Beginners Tutorial: What is Apache Sling Repo Init? | How to use Apache Sling Repo Init with AEM?
#apachesling #aem #sling
Most of the time the initial setup of the AEM repository is time consuming and challenging e.g setting up the service users, user groups ACL's for the nodes, base content and configuration. Also Keeping all the environments sync with the required basic configuration is another challenge.
Some of the issues like enabling services users across different environments are managed through custom ACS Commons solitions ACS Commons Ensure Service user - this will help to define the service user through code
The Repo Init helps to manage this through OOTB solution.
Repo Init provides instructions, or scripts, that define JCR structures, ranging from common node structures like folder trees, to users, service user, groups and ACL definition.
The key benefits of Repo Init are they have implicit permissions to perform all actions defined by their scripts, and are invoked early in the deployment lifecycle ensuring all required JCR structures exist by the time code is executed. All the repository related configurations are managed through code.
Some of the scenarios the Repo Inti is very useful are
Create groups
Create Users
Assign permissions
Create paths
Set properties
Assign group membership
Create service users
Register namespace
Note that when defining Users, and Groups, only groups are considered part of the application, and integral to its function should be defined here. Organization Users and Groups should still be defined at runtime in AEM;
for example, if a custom workflow assigns work to a named Group, that Group should defined in via Repo Init in the AEM application, however if the Grouping is merely organizational, such as “Wendy’s Team” and “Sean’s Team”, these are best defined, and managed at runtime in AEM.
The 'repoinit' Repository Initialization Language helps us to define the repoinit script - The org.apache.sling.repoinit.parser implements a mini-language meant to create paths, service users and Access Control Lists in a content repository, as well as registering JCR namespaces and node types.
create service user user1
set ACL on /libs,/apps
allow jcr:read for user1,u-ser_2
deny jcr:write for u-ser_2
deny jcr:lockManagement for user1
remove jcr:understand,some:other for u3
end
create path /content/example.com(sling:Folder)
create path /content/example.com(sling:Folder mixin mix:referenceable,mix:shareable)
create path (nt:unstructured) /var
set ACL for alice, bob,fred
remove is currently not supported by the jcr.repoinit module
remove * on /
allow jcr:read on /content,/var
deny jcr:write on /content/example.com
deny jcr:all on / nodetypes example:Page
end
register namespace ( myprefix ) http://my.prefix/content/v1.42
create user demoUser with password {SHA-256} dc460da4ad72c482231e28e688e01f2778a88ce31a08826899d54ef7183998b5
create group since124_A
delete group since124_C
add user1,user2 to group grpA
remove user3,user5 from group grpB
set properties on /pathA, /path/B
set sling:ResourceType{String} to /x/y/z
default someInteger{Long} to 42
set someFlag{Boolean} to true
default someDate{Date} to "2020-03-19T11:39:33.437+05:30“
set quotedMix to "quoted", non-quoted, "the last \" one"
end
Repo Init scripts must be defined in the inline scripts field, and the references configuration will not work currently in AEM
The Repo Init scripts are defined in ui.config project as scripts for the latest arch type.
Repo Init scripts are stored as scripts entries of RepositoryInitializer OSGi factory configurations, and thus, can be implicitly targeted by run mode, allowing for differences between AEM Author and AEM Publish Services’ Repo Init scripts, or even between environments (Dev, Stage and Prod).
/apps/repointi-demo/osgiconfig/config.author/org.apache.sling.jcr.repoinit.RepositoryInitializer-demo.config.cfg.json
These scripts are executed early in the deployment process so that all required configuration/content exist in the system before the code is executed.
Repo Init is a use full feature to enable the intial feature that will help us to intiate the repositories quickly alsk helps to keep the AEM instances in sync for the intial configurations.
Helps to reduce the initial repository setup timline also manage the repository configurations in the code