README

Project Self Update Extension for Yii 2

This extension allows automatic project updating in case its source code is maintained via version control system, such as GIT or Mercurial. Such update includes following steps:

• check if there are any changes at VSC remote repository
• link web server web directories to the stubs, while project update is running
• apply remote VCS changes
• update 'vendor' directory via Composer
• clear application cache and temporary directories
• perform additional actions, like applying database migrations
• link web server web directories to the project web directories, once update is complete
• notify developer(s) about update result via email

Note: this solution is very basic and may not suite for the complex project update workflow. You may consider usage of more sophisticated tools like Phing. However, this extension may be used as a part of such solution.

For license information check the LICENSE-file.

Requirements

This extension requires Linux OS.

Installation

The preferred way to install this extension is through composer.

Either run

php composer.phar require --prefer-dist yii2tech/selfupdate

or add

"yii2tech/selfupdate": "*"

to the require section of your composer.json.

Usage

This extension provides special console controller [[yii2tech\selfupdate\SelfUpdateController]], which allows automatic updating of the project, if its source code is maintained via version control system. In order to enable this controller in your project, you should add it to your console application controllerMap at configuration file:

return [
    'controllerMap' => [
        'self-update' => 'yii2tech\selfupdate\SelfUpdateController'
    ],
    // ...
];

Now you should able to use 'self-update' command via console:

yii self-update

Project preparation

In order to use 'self-update' command, you should perform several preparations in your project, allowing certain shell commands to be executed in non-interactive (without user prompt) mode.

First of all, you should clone (checkout) your project from version control system and switch project working copy to the branch, which should be used at this particular server. Using GIT this actions can be performed via following commands:

cd /path/to/my/project
git clone git@my-git-server.com/myproject.git
git checkout production

Attention: you need to configure your VCS (or at least your project working copy) in the way interacting with remote repository does NOT require user prompt, like input of username or password! This can be achieved using authentication keys or 'remember password' feature.

Then you should make project operational performing all necessary actions for its initial deployment, like running 'composer install', creating necessary directories and so on.

Using self-update command

Once project is setup you need to create a configuration for its updating. This can be done using 'self-update/config' command:

yii self-update/config @app/config/self-update.php

This will generate configuration file, which should be manually adjusted depending on the particular project structure and server environment. For the common project such configuration file may look like following:

<?php

return [
    // list of email addresses, which should be used to send execution reports
    'emails' => [
        'developer@domain.com',
    ],
    // Mailer component to be used
    'mailer' => 'mailer',
    // Mutex component to be used
    'mutex' => 'mutex',
    // path to project root directory (VCS root directory)
    'projectRootPath' => '@app',
    // web path stubs configuration
    'webPaths' => [
        [
            'path' => '@app/web',
            'link' => '@app/httpdocs',
            'stub' => '@app/webstub',
        ],
    ],
    // cache components to be flushed
    'cache' => [
        'cache'
    ],
    // temporary directories, which should be cleared after project update
    'tmpDirectories' => [
        '@app/web/assets',
        '@runtime/URI',
        '@runtime/HTML',
        '@runtime/debug',
    ],
    // list of shell commands, which should be executed after project update
    'afterUpdateCommands' => [
        'php ' . escapeshellarg($_SERVER['SCRIPT_FILENAME']) . ' migrate/up --interactive=0',
    ],
];

Please refer to [[\yii2tech\selfupdate\SelfUpdateController]] for particular option information.

Once you have made all necessary adjustments at configuration file, you can run 'self-update/perform' command with it:

yii self-update @app/config/self-update.php

You may setup default configuration file name inside the controllerMap specification via [[yii2tech\selfupdate\SelfUpdateController::$configFile]]:

return [
    'controllerMap' => [
        'self-update' => [
            'class' => 'yii2tech\selfupdate\SelfUpdateController',
            'configFile' => '@app/config/self-update.php',
        ]
    ],
    // ...
];

Then invocation of the self-update command will be much more clear:

yii self-update

Note: it is not necessary to create a separated configuration file: you can configure all necessary fields of [[yii2tech\selfupdate\SelfUpdateController]] inside controllerMap specification, but such approach is not recommended.

Self Update Workflow

While running, [[yii2tech\selfupdate\SelfUpdateController]] performs following steps:

• check if there are any changes at VSC remote repository
• link web server web directories to the stubs, while project update is running
• apply remote VCS changes
• update 'vendor' directory via Composer
• clear application cache and temporary directories
• perform additional actions, like applying database migrations
• link web server web directories to the project web directories, once update is complete
• notify developer(s) about update result via email

At the first stage there is a check for any changes in the remote repository. If there is no changes in remote repository for the current project VCS working copy branch, no further actions will be performed!

If remote changes detected, the symbolic links pointing to the project '@web' directory will be switched to another directory, which should contain a 'stub' - some static HTML page, which says something like 'Application is under the maintenance, please check again later'. Although, usage of such stub it is up to you, it is recommended, because actual project update may take significant time before being complete. Project web directory will be linked back instead of stub, only after all update actions are performed.

During update itself VCS remote changes are applied, vendor directory is updated via Composer, specified temporary directories will be cleared and cache flushed.

Note: in order for Composer be able to apply necessary changes, the 'composer.lock' file should be tracked by version control system!