Working with templates

Use Codewind to code and develop in languages of your choice by using templates. Templates make application development easier by providing a structure and boilerplate code, or framework, to help you start a new project. Templates appear as a new language and project type within the Codewind user interface.

When you create a new project, choose from the default set of templates available in Codewind, or choose a template source of your own. Add more development languages and sample projects by adding new templates.

Codewind provides preconfigured, containerized project templates covering several languages, including Node.js, Java, Python, and Swift and several frameworks, such as Express, Spring Boot, and Open Liberty. Quickly create and deploy microservices in languages and frameworks that you’re familiar with. Easily modify these preconfigured projects to develop your customized microservices.

Managing templates

The Template Source Manager provides template management in Codewind. To open the Template Source Manager, right-click a Codewind connection, then Manage Template Sources. The Template Source Manager appears.

Note: Template Source Manager is the name used in VS Code. Eclipse uses the name Manage Template Sources.

Codewind templates are stored in the codewind-resources/codewind-templates GitHub repository. Three examples are included in Codewind for your reference:

Standard Codewind templates
Default templates from Kabanero Collections
Appsody stacks to develop applications with sharable technology stacks

Use the Template Source Manager to perform the following actions:

To add a new template source to the table, click Add New. For more information, see Adding your template sources to Codewind.
Remove non-default template sources.
- VS Code: Click the trash icon.
- Eclipse: First make sure you are in the Manage Template Sources wizard. Select the non-default templates you want to remove. Then click Remove.
Add templates to the wizard.
- VS Code: Toggle the Enabled slide to On so template source templates appear in the Create Project wizard.
- Eclipse: In the Manage Template Sources wizard, check the check boxes for the template sources you want to enable. After you’re done, click OK. A notification appears that says, Updating Template Sources: (0%). The message disappears after the wizard successfully sets your preferred template sources.
- Use template sources to add style projects to Codewind.
- For example, before adding an Appsody project, enable at least one Appsody-style template source.
Disable templates to prevent them from appearing in the wizard.
- VS Code: To disable a set of templates so they do not appear in the Create Project wizard, toggle the Enabled slide to Off.
- Eclipse: In Manage Template Sources, deselect the template sources you want to disable and click OK.

Creating your own templates

Add your own template sources to use in the Template Source Manager. An application architect generally creates these templates.

Prerequisites: Build and run templates that use languages and frameworks that are compatible with Codewind. Appsody, Maven, and Node.js styles built with Docker are supported.

Choose a GitHub repository to contain all of your new template sources.
- Codewind uses codewind-templates/devfiles.
Within this repository, create a folder for each template source.
- For example, within the devfiles folder, Codewind has subfolders for template sources that include Go, MicroProfile, Lagom Java, and more.
Each template source folder needs a devfile.yaml file with the following information:

apiVersion: <The version of the API that you use>
metadata:
  - name: <The name of your template>
projects:
  - name: <The name of your project>
    source:
      type: git
      location: <The GitHub URL of the template location>

4. In the same GitHub repository where you saved the template source folders, create an index.json file. In this file, add the following values for each of the templates that you want to work with in Codewind:

{
  "displayName":"<The name of your template>",
  "description":"<The description of your template>",
  "icon":"<The SVG graphic to be associated with your template>",
  "language":"<The programming language that your template is written in>",
  "projectType":"<The project type of your template>",
  "location":"<The Git repository where the template itself is located>",
  "links": {"self":"<The template devfile.yaml>" }
}

For an example index.json file, see the index-json file in the codewind-templates repository.

5. To add the templates to Codewind, open your IDE and access the Template Source Manager.

Adding your template sources to Codewind

Add your template sources to Codewind with the Template Source Manager.

Add the template.
- VS Code: In the Template Source Manager, click Add New.
- Eclipse: Right-click the connection in the Codewind Explorer view and select Manage Template Sources…. After the Manage Template Sources wizard appears, click Add….
Enter the URL and any other information.
- VS Code: Enter the URL to your template source index file and click Enter to confirm.
- Eclipse: Fill in the fields for URL, Name, and Description. Click OK when you’re done.

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