Plugin development in Bamboo using Atlassian SDK [Part - 1]

What is a plugin ? Plugin is a package of code that extends the core functionality of any application/tool. As we speak of Bamboo, several plugins exist which are built by the community at the Atlassian Marketplace.

Before we get started with writing plugins for Bamboo, let us understand what Bamboo is, how it can be installed locally and how the Atlassian Plugin SDK can be leveraged to extend the functionality of Bamboo.

This article is divided into two parts for the ease of understanding.

• Part 1 will cover the concept of Bamboo and its installation on a Windows environment.
• Part 2 will walk-through about Atlassian Plugin SDK and its usage in building custom Bamboo plugins.

is a continuous integration (CI) and continuous deployment (CD) server developed by Atlassian. Bamboo can be used to automated the release management for a software application creating a continuous delivery pipeline.

What does this mean ?

CI is a software development methodology in which a build, unit tests and integration tests are performed, or triggered, whenever code is committed to the repository, to ensure that new changes integrate well into the existing code base. Integration builds provide early 'fail fast' feedback on the quality of new changes.

For more details about Bamboo, click here.

Installation of Bamboo

This section describes on how to install Atlassian Bamboo on Windows. Following are the prerequisites for installation.

Prerequisites

1. Check supported Platforms

Atlassian currently only supports Bamboo on x86 and 64-bit x86 derived hardware platforms. More details can be seen here.

2. Check version of Java

In the command prompt, run the following command

java -version

It is recommended to use Java version 1.8.x. Note that Bamboo requires Java JDK to work, not the Java JRE. If required Java is not found, it can be installed from here

3. Check that Windows can find Java

In the command prompt, run the following command

echo %JAVA_HOME%

You should see a path to the root directory of Java installation. If not, JAVA path can be set by following the instructions available here

4. Check Permissions

Check your system permissions. Ensure that you are either an administrator or you have access to Bamboo installation (C:\Program Files\Bamboo) and Bamboo home directories (C:\Users\<current-user>\Bamboo-home).

5. Generate License Key

• Create an account with Atlassian. Click here
• You can then generate an evaluation license from your MyAtlassian self-service account here.

Below are the steps to be followed for Installation & Configuration of Bamboo.

6. Download Bamboo

Bamboo can be downloaded from Atlassian Bamboo site. You can choose either the Windows Installer (.exe) or a ZIP archive (.zip). This section explains the steps to be followed using Windows Installer.

Installing using Windows Installer (.exe)

• Launch the installer (.exe) to begin installation wizard.
• Provide the destination directory where Bamboo's application files will be installed.

C:\Program Files\Bamboo

• Provide the Bamboo home directory where Bamboo's configuration data is stored.

C:\Users\<current-user>\Bamboo-home

7. Start Bamboo

Open Command Prompt, and navigate to Bamboo installation directory and run the command mentioned below

C:\Program Files\Bamboo\bin>start-bamboo.bat

Once the instance is started, access your Bamboo by launching the following address on a web browser: http://localhost:8085/.

8. Configure Bamboo

When Bamboo is launched for the first time, a setup wizard is displayed. The wizard helps in setting bamboo configurations before we start using Bamboo. The is a 3-step process

• Apply License key
• Choose Installation method
• Create Administrator user

Copy the license key generated previously, and choose the setup method you prefer for your Bamboo installation: Express or Custom

It is recommended to choose Express Installation as it requires minimum configuration and takes less time to be up and running.

Create an Administrator user, this user will have global administrative privileges over entire installation of Bamboo and should not be removed.

Congratulations, you have successfully installed and configured Bamboo !!!

In Part 2, we will continue to discuss on how Atlassian plugin SDK can be setup and used for plugin development in Bamboo.

You can share the feedback on comments below, if you were able to install Bamboo locally or if you have any questions.