Nodeshift

What is it

Nodeshift is an opinionated command line application and programmable API that you can use to deploy Node.js projects to OpenShift and Kubernetes(minikube).

Prerequisites

• Node.js - version 18.x or greater

Install

To install globally: npm install -g nodeshift

Use with npx: npx nodeshift

or to use in an npm script

npm install --save-dev nodeshift

// inside package.json
scripts: {
  nodeshift: nodeshift
}

$ npm run nodeshift

Core Concepts

Commands & Goals

By default, if you run just nodeshift, it will run the deploy goal, which is a shortcut for running resource, build and apply-resource.

login - will login to the cluster

logout - will logout of the cluster

resource - will parse and create the application resources files on disk

apply-resource - does the resource goal and then deploys the resources to your running cluster

build - archives the code, creates a build config and imagestream and pushes the binary to the cluster

deploy - a shortcut for running resource, build and apply-resource

undeploy - removes resources that were deployed with the apply-resource command

Using Login and Logout

By default, the Nodeshift CLI will look for a kube config in ~/.kube/config. This is usually created when a user does an oc login, but that requires the oc to be installed and the extra step of running the oc login command. The Nodeshift CLI allows you to pass a username/password or a valid auth token along with the clusters API server address to authenticate requests without the need to run oc login first.

While these parameters can be specified for each command, the nodeshift login command helps to simplify that. You can now run nodeshift login with the parameters mentioned to first login, then run the usual nodeshift deploy without neededing to add the flags.

CLI Usage - Login:

$ nodeshift login --username=developer --password=password --server=https://api.server

or

$ nodeshift login --token=12345 --server=https://api.server

CLI Usage - Logout

$ nodeshift logout

API usage using async/await would look something like this:

const nodeshift = require('nodeshift');

const options = {
  username: 'kubeadmin',
  password: '...',
  server: '...',
  insecure: true
};

(async () => {
  await nodeshift.login(options);
  await nodeshift.deploy();
  await nodeshift.logout();
})();

.nodeshift Directory

The .nodeshift directory contains your resource fragments. These are .yml files that describe your services, deployments, routes, etc. By default, nodeshift will create a Service and DeploymentConfig in memory, if none are provided. A Route resource fragment should be provided or use the expose flag if you want to expose your application to the outside world.

For kubernetes based deployments, a Service and Deployment will be created by default, if none are provided. The Service is of a LoadBalancer type, so no Ingress is needed to expose the application.

Resource Fragments

OpenShift resource fragments are user provided YAML files which describe and enhance your deployed resources. They are enriched with metadata, labels and more by nodeshift.

Each resource gets its own file, which contains some skeleton of a resource description. Nodeshift will enrich it and then combine all the resources into a single openshift.yml and openshift.json(located in ./tmp/nodeshift/resource/).

The resource object's Kind, if not given, will be extracted from the filename.

Enrichers

Enrichers will add things to the resource fragments, like missing metadata and labels. If your project uses git, then annotations with the git branch and commit hash will be added to the metadata.

Default Enrichers will also create a default Service and DeploymentConfig when none are provided.

The default port value is 8080, but that can be overridden with the --deploy.port flag.

You can also override this value by providing a .nodeshift/deployment.yaml resource file

Resource Fragment Parameters

Some Resource Fragments might need to have a value set at "run time". For example, in the fragment below, we have the ${SSO_AUTH_SERVER_URL} parameter:

    apiVersion: v1
    kind: Deployment
    metadata:
        name: nodejs-rest-http-secured
    spec:
      template:
        spec:
          containers:
            - env:
              - name: SSO_AUTH_SERVER_URL
                value: "${SSO_AUTH_SERVER_URL}"
              - name: REALM
                value: master

To set that using nodeshift, use the -d option with a KEY=VALUE, like this:

nodeshift -d SSO_AUTH_SERVER_URL=https://sercure-url

Project Archive

A user can specify exactly what files would like nodeshift to include to the archive it will generate by using the files property in package.json.

If a user does not use the files property in the package.json to filter what files they would like to include, then nodeshift by default will include everything except the node_modules, .git and tmp directories.

Nodeshift will also look for additional exclusion rules at a .gitignore file if there is one. Same thing with a .dockerignore file.

If both ignore files are present, nodeshift will union them together and use that.

API

Along with the command line, there is also a public API. The API mirrors the commands.

API Docs - https://nodeshift.github.io/nodeshift/

• resource

• applyResource

• build

• deploy

• undeploy

Options that you can specify on the command line, can also be passed as an options object to the API

All methods are Promise based and will return a JSON object with information about each goal that is run.

For example, if the deploy method was run, it would return something similar:

{
    build: {
        ... // build information
    },
    resources: [
        ... // resources created
    ],
    appliedResources: [
        ... // resources that were applied to the running cluster
    ]
}

Example Usage

const nodeshift = require('nodeshift');

// Deploy an Application
nodeshift.deploy().then((response) => {
    console.log(response);
    console.log('Application Deployed')
}).catch((err) => {
    console.log(err);
})

please note: Currently, once a route, service, deployment config, build config, and imagestream config are created, those are re-used. The only thing that changes from deployment to deployment is the source code. For application resources, you can update them by undeploying and then deploying again. BuildConfigs and Imagestreams can be re-created using the --build.recreate flag

Using with Kubernetes

Nodeshift can deploy Node.js applications to a Kubernetes Cluster using the --kube flag.

There are 2 options that can be passed. minikube or docker-desktop . Passing just the --kube flag will default to minikube

Nodeshift expects that your code has a Dockerfile in its root directory. Then deploying to kubernetes is as easy as running:

npx nodeshift --kube=minikube

Note on Minikube: This connects to Minikubes docker server, create a new container and then deploy and expose that container with a Deployment and Service

To learn more about minikube.

To learn more about docker-desktop.

Openshift Rest Client Configuration

Nodeshift uses the Openshift Rest Client under the hood to make all REST calls to the cluster. By default, the rest client will look at your ~/.kube/config file to authenticate you. This file will be created when you do an oc login.

If you don't want to use oc to login first, you can pass in a username, password, and the server of the cluster to authenticate against. If you are using a cluster with a self-signed certificate(like code ready containers), then you will need to add the insecure flag.

Also note, that when accessing the cluster this way, the namespace will default to default. If you need to target another namespace, use the namespace.name flag. Just make sure the user you use has the appropriate permissions.

An example of this might look something like this:

npx nodeshift --username developer --password developer --server https://apiserver_for_cluster --insecure --namespace.name nodejs-examples

You can also pass in a valid auth token using the token flag. If both a token and username/password is specified, the token will take the preference.

npx nodeshift --token 123456789 --server https://apiserver_for_cluster --insecure --namespace.name nodejs-examples

Advanced Options

While nodeshift is very opinionated about deployment parameters, both the CLI and the API accept options that allow you to customize nodeshift's behavior.

version

Outputs the current version of nodeshift

projectLocation

Changes the default location of where to look for your project. Defaults to your current working directory(CWD)

configLocation

This option is passed through to the Openshift Rest Client. Defaults to the ~/.kube/config

token

Auth token to pass into the openshift rest client for logging in with the API Server. Overrides the username/password

username

username to pass into the openshift rest client for logging in with the API Server.

password

password to pass into the openshift rest client for logging in with the API Server.

server

server to pass into the openshift rest client for logging in with the API Server.

apiServer - Deprecated

Use server instead. apiServer to pass into the openshift rest client for logging in with the API Server.

insecure

flag to pass into the openshift rest client for logging in with a self signed cert. Only used with apiServer login. default to false.

forceLogin

Force a login when using the apiServer login. Only used with apiServer login. default to false

imageTag

Specify the tag of the docker image or image stream to use for the deployed application. defaults to latest. For docker images these version tags correspond to the RHSCL tags of the ubi8/nodejs s2i images

dockerImage

Specify the s2i builder image of Node.js to use for the deployed applications. Defaults to ubi8/nodejs s2i images

imageStream

Specify the image stream from which to get the s2i image of Node.js to use for the deployed application. If not specified defaults to using a docker image instead.

web-app

Flag to automatically set the appropriate docker image for web app deployment. Defaults to false

resourceProfile

Define a subdirectory below .nodeshift/ that indicates where OpenShift resources are stored

outputImageStream

The name of the ImageStream to output to. Defaults to project name from package.json

outputImageStreamTag

The tag of the ImageStream to output to. Defaults to latest

quiet

suppress INFO and TRACE lines from output logs.

expose

options to create a default route, if non is provided. Defaults to false

removeAll

option to remove builds, buildConfigs and Imagestreams. Defaults to false - Only for the undeploy Command

deploy.port

Flag to update the default ports on the resource files. Defaults to 8080

deploy.env

Flag to pass deployment config environment variables as NAME=Value. Can be used multiple times. ex: nodeshift --deploy.env NODE_ENV=development --deploy.env YARN_ENABLED=true

build.recreate

Flag to recreate a BuildConfig or Imagestream. Defaults to false. Choices are "buildConfig", "imageStream", false, true. If true, both are re-created

build.forcePull

Flag to make your BuildConfig always pull a new image from dockerhub. Defaults to false

build.incremental

Flag to perform incremental builds(if applicable), which means it reuses artifacts from previously-built images. Defaults to false

build.env

Flag to pass build config environment variables as NAME=Value. Can be used multiple times. ex: nodeshift --build.env NODE_ENV=development --build.env YARN_ENABLED=true

build.strategy

Flag to change the build strategy used. Values can be Docker or Source. Defaults to Source

useDeployment

Flag to deploy the application using a Deployment instead of a DeploymentConfig. Defaults to false

knative

EXPERIMENTAL. Flag to deploy an application as a Knative Serving Service. Defaults to false Since this feature is experimental, it is subject to change without a Major version release until it is fully stable.

kube

Flag to deploy an application to a vanilla kubernetes cluster. At the moment only Minikube is supported.

rh-metering

Flag to add some metering labels to a deployment. To change the nodeVersion label, use --rh-metering.nodeVersion flag. Intended for use with Red Hat product images. For more information on metering for Red Hat images, see here

help

Shows the below help

    Usage: nodeshift [--options]

    Commands:
        nodeshift deploy          default command - deploy                   [default]
        nodeshift build           build command
        nodeshift resource        resource command
        nodeshift apply-resource  apply resource command
        nodeshift undeploy        undeploy resources
        nodeshift login           login to the cluster
        nodeshift logout          logout of the cluster

    Options:
        --version                Show version number                         [boolean]
        --projectLocation        change the default location of the project   [string]
        --kube                   Flag to deploy an application to a vanilla kubernetes
                       cluster.  At the moment only Minikube is supported.
                                                                             [boolean]
        --configLocation         change the default location of the config    [string]
        --token                  auth token to pass into the openshift rest client for
                                 logging in.  Overrides the username/password [string]
        --username               username to pass into the openshift rest client for
                                 logging in                                   [string]
        --password               password to pass into the openshift rest client for
                                 logging in                                   [string]
        --apiServer              Deprecated - use the "server" flag instead. server address to pass into the openshift rest client
                                 for logging in                               [string]
        --server                 server address to pass into the openshift rest client
                                 for logging in                               [string]
        --insecure               flag to pass into the openshift rest client for
                                 logging in with a self signed cert.  Only used with
                                 apiServer login                             [boolean]
        --forceLogin             Force a login when using the apiServer login[boolean]
        --imageTag           The tag of the docker image to use for the deployed
                            application.                 [string] [default: "latest"]
        --web-app                flag to automatically set the appropriate docker image
                                 for web app deployment
                                                         [boolean] [default: false]
        --resourceProfile        Define a subdirectory below .nodeshift/ that indicates
                                 where Openshift resources are stored         [string]
        --outputImageStream      The name of the ImageStream to output to.  Defaults
                       to project name from package.json            [string]
        --outputImageStreamTag   The tag of the ImageStream to output to.    [string]
        --quiet                  suppress INFO and TRACE lines from output logs
                                                                            [boolean]
        --expose            flag to create a default Route and expose the default
                   service [boolean] [choices: true, false] [default: false]
        --namespace.displayName  flag to specify the project namespace display name to
                       build/deploy into.  Overwrites any namespace settings
                       in your OpenShift or Kubernetes configuration files
                                                                    [string]
        --namespace.create       flag to create the namespace if it does not exist.
                       Only applicable for the build and deploy command.
                       Must be used with namespace.name            [boolean]
        --namespace.remove       flag to remove the user created namespace.  Only
                       applicable for the undeploy command.  Must be used
                       with namespace.name                         [boolean]
        --namespace.name         flag to specify the project namespace name to
                       build/deploy into.  Overwrites any namespace settings
                       in your OpenShift or Kubernetes configuration files
                                                                    [string]
        --deploy.port        flag to update the default ports on the resource files.
                   Defaults to 8080                          [default: 8080]
        --build.recreate         flag to recreate a buildConfig or Imagestream
                [choices: "buildConfig", "imageStream", false, true] [default: false]
        --build.forcePull        flag to make your BuildConfig always pull a new image
                                from dockerhub or not
                                    [boolean] [choices: true, false] [default: false]
        --build.incremental  flag to perform incremental builds, which means it reuses
                                artifacts from previously-built images
                                    [boolean] [choices: true, false] [default: false]
        --build.strategy         flag to change the build strategy.  Defaults to Source
                                  [choices: "Source", "Docker"]
        --metadata.out           determines what should be done with the response
                                metadata from OpenShift
                [string] [choices: "stdout", "ignore", "<filename>"] [default: "ignore"]
        --useDeployment          flag to deploy the application using a Deployment
                       instead of a DeploymentConfig
                           [boolean] [choices: true, false] [default: false]
        --knative                EXPERIMENTAL. flag to deploy an application
                       as a Knative Serving Service
                           [boolean] [choices: true, false] [default: false]
        --help                   Show help                                   [boolean]
        --cmd                                                      [default: "deploy"]

Contributing

Please read the contributing guide