Deploy custom extensions

Overview

In the vast majority of situations, extensions are automatically managed by CAST Imaging, i.e. they are downloaded from either CAST Extend  or Extend Local Server and then installed. However, it may be necessary to deploy a custom extension that is not available on CAST Extend. There are two ways to do so:

• Upload the extension in the Custom Extensions panel - no access to the file system of the CAST Imaging servers is required.
• Deploy the extension manually - the .nupkg file is copied into the shared extensions folder, which requires access to the file system.

Upload a custom extension in the Custom Extensions panel

The Custom Extensions panel manages the lifecycle of your custom extensions from the UI: you can upload an extension, validate it, and delete it when it is no longer required. Uploaded extensions are stored in the shared extensions folder used by all analysis-node components, so no access to the file system of the CAST Imaging servers is needed.

The panel is available to users with the Administrator role and is accessed with the Custom Extensions entry in the left panel:

Step 1 - Obtain the custom extension

First obtain the custom extension in .nupkg format - if you receive a .zip or other archive file, ensure you unpack it to find the .nupkg within. Only files with the .nupkg extension can be uploaded.

Step 2 - Upload the .nupkg file

Click Upload, select the .nupkg file and confirm. When the upload completes, the extension is listed in the panel with its id and version:

Step 3 - Validate the extension

Use the Validate action to check the extension before you use it in an analysis. The validation reports any problems found, for example a dependency on another extension that is not present:

Step 4 - Locate the extension in the UI

An uploaded extension is available immediately: no refresh or restart of the analysis-node components is required. Find it in the Extensions Strategy panel and in the Application analysis configuration - Extensions panel, and select it for installation in your application:

Delete a custom extension

Use the Delete action to remove an uploaded extension. An extension can be deleted only when it is not used by any application - where the extension is in use, the action is not available and you must first remove the extension from each application that uses it.

Extensions managed in Architecture Studio

Extensions with an id beginning com.castsoftware.ac.am are listed in the panel but the actions are disabled: these extensions are generated and managed in Architecture Studio and must not be modified here.

Deploy a custom extension manually

The .nupkg file can also be placed directly in the shared extensions folder. This method requires access to the file system of the CAST Imaging servers.

Step 1 - Obtain the custom extension

First obtain the custom extension in .nupkg format - if you receive a .zip or other archive file, ensure you unpack it to find the .nupkg within.

Step 2 - Copy the .nupkg file

The .nupkg file must be placed in the following “shared” location so that it is available to all analysis-node components:

Microsoft Windows - defined by SHARED_FOLDER variable:

c:\cast-node\common-data\extensions

Docker/Podman- defined by INSTALL_DIR variable:

/opt/cast/shared/common-data/extensions

Kubernetes:

kubectl cp -n castimaging-v3  .\com.castsoftware.myextension.1.0.nupkg console-analysis-node-core-0:/opt/cast/shared/common-data/extensions/

Step 3 - Ensure CAST Imaging is showing your custom extension

CAST Imaging will poll for new extensions every 2 hours, after which the extension will be visible in the Extensions Strategy admin panel and in the Application analysis configuration - Extensions panel.

If you need to manage the extension immediately, you can use the Refresh button in either of the panels mentioned previously:

If you are still experiencing issues accessing the custom extension, you can restart all analysis-node components to force a refresh:

Microsoft Windows:

Restart the CAST Imaging Analysis Node Windows service on each machine where an analysis-node is installed.

Docker/Podman:

cd /opt/cast/install/imaging-node
sudo docker compose down
sudo docker compose up -d

Kubernetes:

Util-ScaleDownAll.bat|sh
Util-ScaleUpAll.bat|sh

Step 4 - Locate extension in UI

Use the Available Extensions panel to find and select the custom extension for installation and inclusion in your application: