEVEL: info

     The submitted values are written into the corresponding fields of the application in the Device or Fleet specification.

5. Confirm the deployment. The Red Hat Edge Manager agent on the target device or devices applies the change at the next check-in.

Updating from the catalog

When a newer version of an operating system image or application is available along an allowed path, you can update from the catalog. You can apply the update to an individual fleetless device or to a fleet device template. For devices that are bound to a fleet, updates must be applied at the fleet level through the fleet device template. Installed catalog software is compared to published versions and upgrade edges. For details, see Validated upgrade paths and compatibility in the Additional resources section.

Updates are visible in the Catalog tab of the device details view, or of the fleet details view for fleets whose device template includes catalog-defined software.

1. In the Flight Control web console, open the details for the device you want to update, or open the fleet whose device template configures the catalog software, then open the Catalog tab.
2. When an update is available, use the Update action for the relevant device or for the fleet whose device template defines the catalog software.
3. Confirm the update. The agent downloads and applies the new version according to the applicable update policy.

Provisioning guidance when installing a bootc image to a new device

When you choose to install a bootc image from the catalog to a device that is not yet enrolled, the Flight Control web console can provide scenario-specific provisioning guidance, for example:

• For a physical device: Steps and a link to download the required artifact (ISO or disk image) for bare-metal installation.
• For a virtual device on OpenShift Virtualization: Steps and a link to download the artifact (for example, QCow2) and guidance for provisioning the virtual machine.

Use that guidance together with the procedures in Provisioning devices to complete enrollment.