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Version: Deploy 22.2

The Deploy work directory

This topic provides information about the XL_DEPLOY_SERVER_HOME/work directory, which is used to temporarily store data that cannot be kept in memory.

Examples of items that are temporarily stored in the work directory are:

  • All files required for deployment when a deployment task runs
  • Files that are being uploaded when configuration items (CIs) are created

Location of the work directory​

The work directory is located in the Deploy server installation directory (XL_DEPLOY_SERVER_HOME). Deploy uses this directory instead of an operating system-specific temporary directory because:

  • Read access to the work directory must be limited because it may contain sensitive information.
  • Operating system-specific temporary directories are typically not large enough to contain all of the files that Deploy needs (for more information about disk space, see Requirements for installing Deploy.

Work directory size​

The work directory can grow for several reasons:

  • There are many unarchived tasks. After a deployment finishes, you should archive the deployment task so Deploy can remove the task from the work directory. To archive a deployment task after is complete, click Close on the deployment screen.

    Tip: To check for unarchived tasks (including those owned by other users), log in to Deploy as an administrator, go to the Explorer, expand Monitoring, open Deployment tasks, and select All Tasks.

  • The active tasks include large artifacts. When deploying a large artifact, multiple copies of the artifact may be stored in the work directory.

  • Large artifacts are being created, imported, or exported. This can also cause a temporary increase in the size of the work directory.

To prevent the work directory from growing, it is recommended that you always archive completed deployment tasks and avoid leaving incomplete tasks open.

Clean up the work directory​

When the Deploy server is running, files in the work directory may be in use. In addition, if a task is not finished before you stop the Deploy server, Deploy will recover the task when the server is restarted. After recovery, the task needs access to the files that it previously created in the work directory.

Before cleaning up the work directory, verify that all running tasks are finished and archived.

To do this, log in to Deploy as an administrator, go to the Explorer, expand Monitoring, open Deployment tasks, and select All Tasks.

After you have verified that there are no running tasks, you can shut down the Deploy server and safely delete the files in the work directory.

Change the location of the work directory​

You cannot change the location of the work directory. However, you can change the location where Deploy stores .task files, which are normally stored in the work directory. To do so, change the deploy.task.recovery-dir setting in the deploy-task.yaml file. After saving the file, restart the Deploy server.