Deploy Qlik extension/mashup with Qlik-CLI

Creating Qlik extensions/mashups is usually quite fun. But it will be better if you have a way to develop locally and deploy to Qlik.

Usually I'm using qExt or sense-go but in this specific case I didn't had the chance to use either (enterprise restrictions)

Luckily for me Qlik-CLI was available. And Qlik-CLI is doing a great job dealing with Qlik Repository API.

I've decided to write a small PowerShell script that can be used to import the extension from my local PC to Qlik.

The script will perform the following actions when started:

• generate wbfolder.wbl file - this is not mandatory but without this file the extension files will not be available for edit in dev-hub
• compress the src folder and place the archive into the build folder
• connect to Qlik
• check if extension with the same name already exists and if there is one - delete it (assume this is an older version)
• import the archive from build folder

After the script is done the new extension/mashup code will be available.

Folder structure

The script assume the following folder structure (need to exists before run)

root
│
└──+ build
│    └─── extension-name.zip (auto-generated and uploaded)
│   
└──+ src
│    │───+ static (optional)
│    │     │─── image.png
│    │     └─── ...
│    │      
│    │─── extension-name.css
│    │─── extension-name.js
│    │─── extension-name.qext
│    │─── wbfolder.wbl
│    └─── ...
│
└─── upload.ps1

Usage

• copy the code from below and create upload.ps1 file in your root folder (the file name can be anything).
• edit the initial variables ($extensionName and $qEnv) to match your extension name and QS DNS
• every time when need to upload the extension/mashup just start the upload.ps1

Summary

Probably not the most elegant way to achieve this but might help if you need quick and "dirty" way to make (or edit exiting one) extension/mashup and use your text editor/IDE of choice.

And since this approach is using PowerShell you can extend it to your needs ;)

PowerShell Script

$extensionName = "mashup-extension-name"
$qEnv = "computerName"

function generateWBL {
    # remove the existing wbfolder.wbl (if exists)
    Remove-Item .\src\wbfolder.wbl -ErrorAction Ignore

    # list all files under the src folder and add them to the wbl file
    $existingFiles = Get-ChildItem -Path .\src\ -File |
        foreach {$_.name} |
        Out-File -FilePath .\src\wbfolder.wbl
}

function compressFolder{
    # archive the content of the src folder
    Compress-Archive -Path .\src\* -DestinationPath .\build\$extensionName.zip -Force
    Write-Host ZIP file created
}

function connectQlik {
    ## connect to Qlik using Qlik-CLI
    Connect-Qlik -computerName "$qEnv" -TrustAllCerts
    Write-Host Connected to Qlik
}

function removeOldExtVersion {
    # Query Qlik for extension with the same name
    $ext = Get-QlikExtension -Filter "name eq '$extensionName'" | Measure-Object

    # if there is such extension - delete it
    if ( $ext.Count -gt 0) {
        Remove-QlikExtension -ename "$extensionName"
        Write-Host Older version found and removed
    }
}

function importExtension {
    # Import the archive for the build folder
    Import-QlikExtension -ExtensionPath .\build\$extensionName.zip
    Write-Host New version was imported
}

function main {
  generateWBL
  compressFolder
  connectQlik
  removeOldExtVersion
  importExtension
  
  Write-Host DONE
}

main