Manual updating intended after project creation with a custom template?

[OleWunschmann]

Short description:

If a custom template contains scripts (e.g. overrides for Run-AlPipeline) they are not part of a new project (after the first).
This results in the requirement to manually dispatch the update workflow after a new project was created.

Longer description with an example to hopefully make the scenario easier to understand:

• Custom template repository that contains:

  • Custom settings in the file .AL-Go/settings.json (e.g. country "w1" instead of "us")
  • Custom powershell scripts in the directory .AL-Go as overrides for the function "Run-AlPipeline" of the "bccontainerhelper" (e.g. PipelineInitialize.ps1)

• Create repository from repository AL-Go-PTE

• Run workflow "Update AL-Go System Files" with template url "https://github.com/microsoft/AL-GO-PTE@preview"

• Run workflow "Update AL-Go System Files" with template url of the custom template

  • File .AL-Go/settings.json contains settings of AL-Go-PTE which override the custom settings of file .github/AL-Go-TemplateProjectSettings.doNotEdit.json on action ReadSettings (e.g. country)
  • Directoy .AL-Go contains the powershell scripts of the custom template

• Run workflow "Create a new app" with a new project "p1"

  • Directory .AL-Go moved to directory of new project p1/.AL-Go including file settings.json and powershell scripts

• Run workflow "Create a new app" with a new project "p2"

  • Directory p2/.AL-Go only contains a default version of the file settings.json

• Run workflow "Update AL-Go System Files" with template url of the custom template (same sha)

  • File p2/.AL-Go/settings.json still only contains default settings which override the custom settings of file .github/AL-Go-TemplateProjectSettings.doNotEdit.json on action ReadSettings (e.g. country)
  • Directory p2/.AL-Go now contains the powershell scripts of the custom template

This results in the follwing questions:

• Is the requirement for a manual dispatch of workflow "Update AL-Go System Files" intended after the creation of a new project?

  • If it is not the intended behaviour, then could the app/project creation be extended with an automatic update (best case in the same commit)?
  • If it is the intended behaviour, could the update workflow be enabled as a reusable workflow (same inputs as dispatch) so we could add the update as a custom job?

• Extra question: Is the override of the custom template project settings intended?

[lippertmarkus]

@aholstrup1 my colleague extended the description to hopefully clarify what we mean :)

[mazhelez]

Hi @OleWunschmann

As discussed off-GitHub, the actual solution for your problem is to separate the code-changing logic from the submitting the changes to GitHub logic.

If adding workflow_call trigger on "Update AL-Go System Files" would help you short-term, feel free to open a PR for it.

[OleWunschmann]

It took a while, but I finally found the time to create a PR that implements the short-term solution: #2031