path: root/rt/docs/initialdata.pod

=head1 Summary of initialdata files

It's often useful to be able to test configuration/database changes and then
apply the same changes in production without manually clicking around.  It's
also helpful if you're developing customizations or extensions to be able to
get a fresh database back to the state you want for testing/development.

This documentation applies to careful and thorough sysadmins as well as
extension authors who need to make database changes easily and repeatably for
new installs or upgrades.

=head1 Examples

RT ships with many initialdata files, only one of which is used to
configure a fresh install; the rest are used for upgrades, but function
the same despite being named differently.

    etc/initialdata
    etc/upgrade/*/content

The upgrade "content" files are meant to be incremental changes applied on top
of one another while the top level initialdata file is for fresh RT installs.

Extensions may also ship with database changes in such files.  You may find
some in your install with:

    find local/plugins -name initialdata -or -name content

=head1 What can be in an initialdata file?

initialdata files are Perl, but often consist primarily of a bunch of data
structures defining the new records you want and not much extra code.  There's
nothing stopping you from writing a bunch of code, however!

The basic template of a new initialdata file should look something like this:

    use strict;
    use warnings;

    our @Queues = (
        # some definitions here
    );

    our @Groups = (
        # some other definitions here
    );

    1;

The C<@Queues> and C<@Groups> arrays are expected by RT and should contain
hashref definitions.  There are many other arrays RT will look for and act on,
described below.  None are required, all may be used.  Keep in mind that since
they're just normal Perl arrays, you can C<push> onto them from a loop or
C<grep> out definitions based on conditionals or generate their content with
C<map>, etc.

The complete list of possible arrays which can be used, along with
descriptions of the values to place in them, is below.

=head2 C<@Users>

    push @Users, {
        Name        => 'john.doe',
        Password    => 'changethis',
        Language    => 'fr',
        Timezone    => 'America/Vancouver',
        Privileged  => 1,
        Disabled    => 0,
    };

Each hashref in C<@Users> is treated as a new user to create and passed
straight into C<< RT::User->Create >>.  All of the normal user fields are
available, as well as C<Privileged> and C<Disabled> (both booleans) which will
do the appropriate internal group/flag handling.

For a full list of fields, read the documentation for L<RT::User/Create>.

=head2 C<@Groups>

    push @Groups, {
        Domain      => 'UserDefined',
        Name        => 'Example Employees',
        Description => 'All of the employees of my company',
    };

Creates a new L<RT::Group> for each hashref.  In almost all cases you'll want
to follow the example above to create a group just as if you had done it from
the admin interface.  B<Do not> omit the C<< Domain => 'UserDefined' >> line.

Additionally, the C<MemberOf> field is specially handled to make it easier to
add the new group to other groups.  C<MemberOf> may be a single value or an
array ref.  Each value should be a user-defined group name or hashref to pass
into L<< RT::Group->LoadByCols >>.  Each group found will have the new group
added as a member.

Unfortunately you can't specify the I<members> of a group at this time.  As a
workaround, you can push a subref into C<@Final> which adds members to your new
groups.  An example, using a convenience function to avoid repeating yourself:

    push @Final, sub {
        add_members('My New Group Name' => qw(trs alex ruslan));
        add_members('My Second Group'   => qw(jesse kevin sunnavy jim));
    };

    sub add_members {
        my $group_name = shift;
        my @members    = @_;

        my $group = RT::Group->new( RT->SystemUser );
        $group->LoadUserDefinedGroup($group_name);

        if ($group->id) {
            for my $name (@members) {
                my $member = RT::User->new( RT->SystemUser );
                $member->LoadByCols( Name => $name );

                unless ($member->Id) {
                    RT->Logger->error("Unable to find user '$name'");
                    next;
                }

                my ($ok, $msg) = $group->AddMember( $member->PrincipalObj->Id );
                if ($ok) {
                    RT->Logger->info("Added member $name to $group_name");
                } else {
                    RT->Logger->error("Unable to AddMember $name to $group_name: $msg");
                }
            }
        } else {
            RT->Logger->error("Unable to find group '$group_name'!");
        }
    }

=head2 C<@Queues>

    push @Queues, {
        Name                => 'Helpdesk',
        CorrespondAddress   => 'help@example.com',
        CommentAddress      => 'help-comment@example.com',
    };

Creates a new L<RT::Queue> for each hashref.  Refer to the documentation of
L<RT::Queue/Create> for the fields you can use.

=head2 C<@CustomFields>

    push @CustomFields, {
        Queue       => 0,
        Name        => 'Favorite color',
        Type        => 'FreeformSingle',
        LookupType  => 'RT::Queue-RT::Ticket',
    };

Creates a new L<RT::CustomField> for each hashref.  It is the most complex of
the initialdata structures.  The most commonly used fields are:

=over 4

=item C<Name>

The name of this CF as displayed in RT.

=item C<Description>

A short summary of what this CF is for.

=item C<Queue>

May be a Name or ID.  The single queue or array ref of queues to apply this CF
to.  This does not apply when C<LookupType> does not start with C<RT::Queue>.

=item C<Type>

One of the following on the left hand side:

    SelectSingle            # Select one value
    SelectMultiple          # Select multiple values

    FreeformSingle          # Enter one value
    FreeformMultiple        # Enter multiple values

    Text                    # Fill in one text area
    Wikitext                # Fill in one wikitext area

    BinarySingle            # Upload one file
    BinaryMultiple          # Upload multiple files

    ImageSingle             # Upload one image
    ImageMultiple           # Upload multiple images

    Combobox                # Combobox: Select or enter one value

    AutocompleteSingle      # Enter one value with autocompletion
    AutocompleteMultiple    # Enter multiple values with autocompletion

    Date                    # Select date
    DateTime                # Select datetime

    IPAddressSingle         # Enter one IP address
    IPAddressMultiple       # Enter multiple IP addresses

    IPAddressRangeSingle    # Enter one IP address range
    IPAddressRangeMultiple  # Enter multiple IP address ranges

If you don't specify "Single" or "Multiple" in the type, you must specify
C<MaxValues>.

=item C<LookupType>

Labeled in the CF admin page as "Applies to".  This determines whether your CF
is for Tickets, Transactions, Users, Groups, or Queues.  Possible values:

    RT::Queue-RT::Ticket                    # Tickets
    RT::Queue-RT::Ticket-RT::Transaction    # Transactions
    RT::User                                # Users
    RT::Group                               # Groups
    RT::Queue                               # Queues

Ticket CFs are the most common, meaning C<RT::Queue-RT::Ticket> is the most
common C<LookupType>.

=item C<RenderType>

Only valid when C<Type> is "Select".  Controls how the CF is displayed when
editing it.  Valid values are: C<Select box>, C<List>, and C<Dropdown>.

C<List> is either a list of radio buttons or a list of checkboxes depending on
C<MaxValues>.

=item C<MaxValues>

Determines whether this CF is a Single or Multiple type.  0 means multiple.  1
means single.

Make sure to set the C<MaxValues> field appropriately, otherwise you can end up
with unsupported CF types like a "Select multiple dates" (it doesn't Just
Work).

You can also use old-style C<Type>s which end with "Single" or "Multiple", for
example: SelectSingle, SelectMultiple, FreeformSingle, etc.

=item C<Values>

C<Values> should be an array ref (never a single value!) of hashrefs
representing new L<RT::CustomFieldValue> objects to create for the new custom
field.  This only makes sense for "Select" CFs.  An example:

    my $i = 1;
    push @CustomFields, {
        Queue       => 0,                       # Globally applied
        LookupType  => 'RT::Queue-RT::Ticket',  # for Tickets
        Name        => 'Type of food',
        Type        => 'SelectSingle',  # SelectSingle is the same as: Type => 'Select', MaxValues => 1
        RenderType  => 'Dropdown',
        Values      => [
            { Name => 'Fruit',      Description => 'Berries, peaches, tomatos, etc', SortOrder => $i++ },
            { Name => 'Vegetable',  Description => 'Asparagus, peas, lettuce, etc',  SortOrder => $i++ },
            # more values as such...
        ],
    };

In order to ensure the same sorting of C<Values>, set C<SortOrder> inside each
value.  A clever way to do this easily is with a simple variable you increment
each time (as above with C<$i>).  You can use the same variable throughout the
whole file, and don't need one per CF.

=item C<BasedOn>

Name or ID of another Select Custom Field.  This makes the named CF the source
of categories for your values.

=item C<Pattern>

The regular expression text (not C<qr//>!) used to validate values.

=back

Refer to the documentation and implementation of L<RT::CustomField/Create> and
L<RT::CustomFieldValue/Create> for the full list of available fields and
allowed values.

=head2 C<@ACL>

C<@ACL> is very useful for granting rights on your newly created records or
setting up a standard system configuration.  It is one of the most complex
initialdata structures.

=head3 Pick a Right

All ACL definitions expect a key named C<Right> with the internal right name
you want to grant.  The internal right names are visible in RT's admin
interface in grey next to the longer descriptions.

=head3 Pick a level: on a queue, on a CF, or globally

After picking a C<Right>, you need to specify on what object the right is
granted.  This is B<different> than the user/group/role receiving the right.

=over 4

=item Granted on a custom field by name (or ID), potentially a global or queue

    CF => 'Name',

=item Granted on a queue

    Queue => 'Name',

=item Granted on a custom field applied to a specific queue

    CF      => 'Name',
    Queue   => 'Name',

=item Granted globally

Specifying none of the above will get you a global right.

=back

There is currently no way to grant rights on a group or article class level.
Note that you can grant rights B<to> a group; see below.  If you need to grants
rights on a group or article class level, you'll need to write an C<@Final>
subref to handle it using the RT Perl API.

=head3 Pick a Principal: User or Group or Role

Finally you need to specify to what system group, system/queue role,
user defined group, or user you want to grant the right B<to>.

=over 4

=item An internal user group

    GroupDomain => 'SystemInternal',
      GroupType => 'Everyone, Privileged, or Unprivileged'

=item A system-level role

    GroupDomain => 'RT::System-Role',
      GroupType => 'Requestor, Owner, AdminCc, or Cc'

=item A queue-level role

    GroupDomain => 'RT::Queue-Role',
      Queue     => 'Name',
      GroupType => 'Requestor, Owner, AdminCc, or Cc',

=item A group you created

    GroupDomain => 'UserDefined',
      GroupId   => 'Name'

=item Individual user

    UserId => 'Name or email or ID'

=back

=head3 Common cases

You're probably looking for definitions like these most of the time.

=over 4

=item Grant a global right to a group you created

    { Right       => '...',
      GroupDomain => 'UserDefined',
      GroupId     => 'Name' }

=item Grant a queue-level right to a group you created

    { Queue       => 'Name',
      Right       => '...',
      GroupDomain => 'UserDefined',
      GroupId     => 'Name' }

=item Grant a CF-level right to a group you created

    { CF          => 'Name',
      Right       => '...',
      GroupDomain => 'UserDefined',
      GroupId     => 'Name' }

=back

Since you often want to grant a list of rights on the same object/level to the
same role/group/user, we generally use Perl loops and operators to aid in the
generation of C<@ACL> without repeating ourselves.

    # Give Requestors globally the right to see tickets, reply, and see the
    # queue their ticket is in
    push @ACL, map {
        {
            Right       => $_,
            GroupDomain => 'RT::System-Role',
            GroupType   => 'Requestor',
        }
    } qw(ShowTicket ReplyToTicket SeeQueue);

=head3 Troubleshooting

The best troubleshooting is often to see how the rights you define in C<@ACL>
show up in the RT admin interface.

=head2 C<@Scrips>

Creates a new L<RT::Scrip> for each hashref.  Refer to the documentation of
L<RT::Scrip/Create> for the fields you can use.

Additionally, the C<Queue> field is specially handled to make it easier to
setup the same Scrip on multiple queues:

=over 4

=item Globally

    Queue => 0,

=item Single queue

    Queue => 'General', # Name or ID

=item Multiple queues

    Queue => ['General', 'Helpdesk', 13],   # Array ref of Name or ID

=back

=head2 C<@ScripActions>

Creates a new L<RT::ScripAction> for each hashref.  Refer to the documentation
of L<RT::ScripAction/Create> for the fields you can use.

=head2 C<@ScripConditions>

Creates a new L<RT::ScripCondition> for each hashref.  Refer to the
documentation of L<RT::ScripCondition/Create> for the fields you can use.

=head2 C<@Templates>

Creates a new L<RT::Template> for each hashref.  Refer to the documentation of
L<RT::Template/Create> for the fields you can use.

=head2 C<@Attributes>

An array of L<RT::Attribute>s to create.  You likely don't need to mess with
this.  If you do, know that the key C<Object> is expected to be an
L<RT::Record> object on which to call C<AddAttribute>.  If you don't provide
C<Object> or it's undefined, C<< RT->System >> will be used.

=head2 C<@Initial>

=head2 C<@Final>

C<@Initial> and C<@Final> are special and let you write your own processing
code that runs before anything else or after everything else.  They are
expected to be arrays of subrefs (usually anonymous) like so:

    our @Final = (sub {
        RT->Logger->info("Finishing up!");
    });

You have the full power of RT's Perl libraries at your disposal.  Be sure to do
error checking and log any errors with C<< RT->Logger->error("...") >>!

=head1 What's missing?

There is currently no way, short of writing code in C<@Final> or C<@Initial>,
to easily create B<Classes>, B<Topics>, or B<Articles> from initialdata files.

=head1 Running an initialdata file

    sbin/rt-setup-database --action insert --datafile /path/to/your/initialdata

This may prompt you for a database password.

=head1 Implementation details

All the handling of initialdata files is done in C<< RT::Handle->InsertData >>.
If you want to know B<exactly> what's happening with each array, your best bet
is to start reading the code there.

RT takes care of the ordering so that your new queues are created before it
processes the new ACLs for those queues.  This lets you refer to new queues you
just created by Name.