Disclaimer

Your use of this download is governed by Stonebranch’s Terms of Use, which are available at  Stonebranch Integration Hub - Terms of Use.

Overview

Jobs-as-code is an approach to automating software delivery pipelines in which the job configuration is managed as code. This approach allows developers to manage job configurations like their application code complete with version control, testing, and continuous integration.

Whether you create your Universal Automation Center (UAC) job definitions using the drag-and-drop designer or as code in a development environment, the UAC jobs-as-code solution provides guidance and tools to integrate those definitions with a Git repository.

Version Information

Refer to Changelog for version history information.

Software Requirements

This integration requires a Universal Agent and a Python runtime to execute the Universal Task.

Key Features

Feature Flags

There are cases where some functionalities could become deprecated and new features are introduced in a step-wise approach to inform customers early enough to take the necessary steps given potential future breaking changes. The activation/deactivation of those features is controlled by Feature Flags. Not all features are entering this lifecycle approach, but when this is applicable, related feature flags are documented. The Feature State Transition diagram and related information is presented below:

The following features are subject to this lifecycle approach

Supported Actions

Action: List UAC Definitions

Query UAC definitions prior to running an actual export to Git, to validate the selection criteria, without any write operations in the target repository. This feature should provide a list of UC 
definitions that can later be exported to a Git repository.

Configuration examples

User Scenario: Query all UAC Definitions that are stored in UAC except Scripts and Custom Days, without a proxy connection.	User Scenario: Query all UAC Definitions that are part of a workflow with the name 'test-workflow', with a proxy connection.

Action Output

{
    "exit_code": 0,
    "status": "SUCCESS",
    "status_description": "List UAC Definitions executed successfully.",
    "invocation": {
        "extension": "ue-jobs-as-code",
        "version": "1.2.0",
        "fields": { ... },
    },
    "result": {
        "definitions_selected": {
            "agentcluster": 0,
            "bundle": 0,
            "businessservice": 0,
            "calendar": 1,
            "databaseconnection": 0,
            "emailconnection": 0,
            "peoplesoftconnection": 0,
            "sapconnection": 1,
            "snmpmanager": 0,
            "customday": 0,
            "emailtemplate": 0,
            "script": 0,
            "task": 2,
            "trigger": 1,
            "variable": 1,
            "virtual": 0
        }
    }
}

{
    "exit_code": 21,
    "status_description": "Some errors where produced during data synchronization process: 
Task completed with failure. See Extension Output for more details.",
    "status": "FAILED",
    "invocation": {
         "fields": { ...
         }
      },
    "result": {
        "definitions_selected": {},
        "errors": [
            "List task failed. Could not find agent with id a379367e65c94b918f46b71b0a69795e."
        ]
     }
}

================= ========= ========================================= 
Type              Subtype   Name 
================= ========= =========================================
Business Services -         jobs-as-code-win 
Tasks             Manual    jobs-as-code-manual-task-win
================= ========= =========================================

Action: Export to Git Repository

Export selected UAC Definitions to the selected Git Repository. By using this feature, the UAC user can export the selected UAC Definitions to an external Git repository. After the export, this repository can be used as a backup or as a basis for developer collaboration on top of a source control versioning system.

Configuration examples

User Scenario: Export to Gitlab UAC Definitions contained in Bundle with name uc_bundle except for Email and Peoplesoft Connections. The selected definitions will be stored under the "/export folder" under the "export/7.3" branch in .yaml format.	User Scenario: Export to Azure DevOps UAC Definitions. Organization and repository names must be included in the Git Service Provider  URL.

Action Output

{

    "exit_code": 0,
    "status_description": "SUCCESS: Task executed successfully.",
    "status": "SUCCESS",
    "invocation": {
        "extension": "ue-jobs-as-code",
        "version": "2.0.2",
        "fields": { ... }
    },
    "result": {
        "definitions_selected": {
            "agentcluster": 0,
            "businessservice": 1,
            "bundle": 0,
            "calendar": 0,
            "databaseconnection": 0,
            "emailconnection": 0,
            "peoplesoftconnection": 0,
            "sapconnection": 0,
            "snmpmanager": 0,
            "customday": 0,
            "emailtemplate": 0,
            "script": 0,
            "task": 1,
            "trigger": 0,
            "variable": 0,
            "virtualresource": 0
        },
        "definitions_exported": {
            "agentcluster": 0,
            "businessservice": 1,
            "bundle": 0,
            "calendar": 0,
            "databaseconnection": 0,
            "emailconnection": 0,
            "peoplesoftconnection": 0,
            "sapconnection": 0,
            "snmpmanager": 0,
            "customday": 0,
            "emailtemplate": 0,
            "script": 0,
            "task": 1,
            "trigger": 0,
            "variable": 0,
            "virtualresource": 0
        },
        "errors": [],
    }

{

    "exit_code": 21,
    "status": "FAIL",
    "status_description": "Export to Git Repository failed with error(s).",
    "invocation": {
        "extension": "ue-jobs-as-code",
        "version": "2.0.2",
        "fields": { ... }
    },
    "result": {
        "definitions_selected": {
            "agentcluster": 0,
            "bundle": 0,
            "businessservice": 0,
            "calendar": 1,
            "databaseconnection": 0,
            "emailconnection": 0,
            "peoplesoftconnection": 0,
            "sapconnection": 1,
            "snmpmanager": 0,
            "customday": 0,
            "emailtemplate": 0,
            "script": 1,
            "task": 2,
            "trigger": 1,
            "variable": 1,
            "virtual": 0
        },
        "definitions_exported": {
            "agentcluster": 0,
            "bundle": 0,
            "businessservice": 0,
            "calendar": 1,
            "databaseconnection": 0,
            "emailconnection": 0,
            "peoplesoftconnection": 0,
            "sapconnection": 1,
            "snmpmanager": 0,
            "customday": 0,
            "emailtemplate": 0,
            "script": 0,
            "task": 2,
            "trigger": 1,
            "variable": 1,
            "virtual": 0
        },
        errors: [
            "Failed to create git object for definition 'TestScript' (Git path: /path/script/TestScript.yml)."
        ]
    }
}

=================  =========  =========================================  ===========================================================  ========
Type               Subtype    Name                                       Git Path                                                     Status
=================  =========  =========================================  ===========================================================  ========
Business Services  -          jobs-as-code-win                           Business Services/jobs-as-code-win.yaml                      exported
Tasks              Manual     jobs-as-code-manual-task-win               Tasks/Manual/jobs-as-code-manual-task-win.yaml               exported 
Scripts            Data       TestScript                                 Scripts/Data/TestScript.yaml                                 failed
=================  =========  =========================================  ===========================================================  ========

Action: Import from Git Repository

Import selected UAC Definitions. stored already in Git, back to the selected Universal Controller. This feature provides the opportunity for restoration of the Universal Controller server (recovery scenarios) or for updating UAC Definitions. 

Import UC definitions manually

User Scenario:  Import the specified files stored in the corresponding paths of Add, Modify, and Remove Definitions Lists from GitHub to UAC. Files under the Add list will be added to UAC, and files under the Modify list will modify existing definitions. Definitions of their paths under the Remove list will be deleted from UAC.	User Scenario:  Import from GitHub all the files that are stored under the "export/7.3" branch and modify the existing corresponding UAC Definitions.

Import UC definitions automatically via Webhooks

Starting from UAC 7.3 and utilizing the Global Universal Events this integration can be configured to get triggered automatically when a change is made in a git repository.

With the proper configuration, Universal Events can invoke a Jobs As Code Task, which will parse the git webhook payload, define the added/modified/removed file lists, and trigger an import execution. 

Process Flow

The following image demonstrates the flow of events that occur as soon as a GitLab/GitHub/Bitbucket Webhook is triggered.

                               Import from Git Repository using Git Webhooks and Global Universal Events

Configuration

The following steps are a guide to setting up UAC and the integrated Git provider’s Webhook to automatically trigger Jobs As Code Tasks.

1. Create a new Global Event Template that shall receive the Git provider’s Webhook payload. Set option "Unmapped Attributes Policy" to "Include Attributes".

2. Create a Universal Monitor and link it with the Global Event Template created in Step 1.

3. Create a Universal Monitor Trigger assigning to it

   1. the Universal Monitor created in Step 2

   2. a Jobs as Code Task that should be triggered when a new Git Webhook is invoked. The integration task should be configured to utilize the event’s webhook payload (see sections 98795535, 98795535, stored in UAC built-in variable ${ops_trigger_<universal_monitor_name>_payload}.

4. Set up a repository Webhook in the integrated GitLab/GitHub/BitBucket platform and select the "Push" trigger option. Link the Webhook to the Universal Controller Event created in Step 1 as follows:

   1. If the controller URL is https://somehost.yourdomain.com/uc/, the Webhook’s target URL should be https://<uc_user>:<us_password>@somehost.yourdomain.com/uc/resources/universalevent/push/<name of the event>.
      A Webhook can also be configured with a secret token for enhanced security. More information about this feature can be found for GitHub and GitLab providers.11.

Avoidance of Cyclic Imports

When an “Export to Git Repository” action is performed through a Universal Task, it triggers a push event towards the configured Git Service Provider. This push event leads to the triggering of the Git Service Provider Webhook. If configured as above, this webhook should create a Universal Event to UAC, for further processing to trigger an “Import from Git Repository” action. To prevent this cyclic behavior, a configuration is required to filter out those unnecessary imports. This could be accomplished if the Universal Monitor that listens for Webhook Events triggers a workflow configured appropriately to filter such cyclic requests.

The best practice suggested to filter out those cyclic imports is to ignore the imports initiated by UAC by configuring a dedicated git user for the “Export” related tasks. The triggered workflow can start with a task that evaluates ${ops_trigger_<universal_monitor_name>_payload} to check if the request is initiated by the UAC git User. If yes, the request can be ignored. If no, the “Import from Git Repository” task can be executed.

The following image demonstrates the example above

                                Filter out webhooks that were triggered from the "Export to git Repository" Action.

Parse GitLab/GitHub Webhook Payload

• In the 'Actions' section of the task, three variables need to be set, one for each import list. The name of the variable should be put also in the corresponding field of the template. The value of the variable should be a UC function that uses a JSON path to extract the added, modified, and removed files from the Git Webhook payload. 

• The Universal Task that will be triggered by the webhook should have the name of the Action Variables inside Add, Modify, and Remove UC Definitions Lists, with the prefix var: enclosed in a list, as demonstrated in the example below:

Parse Bit Bucket and Azure DevOps Webhook Payload

                                                                         Import from Bitbucket via Webhook

Action Output

"exit_code": 1,
    "status": "SUCCESS",
    "status_description": "import from Git Repository executed successfully.",
    "invocation": {
        "extension": "ue-jobs-as-code",
        "version": "2.0.2",
        "fields": { ... }
    },
	"result": {
		"definitions_selected": {
            "agentcluster": 0,
			"bundle": 0,
			"businessservice": 0,
			"calendar": 1,
			"databaseconnection": 0,
			"emailconnection": 0,
			"peoplesoftconnection": 0,
			"sapconnection": 1,
			"snmpmanager": 0,
			"customday": 0,
			"emailtemplate": 0,
			"script": 0,
			"task": 2,
			"trigger": 1,
			"variable": 1,
			"virtual": 0
		},
        "definitions_added": {
			"agentcluster": 0,
			"bundle": 0,
			"businessservice": 0,
			"calendar": 1,
			"databaseconnection": 0,
			"emailconnection": 0,
			"peoplesoftconnection": 0,
			"sapconnection": 1,
			"snmpmanager": 0,
			"customday": 0,
			"emailtemplate": 0,
			"script": 0,
			"task": 2,
			"trigger": 1,
			"variable": 1,
			"virtual": 0
		},
        "definitions_removed": {
			"agentcluster": 0,
			"bundle": 0,
			"businessservice": 0,
			"calendar": 1,
			"databaseconnection": 0,
			"emailconnection": 0,
			"peoplesoftconnection": 0,
			"sapconnection": 1,
			"snmpmanager": 0,
			"customday": 0,
			"emailtemplate": 0,
			"script": 0,
			"task": 2,
			"trigger": 1,
			"variable": 1,
			"virtual": 0
		},		
        "definitions_modified": {
			"agentcluster": 0,
			"bundle": 0,
			"businessservice": 0,
			"calendar": 1,
			"databaseconnection": 0,
			"emailconnection": 0,
			"peoplesoftconnection": 0,
			"sapconnection": 1,
			"snmpmanager": 0,
			"customday": 0,
			"emailtemplate": 0,
			"script": 0,
			"task": 2,
			"trigger": 1,
			"variable": 1,
			"virtual": 0
		},		
		errors: []
	}
}

{
    "exit_code": 21,
    "status_description": "Some errors where produced during data synchronization process:
Task completed with failures.See Extension Output for more details.",
    "status": "FAILED",
    "invocation": {
        "extension": "ue-jobs-as-code",
        "version": "2.0.2",
        "fields": {...}
    },
    "result": {
        "definitions_selected": {
            "agentcluster": 0,
            "businessservice": 0,
            "bundle": 0,
            "calendar": 0,
            "databaseconnection": 0,
            "emailconnection": 0,
            "peoplesoftconnection": 0,
            "sapconnection": 0,
            "snmpmanager": 0,
            "customday": 0,
            "emailtemplate": 0,
            "script": 0,
            "task": 1,
            "trigger": 0,
            "variable": 0,
            "virtualresource": 0
        },
        "definitions_added": {
            "agentcluster": 0,
            "businessservice": 0,
            "bundle": 0,
            "calendar": 0,
            "databaseconnection": 0,
            "emailconnection": 0,
            "peoplesoftconnection": 0,
            "sapconnection": 0,
            "snmpmanager": 0,
            "customday": 0,
            "emailtemplate": 0,
            "script": 0,
            "task": 0,
            "trigger": 0,
            "variable": 0,
            "virtualresource": 0
        },
        "definitions_modified": {
            "agentcluster": 0,
            "businessservice": 0,
            "bundle": 0,
            "calendar": 0,
            "databaseconnection": 0,
            "emailconnection": 0,
            "peoplesoftconnection": 0,
            "sapconnection": 0,
            "snmpmanager": 0,
            "customday": 0,
            "emailtemplate": 0,
            "script": 0,
            "task": 0,
            "trigger": 0,
            "variable": 0,
            "virtualresource": 0
        },
        "definitions_removed": {
            "agentcluster": 0,
            "businessservice": 0,
            "bundle": 0,
            "calendar": 0,
            "databaseconnection": 0,
            "emailconnection": 0,
            "peoplesoftconnection": 0,
            "sapconnection": 0,
            "snmpmanager": 0,
            "customday": 0,
            "emailtemplate": 0,
            "script": 0,
            "task": 0,
            "trigger": 0,
            "variable": 0,
            "virtualresource": 0
        },
        "errors": [
            "Failed to add UAC definition TestScript: Create script failed.
A duplicate value has been detected. Name must be unique."
        ]
    }
}

=================  =========  =========================================  ===========================================================  ========
Type               Subtype    Name                                       Git Path                                                     Status
=================  =========  =========================================  ===========================================================  ========
Business Services  -          jobs-as-code-win                           Business Services/jobs-as-code-win.yaml                      imported
Tasks              Manual     jobs-as-code-manual-task-win               Tasks/Manual/jobs-as-code-manual-task-win.yaml               imported
Scripts            Data       TestScript                                 Scripts/Data/TestScript.yaml                                 failed
=================  =========  =========================================  ===========================================================  ========

Input Fields

The input fields for this Universal Extension are described below.

Output Fields

Cancelation and Rerun

In case of a cancel event, the running action stops executing and returns a list of all the changes that took place until the cancellation request was received by the running extension instance (UAC definition exports or imports).

Exit Codes

The exit codes for this Universal Extension are described below.

Environment Variables

Environment Variables can be set from Environment Variables task definition table. The following environment variables can affect the behavior of the extension.

STDOUT and STDERR

STDOUT

Table of Definitions

For better visualization, the extension provides a table that records the actual outcome of every file that is listed, exported, or imported. The columns of the table are:

For example, execution of an Export to Git Repository Action for a workflow that has three tasks inside and belongs to a business service called 'jobs-as-code' will lead to the table below:

                                                                                                                                                                  Example of STDOUT

How To

Import Universal Template

To use the Universal Template, you first must perform the following steps.

1. This Universal Task requires the Resolvable Credentials feature. Check that the Resolvable Credentials Permitted system property has been set to true.

2. To import the Universal Template into your Controller, follow these instructions.

3. When the files have been imported successfully, refresh the Universal Templates list; the Universal Template will appear on the list.

Modifications of this integration, applied by users or customers, before or after import, might affect the supportability of this integration. For more information refer to 98795535.

Dependencies Manual Installation

On the Universal Agent that should execute this integration, perform pip install on the following libraries:

• PyGithub: For exporting and importing UAC Definitions from GitHub

• ruamel.yaml : The installation of the package is recommended but not mandatory for the "Export to Git Repository" action in YAML format. This package ensures that the exported UAC definitions are well-structured with optimal layout and indentation.

Configure Universal Task

For a new Universal Task, create a new task, and enter the required input fields.

Integration Modifications

Modifications applied by users or customers, before or after import, might affect the supportability of this integration. The following modifications are discouraged to retain the support level as applied for this integration.

• Python code modifications should not be done.

• Template Modifications

  • General Section

    • "Name", "Extension", "Variable Prefix", and "Icon" should not be changed.

  • Universal Template Details Section

    • "Template Type", "Agent Type", "Send Extension Variables", and "Always Cancel on Force Finish" should not be changed.

  • Result Processing Defaults Section

    • Success and Failure Exit codes should not be changed.

    • Success and Failure Output processing should not be changed.

  • Fields Restriction Section
    The setup of the template does not impose any restrictions, However with respect to the "Exit Code Processing Fields" section.

    1. Success/Failure exit codes need to be respected.

    2. In principle, as STDERR and STDOUT outputs can change in follow-up releases of this integration, they should not be considered as a reliable source for determining the success or failure of a task.

Users and customers are encouraged to report defects, or feature requests at Stonebranch Support Desk.

Document References

This document references the following documents.

Changelog

ue-jobs-as-code-2.1.0 (2025-01-03)

Enhancements

• Added: New choice Definition Name (Wildcard) for Selection Method. This option can significantly improve performance in cases where the queried UC resources natively support wildcard filtering.

ue-jobs-as-code-2.0.4 (2024-09-12)

Fixes

• Fixed: Fix getting workflow names through dynamic choice command taking too long

ue-jobs-as-code-2.0.3 (2024-08-14)

Fixes

• Fixed: Properly handle URL unsafe characters inside definitions when exporting

• Fixed: Auto-split large commits when exporting to Azure to avoid exceeding the maximum commit size

• Fixed: Increase HTTP timeout (this value can now also be adjusted by setting the $UE_JAC_UC_HTTP_TIMEOUT environment variable)

ue-jobs-as-code-2.0.2 (2024-05-16)

Fixes

• Fixed: Resolved issue where duplicate entries in UC definitions were not filtered out. (#36551).

ue-jobs-as-code-2.0.1 (2024-04-25)

Fixes

• Fixed: Resolved compatibility issues with Linux systems utilizing glibc version 2.17 (#36552).

ue-jobs-as-code-2.0.0 (2024-03-21)

Breaking Changes

• Added: Dependent libraries PyGithub and ruamel.yaml are now bundled within the extension and are not required to be installed manually. This is only possible from Controller/Agent version 7.4 onwards. (#35980).

Enhancements

• Added: When Action is 'Export to Git Repository' commit all selected definitions with a single commit (#36044).

• Added: Feature Flag 'UE_FF_DISABLE_DEFAULT_COMMIT_PREFIX' is introduced to provide the capability of adjusting the default commit message prefix (#35074).

ue-jobs-as-code-1.2.1 (2023-01-23)

Fixes

• Fixed: Http Code 404 when validating git file paths for Azure DevOps in action `Import from Git Repository` (#35567).

• Fixed: Wrongly picking up from `Webhook Payload`, committed files that include keywords `yaml` or `json` in their file path, for Azure DevOps in action `Import from Git Repository` (#35570).

ue-jobs-as-code-1.2.0 (2023-12-24)

Enhancements

• Added: Support for Azure DevOps Services (Cloud Version) for Git Repos hosted on Azure DevOps Platform (#34932). 

Fixes

• Fixed: Error when executing an Import action specifying "*" in the added, modified or deleted uc definition list(#35167).

ue-jobs-as-code-1.1.0 (2023-11-09)

Enhancements

• Added: Support Bit Bucket Git Service Provider (#32243).

• Added: Update output only field “Extension Status” with execution information (#32153).

Fixes

• Fixed: Connect to GitLab client over Proxy with “Git SSL Verification” set to True (#32138).

• Fixed: Connect to GitHub Enterprise Server edition (#34507).

• Fixed: Handle exception HTTPError 500, raised when listing UC definitions with unresolved items (for instance: unresolved Credentials) (#32982).

ue-jobs-as-code-1.0.2 (2023-07-28)

• Bugfix: The "Export to Git Repository" action now retains UAC definitions in a well-structured YAML format with optimal layout and indentation. Please check the 98795535 section for more information.

ue-jobs-as-code-1.0.1 (2023-03-14)

• Bugfix: Deletion of UC definitions via Webhook should not validate to-be-deleted files against specified Git Repository.

ue-jobs-as-code-1.0.0 (2023-03-09)

• Added: Initial Version