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MJGaughran merged 10 commits into from
Aug 6, 2026
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Slim down README #72

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a335211
Remove docs "Work in progress" notice in README
MJGaughran Jul 30, 2026
31cbf5a
Remove redundant schema information from README
MJGaughran Jul 31, 2026
070a50c
Remove redundant CLI command and VSCode task information from README
MJGaughran Jul 31, 2026
d2180a1
Move deployment steps from README into separate page
MJGaughran Jul 27, 2026
7ef5639
Split off Glossary into separate docs page
MJGaughran Jul 27, 2026
357c76f
Improve schema command description in README
MJGaughran Jul 30, 2026
2ca0d08
Add note in README to indicate commands are typically run in CI
MJGaughran Jul 30, 2026
c2da0dd
Use "Area" consistently in documentation
MJGaughran Aug 4, 2026
e80d821
Reorder glossary
MJGaughran Aug 4, 2026
2921533
Clarify Deployment vs deployment in glossary
MJGaughran Aug 4, 2026
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97 changes: 10 additions & 87 deletions README.md
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Expand Up @@ -17,23 +17,25 @@ What | Where
Source | <https://github.com/DiamondLightSource/deploy-tools>
PyPI | `pip install dls-deploy-tools`
Docker | `docker run ghcr.io/diamondlightsource/deploy-tools:latest`
Documentation | Work in progress <https://diamondlightsource.github.io/deploy-tools>
Documentation | <https://diamondlightsource.github.io/deploy-tools>
Releases | <https://github.com/DiamondLightSource/deploy-tools/releases>

The demo_configuration folder in this repository can be passed as the config_folder to
the deploy-tools commands. The deployment_root needs to be a writeable location for all
files to get deployed under.

In normal use these commands are not run by hand: they act on a shared deployment area and
belong in a CI pipeline, gated by change review. Running them manually against the demo
configuration, as below, is just the quickest way to see what each does — the
[documentation](https://diamondlightsource.github.io/deploy-tools) has a hands-on tutorial
and a guide to driving them from CI.

The examples below use the `deploy-tools` console script; `python -m deploy_tools` is
equivalent if you prefer to invoke the module directly.

```
deployment_root = /path/to/deployment/root
config_folder = /path/to/config/folder
schema_folder = /path/to/schema/folder

# Generate the schema for configuration yaml files
deploy-tools schema $schema_folder

# Validate the deployment configuration files, also ensuring that the required updates
# are compatible with the previous deployments.
Expand All @@ -49,88 +51,9 @@ deploy-tools compare $deployment_root

```

## Deployment Steps

There are several key conceptual steps that make up the deployment process. These are
**not** one-to-one with the CLI commands; the "Run by" column shows which command runs
each step. See `deploy-tools --help` for more detail.

|**Step**|**Description** |**Run by**|
|--------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------|
|Compare |Compare the current deployment snapshot file with the modulefiles and built modules that currently exist. This ensures that the Deployment Area is in a healthy state |`compare` |
|Validate|Process the updated configuration. By comparing the new configuration files with the current deployment snapshot from the last sync, we determine the set of actions that need to be taken |`validate`, `sync`|
|Build |Generate entrypoint scripts, configuration files and environment variables for a given Module. These are output to the Build Area |`sync` (`validate --test-build`)|
|Deploy |Move all built Modules from the Build Area into the Modules Area. A link to the built modulefile is moved to either the Modulefiles Folder or Deprecated Folder, depending on its deprecation status. Update default versions for the modulefiles|`sync` |

There is no standalone `build` or `deploy` command: `sync` always runs them together, so
a half-built Module is never exposed to users.

## JSON Schema

A set of JSON schema files are provided under `src/deploy_tools/models/schemas`. These are generated from the Pydantic models in `src/deploy_tools/models/` by the `deploy-tools schema` command (see `models/schema.py`).

We strongly recommend that you provide a schema for configuration file validation, by adding a `yaml-language-server` comment to the top of each configuration file. For production configuration, point this at the schema files hosted on GitHub:

```# yaml-language-server: $schema=https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DiamondLightSource/deploy-tools/main/src/deploy_tools/models/schemas/release.json```

Use `release.json` for the per-version Module files (`<name>/<version>.yaml`) and
`deployment-settings.json` for the top-level `settings.yaml`.

As the demo_configuration is used during development, we instead set it to use the locally generated schemas via an absolute workspace path (e.g. `/workspaces/deploy-tools/src/deploy_tools/models/schemas/release.json`). This dev-container-only path should not be used for production configuration.

Note that the 'Generate Schema' VSCode task will update the schemas according to any update of the code, but you need to trigger this manually and check the contents in.

## CLI Commands, VSCode Tasks and Debug Configuration

The following CLI commands are used in our CI/CD process to update the Deployment Area
using new configuration.

In order to help with development and testing, these commands (plus useful defaults) are
available as Tasks and Debug configurations for VSCode. These tasks (plus their default
inputs) should create a separate `demo-output` folder at the top-level of the workspace
folder.

You will need to use the `--from-scratch` argument when starting from a clean Deployment
Area, as there is no snapshot from a prior Deploy step:

- `sync`/`validate --from-scratch` work against an empty area without expecting a
snapshot, and imply `--allow-all` (there is no prior state to enforce lifecycle rules
against).
- `compare --from-scratch` just checks the Deployment Area exists and is **empty**. Run
this in CI before the first deploy, where a normal `compare` has no snapshot to use.

It is recommended that you use `--help` to explore the commands, arguments and options
in greater detail.

|**Name** |**CLI command** |**Description** |
|------------------------------|--------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|Generate Schema |`deploy-tools schema` |Generate the yaml schema (in .json format) for the top-level configuration files |
|Clean deployment |`rm -rf <Deployment Root>`|Wipe the deployment area local to your own checkout of deploy-tools, enabling you to test a deployment from scratch |
|Sync Modules |`deploy-tools sync` |Synchronise the Deployment configuration with the Deployment Area |
|Validate deployment |`deploy-tools validate` |Compare the new configuration with that previously used when deploying modules, and test the build process if requested |
|Compare deployment to snapshot|`deploy-tools compare` |Compare the configuration stored from the last `deploy-tools sync` run, with the state of any deployed Modules. This should always be run by CI/CD before attempting to Deploy, and any differences will be reported|

## Glossary

See the Deployment Steps above for an overview of the primary stages of a deployment.

|**Term** |**Definition** |
|-------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|Environment Modules|A [standard package for Linux](https://modules.readthedocs.io/en/latest/) that provides definitions for loading and unloading 'Environment Modules'. Note that while we are using this system, our definition of Module is separate. If we are referring to an Environment Module, we will use the full name|
|Modulefile |Used by the Environment Modules package to specify all details of an Environment Module. This can include executables to add to the path, environment variables to set, etc. |
|Deployment |The sum total of all Releases (deprecated or not) that are to be maintained in the Deployment Area |
|Module |A set of files that can be used to provide applications on your path, provide configuration, and set environment variables. We do this using the Environment Modules system by providing a Modulefile with the relevant configuration |
|Release (noun) |A Module, including version, alongside its lifecycle (i.e. deprecation) status |
|Application |Each Module can be configured with multiple Applications, each one providing one or more executables. There are 3 types of Application: `Apptainer` (an executable container image), `Shell` (a Bash script) and `Binary` (an executable downloaded from a URL and verified against a hash) |
|Deployment Area |The top-level location where all Modules are to be deployed. This is typically a shared filesystem location for general use by multiple people. Note that there are several subdirectories which are used by `deploy-tools` for different purposes |
|(Area) Root |Refers to the filesystem path at the root of the given Area. |
|Deployment Step |Refers to one of the primary steps that make up the Deployment process. See the section 'Deployment Steps' above for a breakdown |
|Build Area |The filesystem location used for building modules. This should ideally be on the same filesystem as the Deployment area to ensure that later move operations are atomic, so by default it is the `build` subdirectory of the Deployment Root. We use a different location when testing builds |
|Modules Area |Refers to the `modules` folder under the Deployment Root. The final location for files built for a particular Module configuration |
|Modulefiles Folder |Refers to the `modulefiles` folder under the Deployment Root. When this path is added to the MODULEPATH environment variable, all modulefiles can then be accessed by the End User using the standard Environment Modules interface (`module avail`, etc.) |
|Deprecate |Moving a modulefile to the separate Deprecated Folder, to indicate that its use should be discouraged |
|Deprecated Folder |The folder used to contain Modulefiles for Modules that have been deprecated. By adding the modulefiles subdirectory to your MODULEPATH environment variable, you then have the ability to use any deprecated Module as normal. |
|End User |Refers to anybody who is intending to make use of a deployed Module. This can include the people modifying configuration themselves |
Generating the JSON schema files with `deploy-tools schema <folder>` is a separate,
occasional task: it produces the schemas that editors use to validate configuration files,
and is not part of a deployment. See the schema reference in the documentation.

<!-- README only content. Anything below this line won't be included in index.md -->

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1 change: 1 addition & 0 deletions docs/explanations.md
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Expand Up @@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ Explanations of how it works and why it works that way.
```{toctree}
:maxdepth: 1

explanations/deployment-steps
explanations/deployment-area
explanations/snapshots-and-compare
explanations/deprecation-lifecycle
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10 changes: 5 additions & 5 deletions docs/explanations/deployment-area.md
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Expand Up @@ -18,20 +18,20 @@ to be edited by hand.
│ ├── entrypoints/ # the executables added to PATH on module load
│ ├── module.yaml # this Module's configuration snapshot
│ └── sif_files/ # Apptainer images, when the Module uses any
├── modulefiles/ # Modulefiles Folder — placed on MODULEPATH
├── modulefiles/ # Modulefiles Area — placed on MODULEPATH
│ └── <name>/
│ ├── <version> # absolute symlink into modules/<name>/<version>/modulefile
│ └── .version # records the default version (see below)
├── deprecated/
│ └── modulefiles/ # Deprecated Folder — optionally on MODULEPATH
├── deprecated/ # Deprecated Area
│ └── modulefiles/ # mirrors the Modulefiles Area — optionally on MODULEPATH
│ └── <name>/<version> # symlink for a deprecated Module version
└── build/ # transient build area (default location)
```

The split between the **Modules Area** (`modules/`) and the **Modulefiles Folder**
The split between the **Modules Area** (`modules/`) and the **Modulefiles Area**
(`modulefiles/`) is the central design choice. The Modules Area holds the real files for
*every* version that has been deployed and not removed, both live and deprecated. The
Modulefiles Folder holds only a thin tree of symlinks, one per version, pointing at the
Modulefiles Area holds only a thin tree of symlinks, one per version, pointing at the
corresponding `modulefile`. Users put only the *modulefiles* directories on their
`MODULEPATH`, making each Module visible to `module avail` and `module load`.

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26 changes: 26 additions & 0 deletions docs/explanations/deployment-steps.md
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@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
# The deployment process

A deployment is made up of several conceptual **steps**, deliberately **not** one-to-one
with the CLI commands: one command may run several steps, and some are never exposed as
a command of their own. For the commands themselves see the [CLI reference](../cli.md).

| Step | Description | Run by |
|------|-------------|--------|
| Compare | Compare the current deployment snapshot against the modulefiles and built modules that actually exist, confirming the [deployment area](deployment-area.md) is healthy. | `compare` |
| Validate | Diff the new configuration against the current snapshot to determine the set of actions to take, and check those actions are permitted by the [release lifecycle](deprecation-lifecycle.md). | `validate`, `sync` |
| Build | Generate entrypoint scripts, configuration files and environment variables for each changed Module, writing them to the build area. | `sync` (`validate --test-build`) |
| Deploy | Move the built Modules from the build area into the Modules Area, link each modulefile into the live or deprecated tree according to its status, and update default versions. | `sync` |

## Why build and deploy are not separate commands

There is no standalone `build` or `deploy` command. `sync` always runs them together, so
a half-built Module is never exposed to users: either a version is built *and* linked into
place, or nothing changes.

## How the steps fit together

`sync` is the only step that writes to the deployment area; `compare` and `validate` are
Comment thread
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read-only checks run before it. See
[snapshots and the compare safety net](snapshots-and-compare.md) for how the snapshot
ties them together, and [drive deploy-tools from CI](../how-to/ci-pipeline.md) for the
order a pipeline runs them in.
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