Declare custom REST endpoints

You can extend Release by creating new endpoints backed by Jython scripts. You can use this feature, for example, to integrate with other systems.

To declare new endpoints, add a file called xl-rest-endpoints.xml in the classpath of your Release server. This file can be in the JAR file of a custom plugin or in the XL_RELEASE_SERVER_HOME/ext directory. For example:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<endpoints xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
           xmlns="http://www.xebialabs.com/deployit/endpoints"
           xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.xebialabs.com/deployit/endpoints endpoints.xsd">
    <endpoint path="/test/demo" method="GET" script="demo.py" />
    <!-- ... more endpoints can be declared in the same way ... -->
</endpoints>

After processing this file, Release creates a new REST endpoint, which is accessible via http(s)://{xl-release-hostname}:{port}/{[context-path]}/api/extension/test/demo.

Every endpoint should be represented by <endpoint> element, which can contain following attributes:

Attribute	Required	Description
path	Yes	Relative REST path which will be exposed to run the Jython script.
method	No	HTTP method type (GET, POST, DELETE, PUT). The default value is GET.
script	Yes	Relative path to the Jython script in the classpath.

Jython scripts

Jython scripts should implement the logic of REST endpoints. Typically, every script will perform queries or actions in Release and produce a response.

Objects available in the context

In a script, you have access to Release services and to the following objects:

• Request: JythonRequest
• Response: JythonResponse

For more information, see Release Jython API.

HTTP response

The server returns an HTTP response of type application/json, which contains a JSON object with the following fields:

Field	Description
entity	Serialized value that is set in response.entity during script execution. Release handles the serialization of standard JSON data types: Number, String, Boolean, Date, Array, Dictionary, and udm.ConfigurationItem.
stdout	Text that was sent to standard output during the execution.
stderr	Text was sent to standard error during the execution.
exception	Textual representation of exception that was thrown during script execution.

HTTP status code

You can explicitly set an HTTP status code via response.statusCode. If it is not set explicitly and the script executes without error, the client will receive 200. In the case of unhandled exceptions, the client will receive 500.