Add and launch custom self-service templates

Custom self-service templates are stored as YAML files in repositories in GitHub or Gitlab. When a user launches a software template from self-service automation portal, they must fill in a form with the values needed to run the associated job template in Ansible Automation Platform.

The custom self-service template YAML file must have a token: section that includes a ui:field: key for the authentication token for Ansible Automation Platform. This generates a field for the token in the form that appears when the user launches the template in self-service automation portal. The user enters the token: it is used to authenticate job template execution in Ansible Automation Platform.

The following example shows the token: section in a template. For security reasons, set the value of token.ui:backstage.review.show to false to ensure that the token is not visible to the user.

spec:
  ...
  parameters:
    ...
      properties:
        token:
          title: Token
          type: string
          description: Oauth2 token
          ui:field: AAPTokenField
          ui:widget: hidden
          ui:backstage:
            review:
              show: false
Note

Setting the ui:widget: hidden field hides the Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform token input in the form.

Add a template to self-service automation portal
Copy link

You can add a custom self-service template to the Templates view of your self-service automation portal instance. Custom self-service templates are stored in git repositories. self-service automation portal supports GitLab and GitHub Source Control Management (SCM).

Before you begin
Copy link

  • You have created repositories in your Git SCM for the templates that you want to use.
  • In the git repository for your custom templates, ensure that the metadata.name field is unique and does not match an existing auto-generated template or another custom self-service template. For example, append *-custom to the value of the metadata.name key.
metadata:
  name: provision-database-custom
  • You must be logged in to self-service automation portal as an Ansible Automation Platform platform administrator.

About this task
Copy link

Note

Names for custom self-service templates must be unique. Custom self-service templates must have a different name to auto-generated job templates and also to other custom self-service templates.

Procedure
Copy link

  1. In a browser, navigate to your self-service automation portal instance and sign in with your Ansible Automation Platform credentials.
  2. Navigate to the Templates Page.
  3. Click Add template.
  4. Enter a valid Git SCM URL for the template that you want to add.
  5. Click Analyze to fetch the template.
  6. After the template has been fetched, review the list of what will be imported and added to the catalog.
  7. Click Import.

Results
Copy link

After the import is complete, return to the Templates page to view the newly created template. You can now launch your template.

What to do next
Copy link

  • You must configure RBAC for your imported custom templates to allow users to view and run them. To do this, you must be logged into self-service automation portal as a platform administrator.

    For more information, see Setting up RBAC for custom self-service templates.

Launch a template
Copy link

This procedure describes how to launch a template from a tile in the Templates view of your self-service automation portal instance.

Before you begin
Copy link

  • You have configured RBAC in Ansible Automation Platform for templates that are associated with Ansible Automation Platform job templates.

Procedure
Copy link

  1. In a browser, navigate to your self-service automation portal instance and sign in with your Ansible Automation Platform credentials.
  2. Navigate to the Templates page. The templates you have set up are displayed as tiles on the page.
  3. In the template that you want to launch, click Start.

    A description of the template is displayed.

  4. Click Launch to begin configuring the parameters for running the template.
  5. Fill out the required fields.
  6. Click Next.
  7. Review the entered information.
  8. Click Create to launch the template.
  9. The progress for the template execution is displayed.