Parameters: A New Level of Customization with Templates

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Hello wonderful Compass beta users!

Shu from Compass here. Today, we’re happy to announce the first of many major improvements to templates is now available, parameters.

Used in combination with the webhook, parameters allow you to collect more information from your template users when a component is being created from the template in order to further customize or bootstrap it. This could be additional configuration data for deploying or building the component, or administrative information that needs to be tracked in other tools you use. When components are created from the template, you’ll get a webhook event with all component information, including any parameters and values, that you can use with other automation to further customize the new service.

Checkout the video below or learn more about template parameters.

When creating a template

When creating a template and adding a webhook, you can create parameters and optionally provide default values.

 

When using a template

Engineers or developers using the template to create new components can then accept the default values or modify parameter values. When the component is created from the template, Compass will send a webhook with all parameter values so you can continue any orchestration and automation in your toolchain.

What's next for templates?

Our next major update for templates will be to support Bitbucket Cloud. You’ll soon also be able to edit a template after it’s created (finally!), and we’ll support a more robust parameters experience including single and multi select fields, locking down a default value, and marking certain parameters as required when creating a component.

Let us know what else you'd like to see with templates! Additionally, if you’ve got a feature request for apps, templates or automation, please reach out to me or @Josh Campbell 

Thanks,
Shu