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Bootstrap content

For many content management solutions it is useful to have some data populated when the solution is first deployed. This is done by bootstrapping content.
Information Bootstrap
Support Status Full Support
Architecture Information Platform Architecture
Description When implementing a content management solution it is common to have some content, such as sites, that is part of the solution. To load this content into the repository when the solution is first deployed we use bootstrapping. To bootstrap content means to load it once into the repository.

Besides bootstrapping sites, it is also common to bootstrap folders, files, categories, rules, permissions, users, and groups.

Let's start bootstrapping some users and groups as they are usually used also when bootstrapping permissions and sites. Normally users and groups would be imported via a directory sync, but let's just bootstrap them manually for demonstration purposes. Sometimes you also need special users that aren't in the directory, such as test users.

Bootstrapping users into the repository involves two steps, the first takes care of bootstrapping the User Profile with first name, last name, email etc. This is done with an XML file looking like this:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<view:view xmlns:view="http://www.alfresco.org/view/repository/1.0"
           xmlns:cm="http://www.alfresco.org/model/content/1.0">
    <cm:person view:childName="cm:alftest1">
        <view:acl>
            <view:ace view:access="ALLOWED">
                <view:authority>alftest1</view:authority>
                <view:permission>All</view:permission>
            </view:ace>
        </view:acl>
        <view:properties>
            <cm:firstName>Alf Test</cm:firstName>
            <cm:lastName>Number 1</cm:lastName>
            <cm:email>alftest1@alfresco.com</cm:email>
            <cm:userName>alftest1</cm:userName>
            <cm:homeFolder>/app:company_home/app:user_homes/cm:alftest1</cm:homeFolder>
            <cm:organizationId>Alfresco</cm:organizationId>
            <cm:sizeQuota>-1</cm:sizeQuota>
            <cm:sizeCurrent>0</cm:sizeCurrent>
        </view:properties>
    </cm:person>
    <cm:person view:childName="cm:alftest2">
        <view:acl>
            <view:ace view:access="ALLOWED">
                <view:authority>alftest2</view:authority>
                <view:permission>All</view:permission>
            </view:ace>
        </view:acl>
        <view:properties>
            <cm:firstName>Alf Test</cm:firstName>
            <cm:lastName>Number 2</cm:lastName>
            <cm:email>alftest2@alfresco.com</cm:email>
            <cm:userName>alftest2</cm:userName>
            <cm:homeFolder>/app:company_home/app:user_homes/cm:alftest2</cm:homeFolder>
            <cm:organizationId>Alfresco</cm:organizationId>
            <cm:sizeQuota>-1</cm:sizeQuota>
            <cm:sizeCurrent>0</cm:sizeCurrent>
        </view:properties>
    </cm:person>
</view:view>

In this case we are bootstrapping profile information for two users, alftest1 and alftest2. We can store this XML file as part of the Repo AMP project in a file name such as import-user-profiles.xml.

For each user profile we bootstrap, SkyVault Content Services also needs some internal account information set up, such as password, account expire information etc. This is also done in an XML file as follows:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<view:view xmlns:view="http://www.alfresco.org/view/repository/1.0"
           xmlns:usr="http://www.alfresco.org/model/user/1.0"
           xmlns:sys="http://www.alfresco.org/model/system/1.0">

    <!-- Load the user account information -->
    <usr:user view:childName="usr:alftest1">
        <view:aspects>
            <sys:referenceable></sys:referenceable>
        </view:aspects>
        <view:properties>
            <usr:username>alftest1</usr:username>
            <usr:password>7ce21f17c0aee7fb9ceba532d0546ad6</usr:password> <!-- 1234 -->
            <usr:accountExpires>false</usr:accountExpires>
            <usr:credentialsExpire>false</usr:credentialsExpire>
            <usr:accountLocked>false</usr:accountLocked>
            <usr:enabled>true</usr:enabled>
        </view:properties>
    </usr:user>
    <usr:user view:childName="usr:alftest2">
        <view:aspects>
            <sys:referenceable></sys:referenceable>
        </view:aspects>
        <view:properties>
            <usr:username>alftest2</usr:username>
            <usr:password>7ce21f17c0aee7fb9ceba532d0546ad6</usr:password> <!-- 1234 -->
            <usr:accountExpires>false</usr:accountExpires>
            <usr:credentialsExpire>false</usr:credentialsExpire>
            <usr:accountLocked>false</usr:accountLocked>
            <usr:enabled>true</usr:enabled>
        </view:properties>
    </usr:user>
</view:view>

The password is stored as an MD4 Hash, which can be generated following the instructions on this page.

Note that while MD4 is the default encoding format for passwords, there is additional support for Bcrypt. For more information about Bcrypt support, see Cryptographic password hashing.

We can store this XML file as part of the repository AMP project in a file name such as import-users.xml.

These two XML files can be loaded via Spring bean configurations as follows:

<bean id="org.alfresco.tutorial.bootstrap.patch.userProfilesLoader"
      class="org.alfresco.repo.admin.patch.impl.GenericBootstrapPatch"
      parent="basePatch" >
    <property name="id"><value>org.alfresco.tutorial.bootstrap.patch.userProfilesLoader</value></property>
    <property name="description"><value>org.alfresco.tutorial.bootstrap.patch.userProfilesLoader.description</value></property>
    <property name="fixesFromSchema"><value>0</value></property>
    <property name="fixesToSchema"><value>${version.schema}</value></property>
    <property name="targetSchema"><value>10000</value></property>
    <property name="importerBootstrap">
        <ref bean="spacesBootstrap" />
    </property>
    <property name="bootstrapView">
        <props>
            <prop key="path">/${system.system_container.childname}/${system.people_container.childname}</prop>
            <prop key="location">alfresco/module/bootstrap-content-repo/bootstrap/import-user-profiles.xml</prop>
        </props>
    </property>
</bean>

<bean id="org.alfresco.tutorial.bootstrap.patch.usersLoader"
      class="org.alfresco.repo.admin.patch.impl.GenericBootstrapPatch"
      parent="basePatch" >
    <property name="id"><value>org.alfresco.tutorial.bootstrap.patch.usersLoader</value></property>
    <property name="description"><value>org.alfresco.tutorial.bootstrap.patch.usersLoader.description</value></property>
    <property name="fixesFromSchema"><value>0</value></property>
    <property name="fixesToSchema"><value>${version.schema}</value></property>
    <property name="targetSchema"><value>10000</value></property>
    <property name="dependsOn" >
        <list>
            <ref bean="org.alfresco.tutorial.bootstrap.patch.userProfilesLoader" />
        </list>
    </property>
    <property name="importerBootstrap">
        <ref bean="userBootstrap" />
    </property>
    <property name="bootstrapView">
        <props>
            <prop key="path">/${alfresco_user_store.system_container.childname}/${alfresco_user_store.user_container.childname}</prop>
            <prop key="location">alfresco/module/bootstrap-content-repo/bootstrap/import-users.xml</prop>
        </props>
    </property>
</bean>

Note how the user profile needs to be bootstrapped first. This is enforced with the dependsOn definition above.

The id and description properties should be specified in a message resource file as follows: 

org.alfresco.tutorial.bootstrap.patch.usersLoader=Load Users
org.alfresco.tutorial.bootstrap.patch.usersLoader.description=Bootstraps users alftest1 and alftest2
org.alfresco.tutorial.bootstrap.patch.userProfilesLoader=Load User Profiles
org.alfresco.tutorial.bootstrap.patch.userProfilesLoader.description=Bootstraps first name, last name, email etc for user alftest1 and alftest2

Next we will look at bootstrapping groups, which is also done via XML files:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<view:view xmlns:view="http://www.alfresco.org/view/repository/1.0"
           xmlns:cm="http://www.alfresco.org/model/content/1.0"
           xmlns:sys="http://www.alfresco.org/model/system/1.0">

    <view:reference view:pathref="${system.authorities_container.childname}">
        <view:associations>
            <sys:children>
                <cm:authorityContainer view:childName="cm:GROUP_Knowledge Base Consumers">
                    <view:aspects>
                        <sys:referenceable />
                    </view:aspects>
                    <view:properties>
                        <sys:node-uuid>Knowledge Base Consumers</sys:node-uuid>
                        <cm:name>GROUP_Knowledge Base Consumers</cm:name>
                        <cm:authorityName>GROUP_Knowledge Base Consumers</cm:authorityName>
                    </view:properties>
                </cm:authorityContainer>
                <cm:authorityContainer view:childName="cm:GROUP_Knowledge Base Coordinators">
                    <view:aspects>
                        <sys:referenceable />
                    </view:aspects>
                    <view:properties>
                        <sys:node-uuid>Knowledge Base Coordinators</sys:node-uuid>
                        <cm:name>GROUP_Knowledge Base Coordinators</cm:name>
                        <cm:authorityName>GROUP_Knowledge Base Coordinators</cm:authorityName>
                    </view:properties>
                </cm:authorityContainer>
            </sys:children>
        </view:associations>
    </view:reference>

    <!-- Each group is also part of the AUTH.ALF and APP.DEFAULT zones -->
    <view:reference view:pathref="${system.zones_container.childname}/cm:AUTH.ALF">
        <view:associations>
            <cm:inZone>
                <view:reference view:pathref="${system.authorities_container.childname}/cm:GROUP_Knowledge_x0020_Base_x0020_Consumers"
                                view:childName="cm:GROUP_Knowledge Base Consumers" />
            </cm:inZone>
            <cm:inZone>
                <view:reference view:pathref="${system.authorities_container.childname}/cm:GROUP_Knowledge_x0020_Base_x0020_Coordinators"
                                view:childName="cm:GROUP_Knowledge Base Coordinators" />
            </cm:inZone>
        </view:associations>
    </view:reference>
    <view:reference view:pathref="${system.zones_container.childname}/cm:APP.DEFAULT">
        <view:associations>
            <cm:inZone>
                <view:reference view:pathref="${system.authorities_container.childname}/cm:GROUP_Knowledge_x0020_Base_x0020_Consumers"
                                view:childName="cm:GROUP_Knowledge Base Consumers" />
            </cm:inZone>
            <cm:inZone>
                <view:reference view:pathref="${system.authorities_container.childname}/cm:GROUP_Knowledge_x0020_Base_x0020_Coordinators"
                                view:childName="cm:GROUP_Knowledge Base Coordinators" />
            </cm:inZone>
        </view:associations>
    </view:reference>
</view:view>

Here we are bootstrapping two groups, one called Knowledge Base Consumers and one called Knowledge Base Coordinators. The last bit of the group bootstrapping adds the groups to different Zones. The AUTH.ALF zone is for authorities defined within SkyVault Content Services and not synchronized from an external source, such as LDAP. The APP.DEFAULT zone is for person and group nodes to be found by a normal search. We can store this XML file as part of the Repo AMP project in a file name such as import-groups.xml.

The group XML file can be loaded via a Spring bean configuration as follows: 

<bean id="org.alfresco.tutorial.bootstrap.patch.groupsLoader"
      class="org.alfresco.repo.admin.patch.impl.GenericBootstrapPatch"
      parent="basePatch" >
    <property name="id"><value>org.alfresco.tutorial.bootstrap.patch.groupsLoader</value></property>
    <property name="description"><value>org.alfresco.tutorial.bootstrap.patch.groupsLoader.description</value></property>
    <property name="fixesFromSchema"><value>0</value></property>
    <property name="fixesToSchema"><value>${version.schema}</value></property>
    <property name="targetSchema"><value>10000</value></property>
    <property name="importerBootstrap">
        <ref bean="spacesBootstrap" />
    </property>
    <property name="bootstrapView">
        <props>
            <prop key="path">/${alfresco_user_store.system_container.childname}</prop>
            <prop key="location">alfresco/module/bootstrap-content-repo/bootstrap/import-groups.xml</prop>
        </props>
    </property>
</bean>

We can now also add users to these groups:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<view:view xmlns:view="http://www.alfresco.org/view/repository/1.0"
           xmlns:cm="http://www.alfresco.org/model/content/1.0">

    <view:reference view:pathref="${system.authorities_container.childname}/cm:GROUP_Knowledge_x0020_Base_x0020_Consumers">
        <view:associations>
            <cm:member>
                <view:reference view:pathref="${system.people_container.childname}/cm:admin"
                                view:childName="cm:admin" />
            </cm:member>
            <cm:member>
                <view:reference view:pathref="${system.people_container.childname}/cm:alftest1"
                                view:childName="cm:alftest1" />
            </cm:member>
        </view:associations>
    </view:reference>
    <view:reference view:pathref="${system.authorities_container.childname}/cm:GROUP_Knowledge_x0020_Base_x0020_Coordinators">
        <view:associations>
            <cm:member>
                <view:reference view:pathref="${system.people_container.childname}/cm:admin"
                                view:childName="cm:admin" />
            </cm:member>
            <cm:member>
                <view:reference view:pathref="${system.people_container.childname}/cm:alftest2"
                                view:childName="cm:alftest2" />
            </cm:member>
        </view:associations>
    </view:reference>
</view:view>

We add the admin user, which we get out-of-the-box, and the two users we bootstrapped previously. We can store this XML file as part of the Repo AMP project in a file name such as import-group-memberships.xml.

The group membership XML file can be loaded via a Spring bean configuration as follows: 

<bean id="org.alfresco.tutorial.bootstrap.patch.groupMembershipsLoader"
      class="org.alfresco.repo.admin.patch.impl.GenericBootstrapPatch"
      parent="basePatch" >
    <property name="id"><value>org.alfresco.tutorial.bootstrap.patch.groupMembershipsLoader</value></property>
    <property name="description"><value>org.alfresco.tutorial.bootstrap.patch.groupMembershipsLoader.description</value></property>
    <property name="fixesFromSchema"><value>0</value></property>
    <property name="fixesToSchema"><value>${version.schema}</value></property>
    <property name="targetSchema"><value>10000</value></property>
    <property name="dependsOn" >
        <list>
            <ref bean="org.alfresco.tutorial.bootstrap.patch.groupsLoader" />
            <ref bean="org.alfresco.tutorial.bootstrap.patch.userProfilesLoader" />
            <ref bean="org.alfresco.tutorial.bootstrap.patch.usersLoader" />
        </list>
    </property>
    <property name="importerBootstrap">
        <ref bean="spacesBootstrap" />
    </property>
    <property name="bootstrapView">
        <props>
            <prop key="path">/${system.system_container.childname}</prop>
            <prop key="location">alfresco/module/bootstrap-content-repo/bootstrap/import-group-memberships.xml</prop>
        </props>
    </property>
</bean>

Note how it depends on the beans that loads the users and groups.

The id and description properties for the group loading should be specified in a message resource file as follows: 

org.alfresco.tutorial.bootstrap.patch.groupsLoader=Load Groups
org.alfresco.tutorial.bootstrap.patch.groupsLoader.description=Bootstraps groups KB Consumer and KB Coordinator
org.alfresco.tutorial.bootstrap.patch.groupMembershipsLoader=Load Group Memberships
org.alfresco.tutorial.bootstrap.patch.groupMembershipsLoader.description=Loads the groups KB Consumer and KB Coordinator with 2 users

Now, let's bootstrap a site as we got users and groups that we can add as members for demonstration purposes. First thing we need to do is create the site via SkyVault Shareand then export it. We can export the site via the GET /alfresco/s/api/sites/{shortname}/export would use the http://localhost:8080/alfresco/s/api/sites/alfresco-kb/export URL. This will trigger an export of the site as a ZIP file with the following content:

- Contents.acp  (Contains all the content created for the site - set this up as bootstrapView "contents")
- Groups.txt    (User/Group -> Site Group mapping - set this up as bootstrapView "groups")
- People.acp    (Contains the User Profile XML - same bootstrap we did above with import-user-profiles.xml or set this up as bootstrapView "people")
- Users.acp     (Contains the User User XML - same bootstrap we did above with import-user.xml or set this up as bootstrapView "users")

We have already set up the users above so we need only the Contents.acp and Groups.txt files. We can then bootstrap the site with a special site load patch class as follows:

<bean id="org.alfresco.tutorial.bootstrap.patch.alfrescoKBsiteLoader"
      class="org.alfresco.repo.admin.patch.impl.SiteLoadPatch" parent="basePatch">
    <property name="id"><value>org.alfresco.tutorial.bootstrap.patch.alfrescoKBsiteLoader</value></property>
    <property name="description"><value>org.alfresco.tutorial.bootstrap.patch.alfrescoKBsiteLoader.description</value></property>
    <property name="fixesFromSchema"><value>0</value></property>
    <property name="fixesToSchema"><value>${version.schema}</value></property>
    <property name="targetSchema"><value>10000</value></property>
    <property name="dependsOn" >
        <list>
            <ref bean="org.alfresco.tutorial.bootstrap.patch.groupMembershipsLoader" />
        </list>
    </property>
    <property name="spacesBootstrap" ref="siteLoadBootstrap-Spaces"/>
    <property name="usersBootstrap" ref="siteLoadBootstrap-Users"/>
    <property name="siteService" ref="siteService"/>
    <property name="authorityService" ref="authorityService"/>
    <property name="behaviourFilter" ref="policyBehaviourFilter"/>
    <property name="siteName">
        <value>alfresco-kb</value>
    </property>
    <property name="bootstrapViews">
        <map>
            <entry key="contents">
                <props>
                    <prop key="location">alfresco/module/bootstrap-content-repo/bootstrap/alfresco-kb-site-contents.acp</prop>
                </props>
            </entry>
            <entry key="groups">
                <props>
                    <prop key="location">alfresco/module/bootstrap-content-repo/bootstrap/alfresco-kb-site-groups.txt</prop>
                </props>
            </entry>
        </map>
    </property>
</bean>

Note that the contents and groups files were renamed. The site load patch also depends on the groupMembershipsLoader so we can be sure that the users have been set up before this patch runs. If we don't want to set up the users separately we can have the site load patch bootstrap everything like this:

<bean id="org.alfresco.tutorial.bootstrap.patch.alfrescoKBsiteLoader"
      class="org.alfresco.repo.admin.patch.impl.SiteLoadPatch" parent="basePatch">
        ...
        <property name="bootstrapViews">
        <map>
            <entry key="contents">
                <props>
                    <prop key="location">alfresco/module/bootstrap-content-repo/bootstrap/alfresco-kb-site-contents.acp</prop>
                </props>
            </entry>
            <entry key="groups">
                <props>
                    <prop key="location">alfresco/module/bootstrap-content-repo/bootstrap/alfresco-kb-site-groups.txt</prop>
                </props>
            </entry>
            <entry key="users">
                <props>
                    <prop key="location">alfresco/module/bootstrap-content-repo/bootstrap/Users.acp</prop>
                </props>
            </entry>
            <entry key="people">
                <props>
                    <prop key="location">alfresco/module/bootstrap-content-repo/bootstrap/Users.acp</prop>
                </props>
            </entry>
        </map>
    </property>
</bean>

The id and description properties for the site load patch should be specified in a message resource file as follows: 

org.alfresco.tutorial.bootstrap.patch.groupMembershipsLoader.description=Loads the groups KB Consumer and KB Coordinator with 2 users
org.alfresco.tutorial.bootstrap.patch.alfrescoKBsiteLoader=Load SkyVault KB Site

Sometimes it is also necessary to bootstrap folders and files into locations outside sites. This can also be done with the generic bootstrap patch as follows:

<bean id="org.alfresco.tutorial.bootstrap.patch.foldersAndFilesLoader"
      class="org.alfresco.repo.admin.patch.impl.GenericBootstrapPatch"
      parent="basePatch" >
    <property name="id"><value>org.alfresco.tutorial.bootstrap.patch.foldersAndFilesLoader</value></property>
    <property name="description"><value>org.alfresco.tutorial.bootstrap.patch.foldersAndFilesLoader.description</value></property>
    <property name="fixesFromSchema"><value>0</value></property>
    <property name="fixesToSchema"><value>${version.schema}</value></property>
    <property name="targetSchema"><value>10000</value></property>
    <property name="importerBootstrap">
        <ref bean="spacesBootstrap" />
    </property>
    <!-- Can be used to check if something already exists, if it does then the patch will not be executed -->
    <property name="checkPath">
        <value>/${spaces.company_home.childname}/cm:acmedocument.txt</value>
    </property>
    <property name="bootstrapView">
        <props>
            <prop key="path">/${spaces.company_home.childname}</prop>
            <prop key="location">alfresco/module/bootstrap-content-repo/bootstrap/import-folders-and-files.xml</prop>
        </props>
    </property>
</bean>

The content of the import-folders-and-files.xml XML file has the same structure as the XML container in the Contents.acp we get when exporting a site. So to bootstrap a file it will look like this:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<view:view xmlns:cm="http://www.alfresco.org/model/content/1.0"
		   xmlns:view="http://www.alfresco.org/view/repository/1.0"
		   xmlns:sys="http://www.alfresco.org/model/system/1.0"
		   xmlns:app="http://www.alfresco.org/model/application/1.0"
		   xmlns:acme="http://www.acme.org/model/content/1.0">
<acme:document view:childName="cm:acmedocument.txt">
	<view:aspects>
		<cm:auditable></cm:auditable>
		<sys:referenceable></sys:referenceable>
		<cm:titled></cm:titled>
		<sys:localized></sys:localized>
		<app:inlineeditable></app:inlineeditable>
	</view:aspects>
	<view:acl></view:acl>
	<view:properties>
		<cm:name>acmedocument.txt</cm:name>
		<sys:node-dbid>854</sys:node-dbid>
		<sys:store-identifier>SpacesStore</sys:store-identifier>
		<sys:locale>en_GB_</sys:locale>
		<cm:content>contentUrl=classpath:alfresco/module/bootstrap-content-repo/bootstrap/someacmedoc.txt|mimetype=text/plain|size=30|encoding=UTF-8|locale=en_GB_</cm:content>
		<acme:documentId>DOC001</acme:documentId>
		<cm:title>
			<view:mlvalue view:locale="en">SomeTitle</view:mlvalue>
		</cm:title>
		<cm:modified>2015-09-10T16:11:07.875+01:00</cm:modified>
		<sys:node-uuid>34e4a654-b45e-4be1-80db-25da1e4c82a7</sys:node-uuid>
		<app:editInline>true</app:editInline>
		<cm:created>2015-09-10T16:10:49.142+01:00</cm:created>
		<sys:store-protocol>workspace</sys:store-protocol>
		<cm:creator>admin</cm:creator>
		<cm:description>
			<view:mlvalue view:locale="en">SomeDesc</view:mlvalue>
		</cm:description>
		<cm:modifier>admin</cm:modifier>
	</view:properties>
</acme:document>
</view:view>

Besides using patches to bootstrap content there is also something called a ImporterModuleComponent that can be used to bootstrap/import content into the Repository, for more information about this see Module Components.

Important: If you mix patches and importer components when bootstrapping content it might not work in all situations as patches are executed before importer components. For example, if you have an importer component that bootstraps some groups that should later be used by a site load patch, it will not work.
Deployment - App Server
  • XML, ACP, and content files: tomcat/shared/classes/alfresco/extension/... (File name can be anything you like as long as you refer to it in the Spring context file)
  • Spring Beans: tomcat/shared/classes/alfresco/extension/my-content-model-context.xml (File name has to end in -context.xml to be picked up as Spring Bean context file)
These file locations are untouched by re-deployments and upgrades.
Deployment SDK Project
  • XML, ACP, and content files: repo-amp/src/main/amp/config/alfresco/module/repo-amp/bootstrap
  • Spring Beans: repo-amp/src/main/amp/config/alfresco/module/repo-amp/context/bootstrap-context.xml
More Information
Sample Code
Tutorials None
Parent topic: Platform extension points

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