Gramex Apps

Gramex lets you install, manage and run applications.

Installing apps

An app is any collection of files. You can install an app from a folder, a ZIP file, a git repository, or any other location. For example:

gramex install <appname> /path/to/app-name/

… will copy the files from /path/to/app-name/ to the Gramex app directory. You can run it using gramex run <appname>.

The Gramex app directory is at $GRAMEXDATA/apps/. To locate this on your system, see config docs predefined variables.

The app is installed under a directory named <appname> under the Gramex app directory.

If the path points to ZIP file, the file is unzipped. For example:

gramex install <appname> /path/to/app.zip

… will unzip /path/to/app.zip into an <appname> folder under the Gramex app directory.

You can specify a URL instead of a local path. For example:

gramex install <appname> https://github.com/<user>/<repo>/repository/archive.zip

… will install the app (if it’s publicly accessible). To run it, use gramex run <appname>.

You can install from a Git repository by running a git command. For example:

gramex install g --cmd="git clone git@code.gramener.com/cto/g1.git"

In fact, --cmd="..." can be used to run any command. Here’s an example using rsync:

gramex install <appname> --cmd="rsync -avzP ec2-user@demo.gramener.com/dir/"

The --cmd="..." command is run as is, with the target app directory added at the end – indicating where the app should be installed. If you want to specify it in the middle of the command, use the word TARGET in capitals instead. For example:

gramex install g --cmd="git clone git@code.gramener.com/cto/g1.git TARGET"

Gramex also updates an apps.yaml file in the Gramex app directory capturing details about the installation (allowing you to uninstall the application.)

Currently, installing an application will delete everything in the target folder. This behaviour may change in the future.

Setting up apps

After installing an app, gramex setup <folder> sets up the app. (This happens automatically if you use gramex install.)

gramex setup <folder> does the following in each folder:

You can run gramex setup . (note the dot) to set up an app in the current folder.

Gramex comes with pre-defined apps located at $GRAMEXPATH/apps/. Running gramex setup <appname> (where <appname> is a directory under $GRAMEXPATH/apps/) runs the setup from $GRAMEX/apps/<appname>.

Running apps

To run an installed application, run:

gramex run <appname>

To list installed apps that you can run, use:

gramex run

If you want to run the app from a different subdirectory by default, use the --dir=DIR option. Gramex will start from the DIR when running Gramex. For example:

gramex run <appname> --dir=subdirectory-name

If you want to run an app from a directory without installing it, use the --target=DIR option. For example:

gramex run <appname> --target=/path/to/app

Thereafter, running gramex run <appname> will automatically start from /path/to/app.

You can pass any command line options as mentioned in the config docs. For example:

gramex run <appname> --listen.port=1234

… starts the application on port 1234. These options are persisted. So the next time you run <appname>, the port will set to 1234. You can clear this setting by running:

gramex run <appname> --listen.port=

Updating apps

To update an application, run::

gramex update <appname>

update is just an alias for install. It just runs gramex install <appname> again. It uses the existing --url or --cmd to re-install the app.

This deletes the application data folder. Applications should persist data in $GRAMEXDATA/data/<appname> to avoid losing it on re-install.

Uninstalling apps

To uninstall an app, run:

gramex uninstall <appname>

This will direct the entire folder where the app was installed. Locally saved data (if any) will be deleted.

To list apps that can be uninstalled, run:

gramex uninstall

Creating apps

To create an app, create a git repository on a Git repository. If it’s a public repository (e.g. on Github), use:

gramex install <appname> https://github.com/<user>/<repo>/archive/master.zip

On code.gramener.com, you can use:

gramex install <appname> https://code.gramener.com/<user>/<repo>/repository/archive.zip?ref=master

If it’s a private repository, you ca also install it with your private access token:

gramex install <appname> https://code.gramener.com/<user>/<repo>/repository/archive.zip?ref=master&access_token=<access_token>

You can also use git to install the app. For example:

gramex install <appname> --cmd="git clone git@code.gramener.com/<user>/<repo>.git"

If you prefer HTTP access, use this. It will prompt the user for a username and password:

gramex install <appname> --cmd="git clone https://code.gramener.com/<user>/<repo>.git"

To add a pre-defined app as part of Gramex:

Deploying app data