Creating catalogs

Catalog maintainers can create new catalogs in the file-based catalog format for use with Operator Lifecycle Manager (OLM) v1 on OpenShift Container Platform.

Creating a file-based catalog image

You can use the opm CLI to create a catalog image that uses the plain text file-based catalog format (JSON or YAML), which replaces the deprecated SQLite database format.

Prerequisites

• You have installed the opm CLI.
• You have podman version 1.9.3+.
• A bundle image is built and pushed to a registry that supports Docker v2-2.

Procedure

1. Initialize the catalog:

   1. Create a directory for the catalog by running the following command:

      $ mkdir <catalog_dir>

   2. Generate a Dockerfile that can build a catalog image by running the opm generate dockerfile command:

      
      $ opm generate dockerfile <catalog_dir> \
          -i registry.redhat.io/openshift4/ose-operator-registry-rhel9:v4.22

      Specify the official Red Hat base image by using the -i flag, otherwise the Dockerfile uses the default upstream image.

      The Dockerfile must be in the same parent directory as the catalog directory that you created in the previous step:

      Example directory structure

      .
      ├── <catalog_dir>
      └── <catalog_dir>.Dockerfile

      where:

      .

      Specifies the parent directory.

      <catalog_dir>

      Specifies the catalog directory.

      <catalog_dir>.Dockerfile

      Specifies the Dockerfile generated by the opm generate dockerfile command.

   3. Populate the catalog with the package definition for your Operator by running the opm init command:

      $ opm init <operator_name> \
          --default-channel=preview \
          --description=./README.md \
          --icon=./operator-icon.svg \
          --output yaml \
          > <catalog_dir>/index.yaml

      • Replace the <operator_name> variable with the Operator or package, name.
      • The --default-channel flag specifies the channel that subscriptions default to if unspecified.
      • The --description flag specifies the path to the Operator’s README.md or other documentation.
      • The --icon flag specifies the path to the Operator’s icon.
      • The --output flag specifies the output format. JSON or YAML are valid values.
      • Replace the <catalog_dir> variable with the path for creating the catalog configuration file. This command generates an olm.package declarative config blob in the specified catalog configuration file.

2. Add a bundle to the catalog by running the opm render command:

   $ opm render <registry>/<namespace>/<bundle_image_name>:<tag> \
       --output=yaml \
       >> <catalog_dir>/index.yaml

   where:

   <registry>/<namespace>/<bundle_image_name>:<tag>

   Specifies the pull spec for the bundle image.

   <catalog_dir>/index.yaml

   Specifies the path to the catalog configuration file.

   note

   Channels must contain at least one bundle.

3. Add a channel entry for the bundle. For example, modify the following example to your specifications, and add it to your <catalog_dir>/index.yaml file:

   Example channel entry

   ---
   schema: olm.channel
   package: <operator_name>
   name: preview
   entries:
     - name: <operator_name>.v0.1.0

   Ensure that you include the period (.) after the <operator_name>variable but before the v in the version. Otherwise, the entry fails to pass the opm validate command.

4. Validate the file-based catalog:

   1. Run the opm validate command against the catalog directory:

      $ opm validate <catalog_dir>

   2. Check that the error code is 0:

      $ echo $?

      Example output

      0

5. Build the catalog image by running the podman build command:

   $ podman build . \
       -f <catalog_dir>.Dockerfile \
       -t <registry>/<namespace>/<catalog_image_name>:<tag>

6. Push the catalog image to a registry:

   1. If required, authenticate with your target registry by running the podman login command:

      $ podman login <registry>

   2. Push the catalog image by running the podman push command:

      $ podman push <registry>/<namespace>/<catalog_image_name>:<tag>

Additional resources

• opm CLI reference

Updating or filtering a file-based catalog image

To keep your catalog accurate and ensure users can safely upgrade installed Operators, you can use the opm CLI to extract, edit, and rebuild a file-based catalog image. You can also specify deprecation messages for packages, channels, and bundles.

After you complete the changes, you can rebuild the image as an updated version of the catalog.

note

Alternatively, if you already have a catalog image on a mirror registry, you can use the oc-mirror CLI plugin to automatically prune any removed images from an updated source version of that catalog image while mirroring it to the target registry.

For more information about the oc-mirror plugin and this use case, see the "Keeping your mirror registry content updated" section, and specifically the "Pruning images" subsection, of "Mirroring images for a disconnected installation using the oc-mirror plugin".

Prerequisites

• You have the following on your workstation:
  • The opm CLI.
  • podman version 1.9.3+.
  • A file-based catalog image.
  • A catalog directory structure recently initialized on your workstation related to this catalog. If you do not have an initialized catalog directory, create the directory and generate the Dockerfile. For more information, see the "Initialize the catalog" step from the "Creating a file-based catalog image" procedure.

Procedure

1. Extract the contents of the catalog image in YAML format to an index.yaml file in your catalog directory:

   $ opm render <registry>/<namespace>/<catalog_image_name>:<tag> \
       -o yaml > <catalog_dir>/index.yaml

   note

   Alternatively, you can use the -o json flag to output in JSON format.

2. Modify the contents of the resulting index.yaml file to your specifications:

   warning

   After a bundle has been published in a catalog, assume that one of your users has installed it. Ensure that all previously published bundles in a catalog have an update path to the current or newer channel head to avoid stranding users that have that version installed.

   • To add an Operator, follow the steps for creating package, bundle, and channel entries in the "Creating a file-based catalog image" procedure.
   • To remove an Operator, delete the set of olm.package, olm.channel, and olm.bundle blobs that relate to the package. The following example shows a set that must be deleted to remove the example-operator package from the catalog:
     Example removed entries

     ---
     defaultChannel: release-2.7
     icon:
       base64data: <base64_string>
       mediatype: image/svg+xml
     name: example-operator
     schema: olm.package
     ---
     entries:
     - name: example-operator.v2.7.0
       skipRange: '>=2.6.0 <2.7.0'
     - name: example-operator.v2.7.1
       replaces: example-operator.v2.7.0
       skipRange: '>=2.6.0 <2.7.1'
     - name: example-operator.v2.7.2
       replaces: example-operator.v2.7.1
       skipRange: '>=2.6.0 <2.7.2'
     - name: example-operator.v2.7.3
       replaces: example-operator.v2.7.2
       skipRange: '>=2.6.0 <2.7.3'
     - name: example-operator.v2.7.4
       replaces: example-operator.v2.7.3
       skipRange: '>=2.6.0 <2.7.4'
     name: release-2.7
     package: example-operator
     schema: olm.channel
     ---
     image: example.com/example-inc/example-operator-bundle@sha256:<digest>
     name: example-operator.v2.7.0
     package: example-operator
     properties:
     - type: olm.gvk
       value:
         group: example-group.example.io
         kind: MyObject
         version: v1alpha1
     - type: olm.gvk
       value:
         group: example-group.example.io
         kind: MyOtherObject
         version: v1beta1
     - type: olm.package
       value:
         packageName: example-operator
         version: 2.7.0
     - type: olm.bundle.object
       value:
         data: <base64_string>
     - type: olm.bundle.object
       value:
         data: <base64_string>
     relatedImages:
     - image: example.com/example-inc/example-related-image@sha256:<digest>
       name: example-related-image
     schema: olm.bundle
     ---

   • To add or update deprecation messages for an Operator, ensure there is a deprecations.yaml file in the same directory as the package’s index.yaml file. For information on the deprecations.yaml file format, see "olm.deprecations schema".

3. Save your changes.

4. Validate the catalog:

   $ opm validate <catalog_dir>

5. Rebuild the catalog:

   $ podman build . \
       -f <catalog_dir>.Dockerfile \
       -t <registry>/<namespace>/<catalog_image_name>:<tag>

6. Push the updated catalog image to a registry:

   $ podman push <registry>/<namespace>/<catalog_image_name>:<tag>

Verification

1. In the web console, navigate to the OperatorHub configuration resource in the Administration → Cluster Settings → Configuration page.
2. Add the catalog source or update the existing catalog source to use the pull spec for your updated catalog image. For more information, see "Adding a catalog source to a cluster".
3. After the catalog source is in a READY state, navigate to the Ecosystem → Software Catalog page. Select Operators under the Type heading and check that the changes you made are reflected in the list of Operators.

Additional resources

• Packaging format → Schemas → olm.deprecations schema
• Mirroring images for a disconnected installation using the oc-mirror plugin → Keeping your mirror registry content updated
• Adding a catalog source to a cluster