How-to guides

Instructions to take you through common processes for Launchpad developers, from creating a local setup and contributing changes, to operating and debugging the platform.

Get started

To get started with Launchpad development, you’ll need to get the source code and run a local Launchpad instance. You can also set up Buildd and Soyuz to enable local builds.

• Get the Launchpad source code

• Run Launchpad locally with quick set up

• Run Launchpad locally with advanced set up

• Set up the database

• Deploy Soyuz locally

• Develop with Buildd

Operate Launchpad

Managing a running Launchpad instance involves monitoring the build farm, checking frontend availability, triaging bugs, administering users, and shipping changes to production.

• Get overview of build farm

• Check availability of frontends

• Manage users and teams in development environments

• Create job to publish artifact

• Triage Launchpad project bugs

• Land updates for Loggerhead

• Build and publish Launchpad development LXD images

• Use lp-shell

Common development tasks

The Launchpad development cycle involves fixing bugs, contributing and reviewing changes, updating dependencies, and keeping the database schema current.

• Fix bugs

• Contribute changes

• Use an updated dependency

• Database schema changes process

• Apply database schema changes

• Import an Ubuntu package

Launchpad development tips

This section covers a range of helpful techniques for Launchpad development: writing and configuring tests, handling exceptions and security policies, running codehosting locally, generating API docs, and working with the database.

• Update the global configuration for tests

• Handle security policies

• Test CLI scripts

• Handle exceptions

• Preserve query count

• Run Launchpad with Chameleon template engine

• Generate Launchpad API docs

• Use codehosting locally

• Rename a database table

• Use MockIo library

Debug

Launchpad’s layered architecture means bugs can surface far from their origin. Visual Studio Code has features that can be useful when debugging. Using pdb breakpoints to debug pagetests can make your development experience easier. However, you can also run into some issues when using breakpoints to troubleshoot across multiple test layers.

• Debug tests with Visual Studio Code

• Debug stories and pagetests

• Troubleshoot breakpoint issues when running multiple test layers