Define your own actions with custom labels, tabs, inputs, and commands to bring your delivery workflow to a whole new level.

How it works

Example

Use case

Action preview

Configuration

The transition to a more modular user interface allowed us to accommodate features in clear and compact space. With a hundred and fifty actions already in place covering most of the DevOps landscape, we now decided to give our users complete freedom with the ability do define their own fully customized actions. Of course, that doesn't mean we're not going to add new actions anymore – far from that. All we want to do is invite you to the party. 😎

## How it works

Custom actions are defined in a special YAML file stored in your repository. All you need to do is push the definition and the icon of the action to the default branch, and, once successfully parsed, the action lands at the top of your action list in all splendour and glory, its tabs shining like your new Twitter badge, its inputs sparkling prompt messages, your very *own* custom icon shouting "look at me, it is *I* who did it". You are free to add any number of tabs and inputs, customize images, commands, and labels, and tune the action to whatever your workflow requires.

<Hint type="info">

[Click here for the step-by-step documentation on custom action configuration](/docs/yaml/yaml-actions/custom-actions).

</Hint>

![Custom actions on the action list](/blog/images/custom-actions/custom-actions-1.png)

## Example

Here we can see the configuration of a simple action launched in the Node environment:

```yaml
name: "My_Ping_Action"
inputs:
 ip:
 required: true
 count:
 default: '1'
execute_commands:
 - ping $ip -c $count
docker_image_name: "node"
docker_image_tag: "16"
```

- The action runs ping on the IP address defined by the user.
- The IP input is mandatory, and the default number of retries (`count`) is set to 1.
- The titles of the inputs are reproduced into variables and used in the execution command as `$ip` and `$count`.

Once added to the repository, the action is rendered top-to-bottom into the GUI:

![A custom action rendered in the GUI](/blog/images/custom-actions/custom-actions-2.png)

And here we can see the results of the execution in the action's logs. All works!

![The log of the custom action](/blog/images/custom-actions/custom-actions-3.png)

## Use case

And here's a more real-life example. Let's assume that your team is using a task management system like Asana. The goal is to keep your team informed whenever an important pipeline fails by issuing a task in Asana with the link to the failed execution. 

Normally, it would require running a method with curl in the Asana's API. However, the drawback of this solution is that you need to define API calls in actions such as Local Shell or Custom Build, and whenever something changes on the Asana's side, the scripts stop working and need to be updated manually. So, instead, you just need to [define one action](/docs/yaml/yaml-actions/custom-actions) that will issue a task in Asana, and use it across the workspace.

### Action preview

![A custom action issuing tasks in Asana](/blog/images/custom-actions/custom-actions-4.png)

### Configuration

```yaml
name: "new_task"
inputs:
 title:
 type: TEXT
 required: true
 default: "title"
 assignee:
 type: SELECT
 required: true
 options:
 - "Alexander"
 - "Mike"
 - "Anna"
 - "John"
 content:
 type: TEXTAREA
 required: true
docker_image_name: "my_company/asana_custom"
docker_image_tag: "latest"
tabs:
 projects:
 name:
 type: SELECT
 required: true
 options:
 - "Project-1"
 - "Project-2"
 - "Project-3"
 - "Project-4"
```

<Hint type="info">

In the example above, the call to the Asana API is baked in the Docker image from which the action is launched.

</Hint>

<Hint type="success">

Buddy is 100% customer-driven. Let us know what integrations you need to take your automation game to the next level! If there’s a feature or integration you miss, talk to us on the live chat or drop us a line at <support@buddy.works>.

</Hint>

New feature: Custom Actions 🛠

Learn what's new in this week's fresh batch of QoL improvements for team leaders and agile developers.

Admin groups

New group option: Adding new projects

Action selection on pipeline run

The team has been going strong lately, with new features landing faster than the Brits changing their prime ministers. Here's what's new in the store this week.

## Admin groups

The admin group collects all users with admin rights in the workspace. It is a quick way to see who's in charge in the workspace, especially for bigger teams.
Adding a user to the group basically means granting them admin rights, and, the same way round, removing a user from the group equals removing the rights:

![Admin group overview](/blog/images/admin-groups-action-select/admin-groups-action-select-1.png)

<Hint type="info">

The workspace owner has permanent admin rights and cannot be removed.

</Hint>

You can access all groups in the workspace from the People tab:

![Group list in People tab](/blog/images/admin-groups-action-select/admin-groups-action-select-2.png)

## New group option: Adding new projects

The second feature allows group members to add new projects in the workspace. You can grant it to an existing group, or, for example, create a new group gathering the project leaders in your company. The option is available in the Settings tab of the selected group:

![Group settings overview](/blog/images/admin-groups-action-select/admin-groups-action-select-3.png)

## Action selection on pipeline run

The last novelty is the new Actions tab on the run preparation view. Here you can quickly unselect the actions that you don't want to run without turning them off permanently with the on/off button. It is more of a quality-of-life improvement, allowing developers to fine-tune their process on the fly.

![Action selection on pipeline run](/blog/images/admin-groups-action-select/admin-groups-action-select-4.png)

<Hint type="tip">

You can also send the list of actions to run in a parameter using the [REST API](https://buddy.works/docs/api/pipelines/executions/run).

</Hint>

<Hint type="success">

Buddy is 100% customer-driven. Let us know what integrations you need to take your automation game to the next level! If there’s a feature or integration you miss, talk to us on the live chat or drop us a line at <support@buddy.works>.

</Hint>

Introducing: New group features and action selection on run

Test commits and build Docker images within one pipeline from multiple branches at once with the new concurrency mode.

Use cases

Summary

This week we welcome a massive improvement for all DevOps engineers and project managers aiming to keep the CI process clear and efficient: **concurrent pipeline executions**. Not to confuse with parallelism considered as running several pipelines/actions at the same time, the feature allows you to run *the same* pipeline in non-sequential mode. In other words, instead for waiting for its turn, **each commit is processed concurrently within one pipeline**.

## Use cases

Previously, all runs in a pipeline were executed sequentially. To test multiple branches at the same time, you had to create a separate pipeline for each branch. Thanks to this new feature, it is now possible for a single pipeline to execute multiple runs at the same time.

The two most common cases are:

- running the same tests on every commit pushed to the repository
- building Docker images for every branch in the repository

![](/blog/images/concurrent-pipeline-runs/concurrent-pipeline-runs-1.png)

## Configuration

To activate concurrent pipeline runs, check the option in the **Runtime** section of the pipeline settings:

![](/blog/images/concurrent-pipeline-runs/concurrent-pipeline-runs-2.png)

## How it works

When a pipeline is in progress and another execution is triggered, the [pipeline filesystem](/guides/filesystem-foundation-of-buddy-pipelines) is duplicated to serve this execution. The generated artifacts are then produced to each filesystem respectively. 

The slots are labeled with the ID of the execution and can be browsed independently in the Filesystem tab of the pipeline. Here's how it looks for a pipeline run concurrently for master and staging branches:

![](/blog/images/concurrent-pipeline-runs/concurrent-pipeline-runs-3.png)

<Hint type="info">

The number of concurrent executions / filesystem slots a pipeline can be undergoing depends on the number of runners in your plan.

</Hint>

## Summary

<Hint type="warning">

As the feature is currently in Beta, **we strongly advise against using it for production pipelines**. We do, however, ask to send any feedback that you'd like to share: from bug reports to feature requests specific for your type of workflow.

</Hint>

<Hint type="tip">

You can further optimize pipeline management by [seeding pipeline parameters with YAML templates](/docs/yaml/remote-yaml-definitions).

</Hint>

<Hint type="success">

Buddy is 100% customer-driven. Let us know what integrations you need to take your automation game to the next level! If there’s a feature or integration you miss, talk to us on the live chat or drop us a line at <support@buddy.works>.

</Hint>

New feature: Concurrent pipeline runs

Build exciting applications with the new series of Apple actions – now available to all Buddy users!

What is Buddy all about

iOS support in Buddy

Builds

Sign & Export

Release

One smart apple

No development circle is complete without mobile support, and no mobile is complete without devices marked with the half-bitten Californian apple. Obligatory metaphorical introduction aside, we can now say it loud: the iOS builds, previously limited to a number of beta testers and early adopters, are now **officially available to all Buddy users**.

![iOS actions in Buddy](/blog/images/ios-builds/ios-builds-1.png)

## What is Buddy all about

<Hint type="success">

For those of you who got here after a recommendation from a friend, Stack Overflow, or uncle Google, here's a word of what Buddy actually is and how it helps developers in their quest for a perfect piece of software. If you're a Buddy aficionado, follow to the next paragraph.

</Hint>

In short, Buddy is a platform that lets developers build, test, and release software in an easy and reliable way. It is based on the principles of Continuous Integration, which means that every change to code is automatically tested for errors and prepared for deployment. The deployment is also automated, which eliminates the risk of human error and significantly shortens the operation time. This way, you can collect the client's feedback faster and introduce changes without the risk of wasting months of work.

![Continuous Integration circle](/blog/images/ios-builds/ios-builds-2.png)

However, contrary to more "traditional" tools, Buddy takes a different approach towards automation: instead of forcing the user to manually script the whole delivery process and use the tool strictly as a build server, the process is fully visualized and wrapped in pre-configured actions (builds, deployments, notifications, etc.). This way even entry-level developers can benefit from the blessings of automation. And boy oh boy, are they abundant.

## iOS support in Buddy 

The new iOS actions let you build software on dedicated macOS machines using Xcode and popular frameworks such as React, Flutter, and Cordova, manage dependencies with Carthage and CocoaPods, and release the build to the App Store. Provisioning and code sign is done automatically by Buddy with information provided by the user. Once configured, you just make a push to the repository and watch Buddy do the dirty work, top to bottom:

![Example iOS pipeline](/blog/images/ios-builds/ios-builds-3.png)

## How it works

### Builds

When the pipeline is run, Buddy clones the contents of the repository to the filesystem, uploads the files to the Mac VM, and runs the commands defined by the user. The generated package is then downloaded back to the filesystem:

![Flutter build](/blog/images/ios-builds/ios-builds-4.png)

### Sign & Export

The next step is signing the generated package and exporting the .ipa file. Here you select the distribution method (Ad hoc, Development, App Store, Enterprise) and load the distribution certificate and provisioning profile:

![Package sign & export](/blog/images/ios-builds/ios-builds-5.png)

### Release

The signed package can be to released to App Store Connect using the dedicated deployment action. The integration with the Store is performed over the API, or using your Apple ID.

![Deploy to App Store Connect](/blog/images/ios-builds/ios-builds-6.png)

## One smart apple

We're excited to see you put the new actions to practice – how they fit in your existing workflow, and how Buddy proves on the grounds of the silicon orchard. The frameworks and toolkits you are going to use. The apps you are going to build. Every business runs their workflow differently, and for us learning the ways of the developers is an invaluable source of inspiration. Who knows, maybe you'll even want to [share what you achieved](/customer-stories)?

As always, we're looking forward to hearing what we can improve, what features we should add, and what bugs we overlooked (hopefully not that many). The beta may be over, but the new journey has just started.

<Hint type="info">

Learn more: [macOS software manifest](/docs/pipelines/vm/macos).

</Hint>

<Hint type="warning">

The iOS and Mac VM actions are currently restricted to the cloud version of Buddy.

</Hint>

<Hint type="success">

Buddy is 100% customer-driven. Let us know what integrations you need to take your automation game to the next level! If there’s a feature or integration you miss, talk to us on the live chat or drop us a line at <support@buddy.works>.

</Hint>

New feature: iOS Builds 🍎

Make sure everybody gets the message with the new in-app notifications.

Composing message

Preview

Posting & Expiration date

Adding colors

<Hint type="success">

This feature is currently in beta which means it contains essential options only. Feel free to let us know how we can expand it to make it more useful!

</Hint>

Getting the message delivered to everybody on the team is crucial to running business, especially when working with developers who *love* to use a separate tool for every encountered issue, including messaging services. To help the managers deal with that, we added an option to send in-app messages in Buddy.

## How it works

The messages can be sent by any user with access to the Workspace Settings tab where it currently resides near the bottom (i.e. workspace owner and admins):

![](/blog/images/workspace-messages/workspace-messages-1.png)

### Composing message

Clicking the **+** button launches a window in which you can compose your message. The message body supports Markdown formatting, so feel free to add [links](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ), **bolds**, emojis 👻 and `code` if desired:

![](/blog/images/workspace-messages/workspace-messages-2.png)

<Hint type="tip">

To add an extra ` ` between the lines, use the forward slash `/` (see screenshot above).

</Hint>

### Preview

To see how your message looks before sending, click the **Preview** button:

![](/blog/images/workspace-messages/workspace-messages-3.png)

### Posting & Expiration date

Clicking Add notification will post the message and display it to the selected users upon browser refresh. The message stays open until the user manually closes it. You can set the expiration date in the last field at the bottom:

![](/blog/images/workspace-messages/workspace-messages-4.png)

### Adding colors

Color coding lets you easily point out how important your notification is. Just don't paint everything red, or your team will quickly get used to it and start closing your messages without reading! 😉

![](/blog/images/workspace-messages/workspace-messages-5.png)

<Hint type="warning">

Buddy is 100% customer-driven. Let us know what integrations you need to take your automation game to the next level! If there’s a feature or integration you miss, talk to us on the live chat or drop us a line at <support@buddy.works>.

</Hint>

New feature: In-app workspace messages 📬

Learn how we updated the pipeline view to speed up pipeline configuration and improve user experience.

Separate tiles

Easier management

On/Off button

The road to automation nirvana is a bumpy one and sometimes requires backtracking to stay on the right track. This is especially true for our UI that makes Buddy so unique on the CI/CD playground. And so, we gave our pipelines some extra work to improve the overall usability when adding and managing actions – and restored one particular feature that you asked for.

## Separate tiles

The actions on the list have been separated into tiles for better clarity:

![](/blog/images/revamped-pipeline-view/revamped-pipeline-view-1.png)

## Easier management

Adding actions is now easier, too. You can either click the `+` button and look up the action on the action list as you did before, or click `:` and enter the action's name without leaving the pipeline view:

![](/blog/images/revamped-pipeline-view/revamped-pipeline-view-2.png)

The three dots on the right side of the action, on the other hand, expands a menu where you can duplicate or delete the action, or parallelize/deparallelize with the next one (a useful feature to speed up tests):

![](/blog/images/revamped-pipeline-view/revamped-pipeline-view-3.png)

## On/Off button

Last but not least, the On/Off button is back as beautiful as ever. Just try it and see how it snaps from green to red, turning the once colorful action into a gray remembrance of former usefulness, like a scrapped friend of Thomas the Tank Engine:

![](/blog/images/revamped-pipeline-view/revamped-pipeline-view-4.png)

Now, we're going back to work as there's more exciting stuff to come – sooner than you'd expect! 🙊

<Hint type="warning">

Buddy is 100% customer-driven. Let us know what integrations you need to take your automation game to the next level! If there’s a feature or integration you miss, talk to us on the live chat or drop us a line at <support@buddy.works>.

</Hint>

Buddy Blog

New feature: Custom Actions 🛠

Introducing: New group features and action selection on run

New feature: Concurrent pipeline runs

New feature: iOS Builds 🍎

New feature: In-app workspace messages 📬

Feature spotlight: Revamped Action Tab