Configure a remote Git repository in Control Room

Configure a remote Git repository in the Control Room so that you can version all the bots and their dependencies and store them in the Git repository. In addition to the local Automation 360 repository in the Control Room, the remote Git provides a backup for the bots and their dependencies.

Prerequisites

  • In order to configure a remote Git repository in the Control Room, ensure that you have the AAE_Admin role.
    Note: Automation 360 supports custom role creation by allowing all permissions to be non-default and editable. However, for releases before version v30, system-created roles such as, AAE_Admin are mandatory. For more information, see System-created roles.
  • Based on your region, configure your network firewall to add outbound NAT gateway IP addresses to the allowed list.

    Control Room IP addresses for external integrations

When you are configuring a remote Git repository, keep the following considerations in mind:
  • The Git repository must be configured to have write access only to the Control Room and not to any other Git client.
  • You cannot upload files greater than 100 MB to the Git repository.
  • Ensure that you integrate with an empty Git repository.
  • You should not check in any file manually into the Git repository from any other user, product, or application.
  • When you integrate with Git, the repository should not contain the ReadMe.md file.
  • Ensure your Git repository is private (internal). For security reasons, Automation 360 cannot connect to a public Git repository as all the bots and files are generally accessible in a public Git repository.

Procedure

  1. In the Control Room, navigate to Administration > Settings > Remote Git repository integration.
  2. Click Edit.
  3. Choose one of the following authentication methods and perform the corresponding steps to set up your Git configuration:
    Authentication methodSteps
    HTTPS Authentication
    1. Enter the HTTPS repository path, including the username in the following format:

      https://<username>@bitbucket.org/companyname/product.git

      Note: Use the Git host that you want to obtain the Git repository address.
    2. Enter the branch name.

      The changes are pushed to the branch selected. By default, the master branch is selected.

      You can use lower case characters for branch names, but they must not exceed 250 characters. Do not include ASCII control characters such as spaces, tildes, or colons in branch names. You can use hyphen to separate words. For more information on branch naming, see Create a new Git branch.

    3. Enter your Git repository password or a generated Git token.
      Note:
      • The token length must be limited to 75 characters.
      • You must enter the password generated for your repository connection. It is recommended that you use tokens as they are more secure than passwords.
      • For GitHub, you must use only the Personal Access Tokens (classic). The Personal Access Tokens (fine-grained) do not work in GitHub.
      • For BitButcket, you must use only the App passwords.
    4. Re-enter the password or Git token to confirm.
    SSH Authentication
    1. Enter the SSH repository path in the following format:

      https://git@bitbucket.org:companyname/product.git

      Note: Use the Git host that you want to obtain the Git repository address.
    2. Enter the branch name.

      The changes are pushed to the branch selected. By default, the master branch is selected.

      You can use lower case characters for branch names, but they must not exceed 250 characters. Do not include ASCII control characters such as spaces, tildes, or colons in branch names. You can use hyphen to separate words. For more information on branch naming, see Create a new Git branch.

    3. Enter your SSH authentication private key.

      You must create the private and public key pair by using the RSA algorithm.

      Note: Ensure that the private key entered in the Control Room contains the following string: -----BEGIN RSA PRIVATE KEY----- AND -----END RSA PRIVATE KEY-----

      You must generate the public key and enter it in your Git server.

      See the following topics for steps on how to generate the public key depending on your server:
    4. Optional: Enter the passphrase.
  4. Optional: Select the Connect to Git via proxy check box.
    1. Enter the proxy host name or IP address.
    2. Enter the port number.
    3. Optional: Select the authentication check box and enter the user name and password.
  5. Click Connect and Save.
    The Control Room connects to the remote Git repository, and the following message is displayed: Git integration settings successfully saved. You can also check the audit log where the status for Set git settings is displayed as successful.
Note:
  • After a remote Git is integrated, if a single check-in is made from the private workspace, all the files in the public workspace will be checked-in to the remote Git as well.
  • The check-in operation might take longer if you have many bot files in your Git folder in the public workspace. This is because an increase in the repository size leads to a slowing down of the git commits. As a best practice, we recommend you delete your bot files that are not used from your public workspace.
  • If the Git repository has any lock files such as index.lock or master.lock, delete these lock files as they might hinder the check-in and check-out operations.

You can connect to the same Git repository with a different username in the Control Room. For more information, see How to change the remote Git repository username in the control room (A-People login required).

See the following video for an overview of Git: