Infrastructure as Code /

Template nodes

The sections below contain information on the types of node that you can include in your template, how they are used, and their schema.

The nodes are divided into the following categories:

Flow control contains nodes that are to be run in sequence or parallel
Team resources specifies team-level resources, such as projects and cloud integrations
Project resources specifies a service, job, addon, or other resource to be created or updated
Actions specifies an action to run on a resources, such as starting a build, running a job, or executing a command
Conditions hold the template run while until the status of a resource or action is returned

Flow control nodes

Flow control nodes contain resource and action nodes, and determine in what order they are executed. You can click the switch button in the workflow node to change to a parallel or sequential flow.

Sequential workflows will execute nodes from first to last, and will wait until a node has succeeded before executing the next. Parallel workflows will execute all the nodes contained within in them at the same time.

Workflows can be nested. For example, you can run two sequential workflows simultaneously within a parallel workflow, within another sequential workflow.

If a node contained in a workflow fails, the entire workflow will be marked as failed.

Project context

You can specify the project context for a workflow which will be inherited by all the nodes contained within the workflow. This context can be overridden by setting the context directly on nodes or other workflows nested within this workflow.

{object}
Workflow node

ref
string
An identifier that can used to reference the output of this node later in the template.
kind
string required
The kind of node.
one of
Workflow
spec
{object} required
The specification for the workflow node.
skipNodeExecution
(multiple options: oneOf)

string

one of

true, false

string

pattern

.*\${.*}.*

Team resource nodes

Team nodes create and update resources and integrations on the team level. They do not require a project context to run.

Kind	Description
Project	Create or update a project
BYOC integration	Create or update a cloud provider integration
BYOC cluster	Create or update a cluster and node pools
Subdomain path	Create a path for routing on a subdomain
Tag	Create a new tag in the team for tagging resources
Custom plan	Create a custom resource plan in the team

Project

{object}
Project node

ref
string
An identifier that can used to reference the output of this node later in the template.
kind
string required
The kind of node.
one of
Project
spec
(multiple options: oneOf) required
skipNodeExecution
(multiple options: oneOf)

string

one of

true, false

string

pattern

.*\${.*}.*

BYOC integration

{object}
BYOCIntegration node

ref
string
An identifier that can used to reference the output of this node later in the template.
kind
string required
The kind of node.
one of
BYOCIntegration
spec
{object} required
The specification for the BYOCIntegration node.
skipNodeExecution
(multiple options: oneOf)

string

one of

true, false

string

pattern

.*\${.*}.*

BYOC cluster

{object}
BYOCCluster node

ref
string
An identifier that can used to reference the output of this node later in the template.
kind
string required
The kind of node.
one of
BYOCCluster
spec
{object} required
The specification for the BYOCCluster node.
skipNodeExecution
(multiple options: oneOf)

string

one of

true, false

string

pattern

.*\${.*}.*

Subdomain path

{object}
SubdomainPath node

ref
string
An identifier that can used to reference the output of this node later in the template.
kind
string required
The kind of node.
one of
SubdomainPath
spec
{object} required
The specification for the SubdomainPath node.
skipNodeExecution
(multiple options: oneOf)

string

one of

true, false

string

pattern

.*\${.*}.*

Custom plan

{object}
CustomPlan node

ref
string
An identifier that can used to reference the output of this node later in the template.
kind
string required
The kind of node.
one of
CustomPlan
spec
{object} required
The specification for the CustomPlan node.
skipNodeExecution
(multiple options: oneOf)

string

one of

true, false

string

pattern

.*\${.*}.*

Project resource nodes

Project resource nodes can be used to create or update services, jobs, addons, and other resources on the Northflank platform. They can also be used to trigger builds, run jobs, and schedule addon backups.

Project resource nodes require a project context to run. The context can be set directly on the node or inherited from a parent workflow.

Kind	Description
Combined service	Create or update a combined service
Build service	Create or update a build service
Deployment service	Create or update a deployment service
Cron job	Create or update a cron job
Manual job	Creates or update a manual job
Addon	Creates or updates an addon
Secret group	Creates or updates a secret group
Pipeline	Creates or updates a pipeline
Volume	Creates or updates a volume

To enable CI/CD and build from private Git repositories you must have a Git account linked to your Northflank team. To deploy images from a private container registry you must add your registry credentials to your team.

Combined service

A combined service will automatically build and deploy the latest commit for the selected branch when it is created.

{object}
CombinedService node

ref
string
An identifier that can used to reference the output of this node later in the template.
kind
string required
The kind of node.
one of
CombinedService
spec
{object} required
The specification for the CombinedService node.
skipNodeExecution
(multiple options: oneOf)

string

one of

true, false

string

pattern

.*\${.*}.*

Build service

You must trigger a build using a start build node to deploy from a build service later in the template. Otherwise, a build will only be triggered when a commit matching the build rules is pushed.

{object}
BuildService node

ref
string
An identifier that can used to reference the output of this node later in the template.
kind
string required
The kind of node.
one of
BuildService
spec
{object} required
The specification for the BuildService node.
skipNodeExecution
(multiple options: oneOf)

string

one of

true, false

string

pattern

.*\${.*}.*

Deployment service

You can link a deployment service to a build service or deploy an image from a container registry.

If you are deploying from a Northflank build service you can toggle between deploying the latest build or the latest commit from the build service.

Latest build will deploy whatever the service has build most recently, regardless of the commit age. Latest commit will deploy the most recent commit to the branch that has been built by the service.

{object}
DeploymentService node

ref
string
An identifier that can used to reference the output of this node later in the template.
kind
string required
The kind of node.
one of
DeploymentService
spec
{object} required
The specification for the DeploymentService node.
skipNodeExecution
(multiple options: oneOf)

string

one of

true, false

string

pattern

.*\${.*}.*

Cron job

You can deploy a job using an image from a container registry or one built by a Northflank build service.

You can also build and deploy an image in a job by linking it to a Git repository, and create a build to deploy using a start build node.

{object}
CronJob node

ref
string
An identifier that can used to reference the output of this node later in the template.
kind
string required
The kind of node.
one of
CronJob
spec
{object} required
The specification for the CronJob node.
skipNodeExecution
(multiple options: oneOf)

string

one of

true, false

string

pattern

.*\${.*}.*

Manual job

You can deploy a job using an image from a container registry or one built by a Northflank build service.

You can also build and deploy an image in a job by linking it to a Git repository, and create a build to deploy using a start build node.

{object}
ManualJob node

ref
string
An identifier that can used to reference the output of this node later in the template.
kind
string required
The kind of node.
one of
ManualJob
spec
{object} required
The specification for the ManualJob node.
skipNodeExecution
(multiple options: oneOf)

string

one of

true, false

string

pattern

.*\${.*}.*

Addon

You can make an addon's connection details available by linking them in a secret group node. An addon must be running to execute a backup or restore, you can use a condition node to check before performing actions on an addon.

Fork an addon

You can fork an addon from an existing project, or one created earlier in the template using a reference. The addon must have a backup available created from the same major version.

You can use latest to use the most recent backup, but if no backup exists the template run will fail.

Upgrade an addon

You can enable upgrade on version mismatch to allow a template to trigger an upgrade for an existing addon (disabled by default). If the addon version specified in the template is greater than the version of the existing addon, the addon will be upgraded. Addons must follow the upgrade path and cannot skip major versions. For example, to upgrade an addon from version 14 to version 16, you must first run the template with version 15 specified before updating to version 16.

{object}
Addon node

ref
string
An identifier that can used to reference the output of this node later in the template.
kind
string required
The kind of node.
one of
Addon
spec
(multiple options: anyOf) required
The provisioner type of the addon
skipNodeExecution
(multiple options: oneOf)

string

one of

true, false

string

pattern

.*\${.*}.*

Secret group

{object}
SecretGroup node

ref
string
An identifier that can used to reference the output of this node later in the template.
kind
string required
The kind of node.
one of
SecretGroup
spec
{object} required
The specification for the SecretGroup node.
skipNodeExecution
(multiple options: oneOf)

string

one of

true, false

string

pattern

.*\${.*}.*

Volume

A running service will be restarted when a volume is attached to it.

{object}
Volume node

ref
string
An identifier that can used to reference the output of this node later in the template.
kind
string required
The kind of node.
one of
Volume
spec
{object} required
The specification for the Volume node.
skipNodeExecution
(multiple options: oneOf)

string

one of

true, false

string

pattern

.*\${.*}.*

Pipeline node

Pipeline nodes are used to create a pipeline in a project and populate the stages of the pipeline with deployment services, jobs, and addons.

You can also define a preview environment and release flow templates for each stage of the pipeline using the visual editor within the pipeline node.

References, arguments, and functions in nested templates

Normally composed references, arguments, and functions will not be resolved in release flow or preview environment templates in pipeline nodes when the template is executed. This is to preserve their functionality in the release flow and preview templates when they are created.

If you want to include references, arguments, or functions that will be executed when the template runs, so that the values are resolved in the release flow and preview environment templates when they are created, you can prefix them with template.

For example:

"${refs.build.branch}" would become "${template.refs.build.branch}"
"${args.SECRET}" would become "${template.args.SECRET}"
"${fn.randomString(64)}" would become "${template.fn.randomString(64)}"

{object}
Pipeline node

ref
string
An identifier that can used to reference the output of this node later in the template.
kind
string required
The kind of node.
one of
Pipeline
spec
{object} required
The specification for the Pipeline node.
skipNodeExecution
(multiple options: oneOf)

string

one of

true, false

string

pattern

.*\${.*}.*

Preview environment

The pipeline specification can include preview, a node with the kind PreviewEnv. The spec for the PreviewEnv node includes apiVersion and spec, where spec is the content of the preview environment template.

{object}
preview

kind
string
The kind of node.
one of
PreviewEnv
spec
{object} required
The preview environment template specification.

Release flow

Release flow template specifications can be included in pipeline stages.

{object}
releaseFlow

kind
string required
The kind of node.
one of
ReleaseFlow
spec
{object} required
The release flow template specification.

Action nodes

You can define actions to take on existing services, addons, or Git services.

Kind	Description
Run backup	Performs a backup on an addon
Job run	Runs a job with the specified configuration
Start build	Triggers a build in a service or job, from a branch or a specific commit
Run action	Performs the action contained within the node

Run backup

An addon must be in a running state to run a backup successfully. You can use a condition node to ensure an addon is ready before the backup node runs.

{object}
AddonBackup node

ref
string
An identifier that can used to reference the output of this node later in the template.
kind
string required
The kind of node.
one of
AddonBackup
spec
{object} required
The specification for the AddonBackup node.
skipNodeExecution
(multiple options: oneOf)

string

one of

true, false

string

pattern

.*\${.*}.*

condition
string
one of
success

Run job

Start a job run. The job must have a build or image available.

{object}
JobRun node

ref
string
An identifier that can used to reference the output of this node later in the template.
kind
string required
The kind of node.
one of
JobRun
spec
{object} required
The specification for the JobRun node.
skipNodeExecution
(multiple options: oneOf)

string

one of

true, false

string

pattern

.*\${.*}.*

condition
string
one of
success

Start build

You can trigger builds in build and combined services, and jobs that deploy from version control.

{object}
Build node

ref
string
An identifier that can used to reference the output of this node later in the template.
kind
string required
The kind of node.
one of
Build
spec
{object} required
The specification for the Build node.
skipNodeExecution
(multiple options: oneOf)

string

one of

true, false

string

pattern

.*\${.*}.*

condition
string
one of
success

Run action

The run action node can be used to perform actions in services, jobs, addons, and VCS (Version Control System) accounts.

Kind	On resource
Restart	Service or addon
Execute command	Service or job
Restore addon from backup	Addon (with available backup)
Clone repository	Linked VCS account

Commands in action nodes do not invoke a shell by default. Learn more about executing commands in action nodes.

{object}
Action node

ref
string
An identifier that can used to reference the output of this node later in the template.
kind
string required
The kind of node.
one of
Action
spec
(multiple options: oneOf) required
The specification for the Action node.
skipNodeExecution
(multiple options: oneOf)

string

one of

true, false

string

pattern

.*\${.*}.*

Condition nodes

You can use condition nodes to check the status of a resource or action in a template or in an individual workflow. The workflow or template will continue to run until the condition is met, or until it times out.

In a sequential workflow the condition will stop following steps from running until the condition is met. In a parallel workflow all the steps will run, but the workflow will not be marked as completed unless the condition is met.

Below is a list of checks you can include in your template.

Kind	Description
Running	Check a service, addon, or BYOC cluster is running
Success	Check a job, build, or addon backup has completed successfully
VCS	Check that a repository has been created

Kind	Description
Service	Check a service is running
Addon	Check an addon is running
Addon backup	Check an addon backup has completed successfully
BYOC cluster	Check a BYOC cluster is running
VCS	Check a Git repository has been cloned successfully
Build	Check a build has completed successfully
Job run	Check a job run has completed successfully

{object}
Condition node

ref
string
An identifier that can used to reference the output of this node later in the template.
kind
string required
The kind of node.
one of
Condition
spec
(multiple options: oneOf) required
The specification for the Condition node.
skipNodeExecution
(multiple options: oneOf)

string

one of

true, false

string

pattern

.*\${.*}.*

Next steps

Run a template

Run templates manually or automatically.

Update a template

Update a template and resources within a project.

GitOps on Northflank

Use templates and release flows in a Git repository to trigger changes to your config and resources.

Share a template

Share templates with your team or the public.

Manage template versions on Northflank

Use the template drafts system to review, accept, or reject proposed changes to your team's Northflank templates.

Template nodes

Flow control nodes

Project context

Team resource nodes

Project

BYOC integration

BYOC cluster

Subdomain path

Tag

Custom plan

Project resource nodes

Combined service

Build service

Deployment service

Cron job

Manual job

Addon

Fork an addon

Upgrade an addon

Secret group

Volume

Pipeline node

References, arguments, and functions in nested templates

Preview environment

Release flow

Action nodes

Run backup

Run job

Start build

Run action

Condition nodes

Next steps