A few months ago we created a prototype of a new command line tool to manage add-ons in your eXo platform instance.
Based upon this experiment we created some specifications that we began to implement a few weeks ago.
Today, I am pleased to announce that this project is landing with the release of a second Release Candidate (RC2).
This RC2 implements 99.99% of the specifications and various bug fixes reported by our QA team.
Now it’s time for you to give it a try. As we explained in our previous post, this tool will be useful for all platform 4+ developers and administrators.
Simply download the archive and extract its contents into the root directory of your platform instance and you’re ready to go!
(Note that it includes an auto-update feature, which will allow you to upgrade transparently to the latest version)
The tool offers various commands. Let’s take a tour of them.
List of available add-ons
The command allows you to list add-ons from the catalog.
addon list [--unstable] [--snapshots] [--installed] [--outdated] [--catalog=URL] [--no-cache] [--offline] [--verbose]
Few comments about these parameters :
- allows you to list unstable versions of add-ons (alpha, beta, RC, etc.).
- allows you to list development versions of add-ons.
- allows you to list add-ons that you’ve already deployed in your platform instance.
- allows you to list add-ons that you’ve already deployed in your platform instance that have a newer version available.
(You can find more details about parameters in the specifications)
Let’s list all stable add-ons with:
addon list
Describe an add-on
The command allows you to display information about a specific catalog entry.
addon describe addonId[:addonVersion] [--catalog=URL] [--no-cache] [--offline]
(You can find more details about parameters in the specifications)
Let’s describe our PagesJaunes add-on.
addon describe exo-pagesjaunes
Install an add-on
The command controls the installation of add-ons
addon install addonId:addonVersion [--force] [--no-compat] [--conflict=skip|overwrite] [--catalog=URL] [--no-cache] [--offline] [--verbose]
or
addon install addonId [--unstable] [--snapshots] [--force] [--no-compat] [--conflict=skip|overwrite] [--catalog=URL] [--no-cache] [--offline] [--verbose]
A few comments about these parameters:
- allows you to install the newest version of the add-on (unstable included) if no version is specified.
- allows you to install the newest version of the add-on (development version included) if no version is specified.
- allows you to reinstall an add-on already installed.
- allows you to bypass compatibility controls with your platform version, distribution, or application server type.
- allows you to skip or overwrite existing files in your platform instance that are also provided by the add-on.
(You can find all the details about parameters with or by looking at the specifications)
Let’s install our PagesJaunes add-on:
addon install exo-pagesjaunes
Uninstall an add-on
The command is used to uninstall installed add-ons.
addon uninstall addonId [--verbose]
Let’s uninstall our PagesJaunes add-on:
addon uninstall exo-pagesjaunes
There are a few improvements to make in a third release candidate, but nothing that may prevent you from using the current second release candidate.
Please do not hesitate to give it a try and provide us with your feedback (good or bad).
You may also directly report any issues or ideas for improvement through our tracker.
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