Store and templates
Every lab you deploy starts from a template — the definition of a machine: its base system, the software baked into it, its resources, and what it offers the people who deploy it. The labs in the catalogue are templates someone has already written. This section covers the two ways to get more of them:
- The App Store — ready-made apps you can open with one click once they are installed on your platform.
- Your own templates — define a lab environment yourself, build it, and deploy copies of it for you, your workgroup or everyone.
Template, lab and copy
Three words that are easy to mix up:
| What it is | Where you find it | |
|---|---|---|
| Template | The definition — files, settings, resources. Nothing runs. | Instances → My Templates |
| Lab | A published template, listed in the catalogue for people to deploy | Labs in the sidebar |
| Copy | One running machine deployed from a template, with its own dashboard | Instances → My Instances |
One template can have many copies. Changing the template does not change a running copy until that copy is redeployed.
Who can author templates
Building your own templates is being rolled out gradually. If Instances → My Templates shows Template authoring is in admin preview, authoring has not been enabled for your account. You can still deploy published templates from Labs, use the Workgroups tab, and deploy templates an author has shared with you.
The pages in this section that cover creating, building and sharing templates are written for authors — people for whom authoring is enabled.
The template lifecycle
A template moves through four stages. The editor shows them as a strip across the top, and the later stages stay locked until the earlier ones are done.
- Configure — edit the template's files and settings.
- Build & validate — the platform checks your template for mistakes and builds it into an image.
- Deploy — run copies of the built image.
- Share — give other people access, or publish it for everyone.
Deploy and Share unlock after the first successful build. After that, any edit you make is saved straight away, but copies keep running the last built version until you build again and redeploy.
In this section
The App Store
Browse ready-made apps and labs, see what is installed on your platform, and open an app in one click.
Create a template
Start a template from scratch, fork an existing lab, or import one — then find your way around the template editor.
Configure a template
Every section of a template's Configuration tab, and which changes need a rebuild, a redeploy, or nothing at all.
Build and deploy
Validate and build a template into an image, deploy running copies, keep them up to date, and use version history.
Share and publish
Decide who can see, deploy or edit your template, share it with people and workgroups, and publish it to the catalogue or the App Store.
Auto-login and connection info
Give every copy of your template a Launch button, sign people straight into your app, and choose the connection details they see.