Register, Update, and Delete a Group of Branches

C3 AI Release Management allows you to set configurations across a group of version control branches. Use these groups of branches to collect updates that belong in specific releases or patches. By using C3 AI Release Management, you can create continuous integration testing pipelines.

Consider these settings pre-configurations for any individual build. If you want to override the branch settings on any one build, see Create and View Build Configurations for C3 AI Release Management for more information on configuring the settings on an individual build.

This topic covers the following branch group actions:

• Register groups of branches.
  • Create a schedule for your builds.
  • Specify the desired conditions for triggering your builds to avoid unnecessary build executions.
• Update a registered group of branches.
• Delete a registered group of branches.

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Pre-requisites for your repository structure

Ensure that you have a directory that contains your packages like the following example:

   LocalWorkspace/  
   ├─ pkga/  
   ├─ pkgb/

Inside the package folder, ensure that you have <packageName>.c3pkg.json file with the value of the name field set to the name of the package. The following is an example of pkga.c3pkg.json file for pkga package:

{
    "author" : "user",
    "name" : "pkga",
    "description" : "Describe the purpose of this package.",
    "version": "1.0.0",
    "dependencies": {
        "uiDemo": "8.6.0",
        "uiComponentLibraryReact": "8.6.0"
    }
}

See also Develop a C3 AI Application.

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Register groups of branches

1. In C3 AI Studio, select Releases > Branches.
2. Select Register your first branch or the plus (+) icon to register a group of branches.
3. Fill out the form to register the branches and select Save.

Branches page in C3 AI Release Management when there are no registered branches.

The table below describes the configuration options for registering your branches.

You can create your own branch group configuration keys and values, which is useful when customizing your own build pipeline. Refer to Customize the Build Pipeline in C3 AI Release Management for more details.

The table below lists the branch group configuration keys and values that are checked for and used in the default build pipeline.

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Example of registering a branch from GitHub

Consider the following example where you kick off builds for a specific branch in the devproject repository.

Do the following:

1. Go to GitHub to obtain:
   • The packages path in the devproject repository; verify that the packages are up-to-date
   • The repository's HTTPS Repository URL
   • The name of the branch for the builds
2. Fill out the form in the Branches page in C3 AI Release Management.

Based on the example form:

• The user creates a branch group named devgroup and registers the branch as appdev.
• C3 AI Release Management runs build for packages located in devproject/demo/packages. If C3 AI Release Management finds no packages under this path, the Discovering packages node fails in the pipeline.
• The build data for this branch group exists for 15 days.
• Every 15 minutes, C3 AI Release Management checks for new changes in the codebase for the desired packages.
• If both of the toggled conditions are true and the previous build completed, a new build triggers.
  • Since the maximum concurrent build is 1, if the previous build is still processing, the build does not start.

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Build configuration options

For builds running on server version 8.9 and later, the following new build configuration options are available. These are configured in your build configuration files in the repository. To specify the path to these files, use the "Path to repository configuration files" field in the branch group registration form. Refer to Create and View Build Configurations for C3 AI Release Management for more information on creating and configuring build settings.

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skipUnlistedTests

Type: boolean
Location: Inside configValues (not nested in testStrategies)
Default: false
Availability: v8.9+

When set to true, the build pipeline will only run tests for packages explicitly listed in the testStrategies configuration. All other tests in the repository will be skipped.

Example:

{
  "configValues": {
    "skipUnlistedTests": true,
    "testStrategies": [
      {
        "tests": [".*/myPackageA/.*"],
        "strategy": "SERIAL"
      },
      {
        "tests": [".*/myPackageB/.*"],
        "strategy": "SERIAL"
      }
    ]
  }
}

In this example, only tests from myPackageA and myPackageB will run; all other package tests are skipped.

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splitBEandFETests

Type: string[] (array of package names)
Location: Inside configValues
Default: [] (empty array, feature disabled)
Availability: v8.9+

When packages are listed in this array, their backend tests (js-rhino, node, Python) will run in parallel with UI bundling rather than waiting for bundling to complete. This is particularly useful for packages that require UI bundling but also have a significant number of backend tests.

Example:

{
  "configValues": {
    "splitBEandFETests": ["studioBase", "myCustomPackage"]
  }
}

In this example, when building studioBase and myCustomPackage, their backend tests will not wait for UI bundling to finish, both will run concurrently.

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Troubleshoot the package not found error

1. Verify the error message. The following error message Error invoking Java method <generating package method name>: Found no packages to register in <step of the process> indicates that C3 AI Release Management cannot find a package.

2. Verify that the Path to the parent folder containing your packages field has the correct path. Leaving this field blank can cause a package not found error.

3. Verify that the package has the updated format of <packageName>.c3pkg.json. An outdated format can cause a package not found error.

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Update the configuration for a registered branch group

You can update the following configurations:

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Basic options

• Your branch group name
• Your repository authentication token — If you need to change permissions or replace an expired token
• Path to the parent folder containing your packages
• Regex for the branches you want to register
• Pre-release tag used to order artifacts with the same version

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Advanced options

• Store build data for
• Build every
• Only trigger builds when there have been new changes
• Maximum concurrent builds allowed
• Server version used to start the build
• Branch group configs — Your branch group configs may include the following:
  • Code coverage reports
  • Configurations of builds
  • Your custom key-value pairs
• Branch group secrets

1. Select Releases > Branch Configurations in C3 AI Studio from the menu that includes Home, Apps, Envs, and Notifications.
2. Select a branch configuration to edit.
3. Select the edit icon on the top right of the page to edit branch group.
4. Fill out the form to update the configurations, and select Save to save your changes.

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Delete a branch group

1. Select Releases > Branch Configurations in C3 AI Studio. On Branch Configurations tab for C3 AI Release Management, find the list of registered branches.
2. Hover over the row that corresponds to the desired branch.
3. Select the trash icon to delete the desired branch.
4. Enter the name of the branch in the confirmation form.

A notification banner appears at the top of the screen indicating that you deleted the group branch.

The Configuration page

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See also

• View Build Details for a Specific Branch in C3 AI Release Management
• Create Code Coverage Reports in C3 AI Release Management
• Trigger a Build Manually in C3 AI Release Management
• Start Your Application Based on a Package and Build from C3 AI Release Management