Use build and deploy hooks

As your app goes through the build and deploy process, you might want to run custom commands. These might include compiling the app, setting the configuration for services based on variables, and rebuilding search indexes. Do these tasks using one of three hooks.

The following example goes through each of these hooks for the Next.js Drupal template. This template uses Drupal as the headless CMS backend and Next.js for the frontend. It’s largely based on the Next.js for Drupal project

The example commands are somewhat simplified, but you can find them all in the GitHub repository.

In this case, you have two apps and so two .platform.app.yaml configuration files. Each file is in the folder for that app: api for Drupal and client for Next.js. You run one hook for Drupal and two hooks for Next.js.

Build dependencies

The Next.js app uses Yarn for dependencies, which need to be installed. Installing dependencies requires writing to disk and doesn’t need any relationships with other services. This makes it perfect for a build hook.

In this case, the app has two sets of dependencies:

• For the main app
• For a script to test connections between the apps

Create your build hook to install them all:

1. Create a build hook in your app configuration:

   client/.platform.app.yaml

   hooks:
     build: |
       set -e    

   The hook has two parts so far:

   • The | means the lines that follow can contain a series of commands. They aren’t interpreted as new YAML properties.

   • Adding set -e means that the hook fails if any of the commands in it fails. Without this setting, the hook fails only if its final command fails.

     If a build hook fails for any reason, the build is aborted and the deploy doesn’t happen. Note that this only works for build hooks. If other hooks fail, the deploy still happens.

2. Install your top-level dependencies inside this build hook:

 hooks:
   build: |
     set -e
     yarn --frozen-lockfile     

This installs all the dependencies for the main app.

3. Copy the testing script from the template. Copy the files in this directory into a client/platformsh-scripts/test directory. This script debugs the connection between Next.js and Drupal.

4. In the hook, switch to the directory with the testing script. Each hook starts in the app root. In this case, the app root is client. To run commands from a different directory, you need to change directories (relative to the app root):

   client/.platform.app.yaml

   hooks:
     build: |
       set -e
       yarn --frozen-lockfile
   
       cd platformsh-scripts/test    

5. Install the dependencies for the testing script:

   client/.platform.app.yaml

   hooks:
     build: |
       set -e
       yarn --frozen-lockfile
   
       cd platformsh-scripts/test
       yarn --frozen-lockfile    

Now all your Next.js dependencies are installed.

Configure Drush and Drupal

The example uses Drush to handle routine tasks. For its configuration, Drush needs the URL of the site. That means the configuration can’t be done in the build hook. During the build hook, the site isn’t yet deployed and so there is no URL to use in the configuration. (The PLATFORM_ROUTES variable isn’t available.)

Add the configuration during the deploy hook. This way you can access the URL before the site accepts requests (unlike in the post_deploy hook).

The script also prepares your environment to handle requests, such as by rebuilding the cache and updating the database. Because these steps should be done before the site accepts request, they should be in the deploy hook.

All of this configuration and preparation can be handled in a bash script.

1. Copy the preparation script from the Platform.sh template into a file called hooks.deploy.sh in a api/platformsh-scripts directory. Note that hooks are executed using the dash shell, not the bash shell used by SSH logins.

2. Copy the Drush configuration script from the template into a drush/platformsh_generate_drush_yml.php file.

3. Set a mount. Unlike in the build hook, in the deploy hook the system is generally read-only. So create a mount where you can write the Drush configuration:

   api/.platform.app.yaml

   mounts:
     /.drush:
       source: storage
       source_path: 'drush'

4. Add a deploy hook that runs the preparation script:

   api/.platform.app.yaml

   hooks:
     deploy: !include
       type: string
       path: platformsh-scripts/hooks.deploy.sh

   This !include syntax tells the hook to process the script as if it were included in the YAML file directly. This helps with longer and more complicated scripts.

Get data from Drupal to Next.js

This Next.js app generates a static site. Often, you would generate the site for Next.js in a build hook. In this case, you first need to get data from Drupal to Next.js.

This means you need to wait until Drupal is accepting requests and there is a relationship between the two apps. So the post_deploy hook is the perfect place to build your Next.js site.

You can also redeploy the site every time content changes in Drupal. On redeploys, only the post_deploy hook runs, meaning the Drupal build is reused and Next.js is built again. So you don’t have to rebuild Drupal but you still get fresh content.

1. Set a relationship for Next.js with Drupal. This allows the Next.js app to make requests and receive data from the Drupal app.

   client/.platform.app.yaml

   relationships:
     api:
       service: 'api'
       endpoint: 'http'

2. Set mounts. Like the deploy hook, the post_deploy hook has a read-only file system. Create mounts for your Next.js files:

   client/.platform.app.yaml

   mounts:
     /.cache:
       source: local
       source_path: 'cache'
     /.next:
       source: local
       source_path: 'next'
     /.pm2:
       source: local
       source_path: 'pm2'
     deploy:
       source: service
       service: files
       source_path: deploy

3. Add a post_deploy hook that first tests the connection between the apps:

   client/.platform.app.yaml

   hooks:
     post_deploy: |
       . deploy/platformsh.environment
       cd platformsh-scripts/test && yarn debug    

   Note that you could add set -e here, but even if the job fails, the build/deployment itself can still be counted as successful.

4. Then build the Next.js site:

   client/.platform.app.yaml

   hooks:
     post_deploy: |
       . deploy/platformsh.environment
       cd platformsh-scripts/test && yarn debug
   
       cd $PLATFORM_APP_DIR && yarn build    

   The $PLATFORM_APP_DIR variable represents the app root and can always get you back there.

Final hooks

You can find the complete Drupal configuration and Next.js configuration on GitHub. The following shows only the parts necessary for the hooks.

Drupal

# The name of this app. Must be unique within the project.
name: 'drupal'

# The runtime the app uses.
type: 'php:8.1'

dependencies:
  php:
    composer/composer: '^2'

# The relationships of the app with services or other apps.
relationships:
  database:
    service: 'db'
    endpoint: 'mysql'
  redis:
    service: 'cache'
    endpoint: 'redis'

# The hooks executed at various points in the lifecycle of the app.
hooks:
  deploy: !include
    type: string
    path: platformsh-scripts/hooks.deploy.sh

# The size of the persistent disk of the app (in MB).
disk: 2048

# The 'mounts' describe writable, persistent filesystem mounts in the app.
mounts:
  /.drush:
    source: local
    source_path: 'drush'
  /drush-backups:
    source: local
    source_path: 'drush-backups'
  deploy:
    source: service
    service: files
    source_path: deploy

Next.js

# The name of this app, which must be unique within the project.
name: 'nextjs'

# The type key specifies the language and version for your app.
type: 'nodejs:14'

dependencies:
  nodejs:
    yarn: "1.22.17"
    pm2: "5.2.0"

build:
  flavor: none

relationships:
  api:
    service: 'api'
    endpoint: 'http'

# The hooks that are triggered when the package is deployed.
hooks:
  build: |
    set -e
    yarn --frozen-lockfile # Install dependencies for the main app

    cd platformsh-scripts/test
    yarn --frozen-lockfile # Install dependencies for the testing script
    # Next.js's build is delayed to the post_deploy hook, when Drupal is available for requests.    
  post_deploy: |
    . deploy/platformsh.environment
    cd platformsh-scripts/test && yarn debug

    cd $PLATFORM_APP_DIR && yarn build    

# The size of the persistent disk of the app (in MB).
disk: 512

mounts:
  /.cache:
    source: local
    source_path: 'cache'
  /.next:
    source: local
    source_path: 'next'
  /.pm2:
    source: local
    source_path: 'pm2'
  deploy:
    source: service
    service: files
    source_path: deploy