Working with Packs and Plug-ins

As a system administrator, you download Packs from the marketplace and install them in the Administration perspective. You can install, manage and remove Packs using either the Automic Web Interface or the Command Line Interface (CLI).

You can also configure the system to connect to a GIT repository containing an updated list of available Packs and versions. If this option is enabled, the full list of CA Automic Packs is displayed (also the Packs that have not been installed yet but exist in the index). For more information, see Administering the Plugin Manager.

Packs can be imported and exported in two different formats:

• .xml and
• .json.

You can define which format to use either in the PACKS_COMPATIBILITY_MODE parameter of the UC_CLIENT_SETTINGS or by adding the corresponding option in the apm download command (Package Manager).

More information:

• PACKS_COMPATIBILITY_MODE
• UC_CLIENT_SETTINGS - Various Client Settings
• Getting Help and Further Commands (CLI) - Download Packs

Prerequisites

To install, upgrade or remove Packs using the Automic Web Interface you have to install and configure the Plugin Manager. Otherwise, the Packs page is not displayed in the Administration perspective. For more information, see Configuring the Plugin Manager.

To install, upgrade or remove Packs using the Command Line Interface (CLI) you have to install and configure the Package Manager. For more information, see Installing and Configuring the Package Manager.

To create Actions you have to install and configure the Action Builder. For more information, see Configuring the Action Builder.

More information:

• About the Plugin Manager
• About Package Manager
• About Action Builder

Viewing Packs

To View Packs (Automic Web Interface)

Packs can be accessed:

• From the Administration perspective

  Click the Packs tab at the bottom of the Navigation pane on the left. You can also narrow down the list of Packs by using one or more of the filter criteria in the Filter panel on the right:

  • Name: name of the Pack.
  • Version: select one of the following options:
    • installed: all installed Packs are displayed.
    • upgrades: all Packs for which an upgrade is available are displayed.
    • not installed: all Packs available in the GIT repository but not installed on the system are displayed.
  • Category
  • Title

• From the Process Assembly perspective

  Open the PACKAGES folder n the Explorer view

For more information, see Types of Packs.

Tip!

• Select a Pack and click Jump to source in the toolbar to see/edit the objects that are contained in the Pack.
• To open and compare the source files of multiple Packs, hold the Ctrl key, select the Packs and click Jump to source.

To View Packs (CLI)

1. Update the index to fetch new and edited packs from the local repository. Enter this command:

   apm update

2. Search for a Pack in the local repository:

   apm search [<any part of package name>]

   Example

   apm search Tomcat

   Notes:

   • If [<any part of package name>] is not specified, all available packages are displayed.
   • To get a full list of installed Packs, enter the following command: apm list

For more information, see About Package Manager.

Viewing the Release Notes of a Pack

A short description of the release notes of a Pack (new features, bug fixes and know issues) is displayed in the Details panel of the Packs view (Administration perspective) after selecting a Pack. This information helps you decide if you want to install the latest version of a Pack.

Prerequisites:

• The PM_PACK_RELEASENOTE_URL VARA object has been configured to connect to the repository containing the release notes of the Packs.
• The Update Index button in the toolbar has been triggered at least once.

Note: Visit https://downloads.automic.com/ to read the full description of the release notes.

Installing Packs

Packs can be imported and exported in two different formats:

• .xml and
• .json.

You can define which format to use either in the PACKS_COMPATIBILITY_MODE parameter of the UC_CLIENT_SETTINGS or by adding the corresponding option in the apm download command (Package Manager).

More information:

• PACKS_COMPATIBILITY_MODE
• UC_CLIENT_SETTINGS - Various Client Settings
• Getting Help and Further Commands (CLI) - Download Packs

Note: Packs exported in the new format (.json) cannot be imported into older CDA versions (12.2 and lower).

To Download and Install a Pack from the Marketplace (Automic Web Interface)

1. Open the Administration perspective.
2. Select the Packs tab.
3. Select one or more Packs from the list.
4. Click the Install button in the toolbar. The Packs are downloaded from https://marketplace.automic.com/
5. Select the Ignore dependencies checkbox if you want to ignore possible dependencies to other Packs.

Note: This method can only be used to install Packs that are available in the GIT index.

To Install a Pack from a File (Automic Web Interface)

1. Download the Pack you want to install from https://marketplace.automic.com/ and save it to a local folder.

   Note: To find the Action Packs on the Marketplace, search for their descriptive names (for example: JSON Action Pack).

2. Go to the Administration perspective.
3. Select the Packs tab.
4. Click the Install from File button in the toolbar.
5. Click the Upload button, navigate to the location where you have downloaded the Pack (.zip file), and follow the wizard instructions.
6. Select the Ignore dependencies checkbox if you want to ignore possible dependencies to other Packs.

Once the installation is complete, the new Action Pack can be found in the PACKAGES folder of the Process Assembly perspective.

Some Packs may contain AWI plug-ins, which are installed together with the Pack. To check if the Plug-in has been registered correctly, log out and log back into AWI, select the arrow in the user and session information area (top-right corner) and select About

For more information, see Logging In and Out.

When working with a single Pack, active executions of objects that are included in the Pack must be stopped. You can cancel them in bulk from the wizard and resume the process or you can open the Process Monitoring perspective to review the executions and cancel them manually.

Click the Update Index button in the toolbar to retrieve an updated list of available Packs and versions from the GIT repository. For more information, see Administering the Plugin Manager.

To Install a Pack (CLI)

Use this command to install a Pack from your local file system to a target AE client.

• To install a Pack from your local file system, enter

  apm install [option] <pack name>

  where [option] can be one of the following:

  • --force

    Force installation if the versions in the metadata and the index are inconsistent.

    Default: false.

  • --from-file

    Path to the local archive or directory containing the Pack to install

  • --ignore-dependencies

    Ignore dependency Packs. Use this flag to install Packs without the dependency check.

    Default: false.

  • --remote-user

    Username of the remote repository

  • --remote-password

    Password of the remote repository

• To install a Pack from a file, enter

  apm install --from-file <path to the pack archive or directory>

Notes:

• To avoid installing dependent Packs, set the flag to ignore pack dependencies.
• To install multiple Packs, leave a blank space between the names of the Packs.

Examples

• Single Pack installation

  apm install --from-file C:\Pack.Bond_PCK.AUTOMIC_BOND_1_0_0+build.164.zip

• Multiple Pack installation

  apm install PCK.AUTOMIC_HTTP PCK.AUTOMIC_FTP -H automicdev -S AUTOMIC -p 1234 -c 123

Important! Installing and/or upgrading a Pack may be restricted to a reduced number of clients. You can use the option -c <number> to change the target client of the upgrade or enter the following command to bypass the client check: --ignore-client-restriction.

To Upload a Pack (CLI)

Important! A package.yml file must exist in the current working directory. If the file does not exist, call the following command to create it: apm init <pack_name>.

You upload Packs from a working directory using the following command:

apm upload [option]

Where [option] can be one of the following:

• --force-overwrite

  Objects which already exist in the AE client will be overwritten with content from the local file system.

  Short:-force

  Default: false.

• --ignore-dependencies

  Package dependencies are ignored.

• --include-appdata

  Upload also the AppData folder.

  Short:-ia

  Default: false.

• --no-binary

  Upload all objects except binary objects.

  Short:-nb

  Default: false.

• --no-content

  Upload binary objects that are defined in the Pack config only.

  Short:-nc

• --remote-password

  Password of remote repository. Required in case dependency packs need to be downloaded and installed before the current pack is installed.

• --remote-user

  Username of remote repository. Required in case dependency packs need to be downloaded and installed before the current pack is installed.

• --remove-unused

  Remove unused files which do not have matching objects in the AE client.

  Short:-ru

  Default: false.

• --compatibility-mode

  Enter this option if you want to upload the Pack with the old structure (.xml).

  Short: -cm

  Default: false. Pack with new structure is uploaded (.json)

Upgrading Packs

To Upgrade a Pack (Automic Web Interface)

This method can only be used to install Packs that are available in the GIT index.

Use the Upgrades option in the Version filter to show the Packs for which an upgrade is available.

1. Go to the Administration perspective and open the Packs tab.
2. Select one or more Packs from the list.
3. Click the Upgrade button in the toolbar. The latest version is downloaded from https://marketplace.automic.com/
4. Select the Ignore dependencies checkbox if you want to ignore possible dependencies to other Packs.
5. Click Upgrade.

When working with a single Pack, active executions of objects that are included in the Pack must be stopped. You can cancel them in bulk from the wizard and resume the process or you can open the Process Monitoring perspective to review the executions and cancel them manually.

Click the Update Index button in the toolbar to retrieve an updated list of available Packs and versions from the GIT repository. For more information, see Administering the Plugin Manager.

To Upgrade a Pack (CLI)

Use the following commands to upgrade Packs:

• To update a Pack (run only once):

  apm update

• To upgrade a Pack:

  apm upgrade <pack name>

  Alternatively, you can upgrade a Pack from a file:

  apm upgrade --from-file <path to the package archive or directory>

  Example

  Upgrading the Tomcat Pack:

  apm upgrade PCK.AUTOMIC_TOMCAT

  Where option can be:

  • --cancel-executions

    Cancel active executions

    Default:false

Important! Installing and/or upgrading a Pack may be restricted to a reduced number of clients. You can use the option -c <number> to change the target client of the upgrade or enter the following command to bypass the client check: --ignore-client-restriction.

The following elements are updated:

• All Actions within the Pack
• All Templates within the Pack
• Configuration object templates within the Pack are updated
• Referenced Actions within the Pack

The following elements are NOT updated:

• Instances of configuration object templates
• Instances of Templates
• Custom actions

Post-fixes to support semantic versioning are also allowed in the package format schema:

integer.integer.integer+(chars|integer)(.(chars|integer)*)

Object execution and history data (displayed in the version management page of an object) are kept.

Creating Packs

The following should be defined before creating an Action Pack:

• Purpose of the Action Pack
• Type of technology to be used.
• What Actions are needed and what parameters are necessary for running the Actions.
• What variables are needed.

To Create a Pack (Automic Web Interface)

1. Go to the Process Assembly perspective and open the Packs view.

2. Select Add Action Pack.

3. On the New Action pack dialog enter the title of the Action pack.

   The name for the Action Pack is suggested automatically using the format PCK.CUSTOM (prefix).

   The prefix can be configured via the actionbuilder.properties file (see Configuring the Action Builder.

4. Click Add Action pack. The predefined Pack folder structure is created.

5. Enter information about the Action Pack in the Documentation object that is stored in the DOCUMENTATION folder.

6. Optionally, enter a category for this Pack in the METADATA VARA object. This category lets users find the Pack more easily by filtering by it.

Notes:

• It is good practice to provide information to others in the documentation object of the Action Pack to help identify your content. The documentation object can be found in the Documentation folder of the Pack in the Explorer.
• You can define a category type for the Pack in the METADATA VARA object.
• Some Application Packs might have dependencies to Shared Component Packs. It the Component Packs do not exist or are outdated, the creation process will fail.

To Build a Pack (CLI)

Use this command to build a Pack in the AE and make it transferable to other systems.

apm build [option] <package_name>

Where [option] can be one of the following:

• --output-format

  Defines the output format of the package.

  Options:

  • solution: ZIP archive with the extension .solution
  • zip: ZIP archive with the extension .zip
  • tar: GZIP compressed tar-archive with the extension .tar.gz
  • folder: Folder in the specified target directory.

  Short:-o

  Default: folder

• --target-dir

  Path to target directory in local filesystem

  Short:-d

  Default:<current_dir>/packages/

• --build-mode

  Path to target directory in local filesystem

  Short:-bm

  Options:

  • xml
  • json
  • all

  Default: json

Example

apm build PCK.AUTOMIC_SHARED -o tar -d /home/deploy/pmRepo -bm xml

Important! This command overrides the setting defined in PACKS_COMPATIBILITY_MODE.

Exporting Packs

Packs can be exported in the Process Assembly perspective to be reused in another client or system.

Important!

• When exporting a Pack, ensure that the metadata contains the correct values. Increase the version number with subsequent releases of your Pack to distinguish between different versions. The version number can be set in the Metadata object of the Pack.
• Packs exported in the new format (.json) cannot be imported into older CDA versions (12.2 and lower)

To Export an Action Pack

1. Go to the Process Assembly perspective and open the Packs view.

2. Right-click the Action Pack and select Export.

3. On the Export Pack window, select Export to validate and build the Pack automatically.

4. Select Download to download the Pack and select a destination.

   A semantic check is performed before exporting the Action Pack, thus ensuring that the Actions are defined correctly. The following properties are checked:

   • Generate Job at = Runtime
   • Deactivate on Finish = After error-free execution.
   • Error-free status = ANY_OK
   • Overwrite Agent's value = “&AGENT#“ or leave it empty

Tip: Do not export Action Packs with a hard-coded Agent/Login set.

Note: You can configure the export method in the PACKS_COMPATIBILITY_MODE parameter of the UC_CLIENT_SETTINGS (see:UC_CLIENT_SETTINGS - Various Client Settings).

To Export an Application Pack (Automic Web Interface)

Applications that have already been added to an Application Pack can be exported.

• From the Process Assembly perspective (see: Exporting Packs)
• From the Applications list.
  • Right-click an Application.
  • Navigate to Application Pack > Export.
• From the Properties view of an Application.
  • Double-click an Application to open it and click the Properties tab.
  • Navigate to Application Pack > Export.

To Download a Pack (CLI)

Important! A package.yml file must exist in the current working directory. If it does not exist, call apm init <pack_name> to create it.

To download the Pack, enter

apm download [option]

Where [option] can be one of the following:

• --force-overwrite

  Objects which already exist in the local file system will be overwritten with content from the AE client.

  Short:-force

  Default: false.

• --include-appdata

  Download also the AppData folder.

  Short:-ia

  Default: false.

• --remove-unused

  Remove unused files which do not have matching objects in the working directory.

  Short:-ru

  Default: false.

• --compatibility-mode

  Enter this option if you want to download the Pack with the old structure (.xml).

  Short: -cm

  Default: false. Pack with new structure is downloaded (.json)

Cloning Packs

The cloning functionality of the Action Builder allows you to save time when creating Packs which are similar to existing ones.

Important!

• Cloning Application Packs and the PCK.AUTOMIC_BOND Pack is not supported.

Note: Cloning an Action Pack results in all Actions and objects that directly belong to it (Includes, Prompsets, Workflows) to be copied.

To Clone Packs

1. Go to the Packs view of the Process Assembly perspective
2. Right-click the Action Pack and select Clone.
3. (Optional) Change the title for the cloned Action Pack. Enter a descriptive name. The title helps you and others to identify better the purpose of the Action Pack.
4. Enter a Name. A prefix is automatically added by the system to adhere to the Action Pack naming conventions.

The cloned Action Pack is displayed on the list.

Deleting Packs

To Delete a Pack (Automic Web Interface)

Important! Be aware that you might need to remove dependent Packs before removing a Pack.

1. Go to the Packs view in the Administration perspective.
2. Select one or more Packs and select Remove in the toolbar.
3. Select the Ignore dependencies checkbox if you want to ignore possible dependencies to other Packs.
4. Click Yes.

When working with a single Pack, active executions of objects that are included in the Pack must be stopped. You can cancel them in bulk from the wizard and resume the process or you can open the Process Monitoring perspective to review the executions and cancel them manually.

To Delete a Pack (CLI)

Use the following command to remove Packs:

• Removing a Pack

  apm remove [option] <package name>

Where [option] can be one of the following:

• --ignore-dependencies

  Ignore dependent Packs.

  Default: false

• --remove-appdata

  Remove application data from the Pack

  Default:false

• --cancel-executions

  Cancel active executions

  Default:false

Getting Help and Further Commands (CLI)

For more details on sub-commands, options and syntax, refer to the built-in help.

Command Structure

The APM CLI uses a multipart structure. Each command consists of:

• A base (APM)
• An action specifying the operation to be executed (for example: install).

• Arguments and options, which can be specified in any order.

  Options can be specified in short form (starting with a single dash -) or in long form (starting with a double dash --). For example: -h, --help or -c, --client.

  Some options have its own arguments, that must be specified right after the option. For example: -c 20 -u UC/UC. Other options have no argument and work as a flag. For example: -v, --verbose or -h, --help.

  The CLI tool can process none, one or more arguments that are not optional, called main arguments. Main arguments and optional arguments (if available) can be entered with double quotes (” ”) or single quotes (‘ ‘) in a consistent way.

All APM commands have the following syntax:

apm <command> [option] [<arguments>]

Passwords

Passwords can be specified with the following commands: -pw or --password.

Important! The values are not displayed in the command line while typing.

Common Options

The following options are available for all APM commands:

• -v, --verbose

  Display verbose output

  Default: false

• -vv, --very-verbose

  Display verbose output

  Default: false

• -y, --yes

  Respond yes to all prompted questions

  Default: false

Common Options for Automation Engine Connection Commands

• -C <file>, <file>

  Path to uc4config.xml. Default: $PM_HOME/conf

• -L <file>, --login-dat <file>

  Path to login_dat.xml. Default: $PM_HOME/conf

• -T <template>, --user-template <template>

  User template that is used to connect to the AE

• -S <system>, --system <system>

  AE system name. This command overrides the default value of the configuration file.

• -H <host>, --host <host>

  AE hostname or IP address. This command overrides the default value of the configuration file.

• -c <client>, --client <client>

  AE client number. This command overrides the default value of the configuration file.

• -p <port>, --port <port>

  AE port. This command overrides the default value of the configuration file.

• -u <user/dept>, --user <user/dept>

  AE user/dept. This command overrides the default value of the configuration file.

• -pw [password], --password [password]

  AE password, password may be not mandatory in the command line, the tool asks for it later.

• -l <language>, --language <language>

  AE language. This command overrides the default value of the configuration file.

• -f <folder>, --folder <folder>

  AE folder containing all installed packages. Default: \PACKAGES

Get Help for a Command

For details on commands, call apm <command> -h or apm <command> --help.

Find More Commands

For a list of available commands, call apm -h or apm --help.

Analyze and Display Current Environment Issues

apm doctor check

Fix Current Environment Issues Detected by the Doctor Check Command

apm doctor fix

Note: Extended Packs: run this command if you want to scan for and update missing hooks and VARA objects of base Packs.

Display Pack Content

apm show [option] <pack_name>

Where [option] can be one of the following:

• --from-file

  Read Pack from local file or directory

• --installed

  Only show installed Pack.

  Default: false.

• --local

  Only show Pack in local cache.

  Default: false.

See also:

• About Actions, Packs and Plug-ins
• About the Plugin Manager
• About Package Manager
• Pre-Configured Workflows as Action Packs
• Working with Shared and Proxy Components