Feature Request - Generate nopkg files to add Outset scripts

[jelockwood]

The Issue

Outset itself can be deployed to Macs via various tools as it is provided as a standard installer pkg. This includes deployment (and updating) via Munki aka Managed Software Center. It is also possible to build a standard installer pkg to install one or more scripts to be copied in to the relevant sub-directories in the…

/usr/local/outset/

…directory.

I also see that there is an included tool to 'package up' scripts from these subdirectories to a standard installer pkg so that such an existing setup can be replicated to multiple machines. This tool is outset-pkg

I have however found this tool to have some drawbacks as follows and therefore this feature request details a suggested alternative approach.

Proposed Solution

My suggestion is that a tool similar to outset-pkg be created but to work by creating one or more nopkg pkginfo files for use with Munki. When run it would ask for the following information - some of which may be considered optional

• Name
• Version
• Installcheck script
• Post install script
• Uninstall script
• Payload script
• Which Outset subdirectory to deploy to

As may have been spotted this is pretty much what the makepkginfo command does. However it would go further and also ask for the Payload script to be installed and which Outset subdirectory it should be deployed to.

This approach would be intended to be to deploy a single file per generated nopkg pkginfo.

This approach would I feel make it easier to build an automated system for deploying Outset scripts with the ability to target multiple scripts for an individual Mac or multiple Macs or a single script for an individual or multiple Macs or any permutation of this. More importantly I feel it makes it much much easier to subsequently deploy updates to individual scripts. Updating the scripts would be independent of updating Outset itself.

This tool would use bash 'Here Doc' aka 'cat << eof' to embed the 'Payload' script, i.e. the script to actually end up being deployed to an Outset subdirectory.

As a very similar existing solution I would refer people to the 'archived' but currently still working PrinterGenerator script for generating nopkg pkginfo files to install Printer Queues via Munki

Alternative

I have considered the use of the existing outset-pkg but this is designed to do all scripts on an already configured machine and hence does not make it easy to have multiple different setups. It also makes updating a single script more of a hassle. The proposed approach also makes it possible to trigger an automated uninstall of a script via the standard Munki process.

[bartreardon]

that' beyond the scope of what outset-pkg was designed for which is a simple convenience to get a script packaged as a payload. If an admin has more complex requirements then there are other tools that can provide these functions.

I have considered the use of the existing outset-pkg but this is designed to do all scripts on an already configured machine

not true - run /usr/local/outset/Outset.app/Contents/Resources/outset-pkg --help and you will see the options, specifically:

outset-pkg --file <filename> --target <directory>

Which will package a single file from whatever location it happens to be in (development directory) to deploy to the target location (default login-once).

[jelockwood]

@bartreardon
You are right, I had only paid attention to the outset-pkg all option.

There is one issue that could be improved. I now see as you pointed out that the outset-pkg tool can apply a version number and can be targeted at a single script, both of which address my main issues/requirements. However unless I am still missing something, it does not provide a means to define a specific installer pkg identifier.

If one is building multiple pkgs - one per script, then one would ideally need a way for them to be differentiated as is normal using the identifier string. This capability affects app patching tools as they use a combination of the pkg identifier and version information to determine if an update is required for that individual item

So, I would request an enhancement to outset-pkg to add an additional capability with a parameter like so -

outset-pkg --identifier or outset-pkg -i

resulting in a potential full command like so

outset-pkg --version --identifier --file --target
outset-pkg --version 1.0 --identifier com.company.item --file myscript.sh --target login-once

[bartreardon]

It does that already. When packaging a single file the pkg id is set to PKGID="${PKG_DOMAIN}.${FILE_TARGET}-${FILE_TO_PACKAGE##*/}" so if you use the same file name and just increment the version next time you build then the package id will stay the same but be unique per file packaged.