how to reuse a single Bamboo build plan between multiple software projects?

Evgeny Prigorodov

We have about of 150 Python projects, each one with its own BitBucket repository and independent development schedule (consider components or micro-services).

We have set up a sample plan that builds a Python release package (e.g. `python setup.py bdist_wheel`) and then uploads it to the local PyPI repository. This plan needs to be reused for all 150 projects, the only step that differs is checkout.

One workable solution found so far is to keep sample build plan as a template, clone it for each Python project and specify exact source repositories during the cloning (by modifying the checkout step).

The problem with this approach is that any time when a template plan will need to be modified, like adding syntax checking step or sending notifications or whatever, then that would require replacing dozens of "outdated" cloned plans.

This community forum has suggestions on using plan branches, but in our case all projects live in separate Git repositories.

What is the right Bamboo approach to reusing the same build plan between multiple project repositories?

Victor Debone_qkmjhv

Hello @Evgeny Prigorodov welcome to the Atlassian community!

From your description, I understand that you would like to have a way to reuse configuration from different plans and avoid the really big task of keeping 150 projects up-to-date through Bamboo UI.

If that is correct, I would suggest that you can use Bamboo's configuration as code, Bamboo Specs. With Bamboo Specs, you are able to keep your configurations updated with less effort than through the UI. Bamboo Specs comes in two flavours: Java and YAML. They have different use-cases and trade-offs.

If you as a team are comfortable with Java, you could have the exactly thing you are looking for; You would write Java Specs in a single repository, with all your plan configurations, and use it to control how each of your projects is run.

You would be able to reuse pieces of plan configuration as any other code reuse. You would also have a good head start with the "View plan as Java Specs" functionality, which gives you the configuration of your plans ready to be copied to a Java Specs project and be used.

The trade-offs would be that a single repository to control a large amount of plans would result in many devs working to define their plans, or some more centralised approach to have their plans altered, depending on how Bamboo is being used in your company.

You can check the Java Specs documentation here.

In other hand, the YAML Bamboo Specs is not exactly what you are suggesting, but can still be handy. If you are running mostly Python projects, I would assume that probably your team is more comfortable with writing YAML. With YAML Specs, each repository would contain their plan definitions and developers would be able to easily control their build plans.

You will probably run to some more limitations than, that I can see from what you've described are:

• You cannot configure the checkout repository on YAML Specs; Because
• You need to keep the YAML Specs on the same repository your code resides; Also
• Some configurations (for example, plugins) are not supported yet in YAML Specs;
• The migration path is not that clear, given the YAML Specs need to be written by hand, Bamboo doesn't support "View plan as YAML Specs".

Still, that would be miles away from configuring all these projects from the UI and you could keep files in sync across repositories with much more ease than having them synchronised within the UI. You can check the YAML Specs documentation here.

If you have doubts or give some feedback about Specs, please don't hesitate to contact us. You can send an email to vdebone@atlassian.com. 

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