Configurator workflow

Configurator Workflow

Overview

This skill defines the optimal workflow sequence for deploying Saleor configurations. It covers the validate-diff-plan-deploy pipeline, JSON envelope parsing at each step, failure recovery with entity-scoped drill-down, and report-based context gathering.

When to Use

• "Deploy my config to the store"
• "What would change if I deploy?"
• "The last deploy failed, help me fix it"
• "Set up a deployment pipeline"
• Building CI/CD automation around the CLI
• When NOT looking for individual command flags -- use configurator-cli instead
• When NOT parsing JSON output structure -- use agent-output-parsing instead

Core Workflow Sequence

Always follow this sequence for safe deployments:

Step 1: Validate (No Network)

pnpm dlx @saleor/configurator validate --json 2>/dev/null

Parse the envelope:

• If result.valid === false: fix config.yml errors before proceeding
• If result.valid === true: continue to diff

Step 2: Diff (Read-Only)

pnpm dlx @saleor/configurator diff --json 2>/dev/null

Parse the envelope:

• If result.summary.totalChanges === 0: config is in sync, no deployment needed
• If result.hasDestructiveOperations === true: warn about deletions
• Otherwise: show summary of changes

Step 3: Plan (Preview)

pnpm dlx @saleor/configurator deploy --plan --json 2>/dev/null

Parse the envelope:

• Show creates, updates, deletes counts
• If result.willDeleteEntities === true: explicitly warn
• Ask for confirmation before proceeding

Step 4: Deploy (Execute)

pnpm dlx @saleor/configurator deploy --json 2>/dev/null

Parse the envelope:

• If exitCode === 0: success
• If exitCode === 5: partial failure, drill down into errors
• Other exit codes: follow the exit code decision tree

Workflow Diagram

validate --json
    |
    v
  valid? --no--> fix config.yml --> validate again
    |
   yes
    |
    v
diff --json
    |
    v
  changes? --no--> done (in sync)
    |
   yes
    |
    v
deploy --plan --json
    |
    v
  review plan
    |
    v
deploy --json
    |
    v
  exitCode 0? --no--> check errors, drill down
    |
   yes
    |
    v
  done

Failure Recovery

When exitCode === 5 (partial failure):

1. Parse .errors array for failed entities
2. For each failed entity, drill down:

   pnpm dlx @saleor/configurator diff --entity "Type/name" --json 2>/dev/null
   

3. Analyze field-level differences
4. Fix config.yml for the specific entities
5. Re-validate and redeploy

Drill-Down Example

# 1. Deploy fails with partial errors
OUTPUT=$(pnpm dlx @saleor/configurator deploy --json 2>/dev/null)
echo "$OUTPUT" | jq -r '.errors[] | "\(.entity): \(.message)"'

# 2. Drill into the failing entity type
pnpm dlx @saleor/configurator diff --entity-type "Categories" --json 2>/dev/null | jq '.result'

# 3. Drill into the specific entity
pnpm dlx @saleor/configurator diff --entity "Categories/electronics" --json 2>/dev/null | jq '.result.operations[].changes'

# 4. Fix config.yml based on field-level diff

# 5. Validate fix
pnpm dlx @saleor/configurator validate --json 2>/dev/null

# 6. Redeploy
pnpm dlx @saleor/configurator deploy --json 2>/dev/null

Using Reports for Context

Check previous deployment reports before starting a new workflow:

# List recent reports
ls -lt deployment-report-*.json 2>/dev/null | head -5

# Read latest report
ls -t deployment-report-*.json 2>/dev/null | head -1 | xargs cat | jq '.'

# Check for previous failures
ls -t deployment-report-*.json 2>/dev/null | head -1 | xargs cat | jq '.result.operations[] | select(.status == "failed")'

Exit Code Handling

Code	Action
0	Success - report completion
1	Unexpected - check .errors and .logs
2	Auth - verify SALEOR_URL and SALEOR_TOKEN
3	Network - verify URL is reachable
4	Validation - run validate, fix errors
5	Partial - drill down with --entity, fix, redeploy
6	Deletions blocked - show deletions, confirm intent
7	Breaking blocked - show breaking changes, confirm intent

CI/CD Pipeline Pattern

#!/bin/bash
set -e

# Step 1: Validate
VALIDATE=$(pnpm dlx @saleor/configurator validate --json 2>/dev/null)
if [ "$(echo "$VALIDATE" | jq -r '.result.valid')" != "true" ]; then
  echo "Validation failed:"
  echo "$VALIDATE" | jq -r '.result.errors[] | "  \(.path): \(.message)"'
  exit 4
fi

# Step 2: Plan
PLAN=$(pnpm dlx @saleor/configurator deploy --plan --json 2>/dev/null)
echo "Plan: $(echo "$PLAN" | jq -r '.result.summary | "creates=\(.creates) updates=\(.updates) deletes=\(.deletes)"')"

# Step 3: Deploy with safety guards
pnpm dlx @saleor/configurator deploy --fail-on-delete --json 2>/dev/null

Credentials

Credentials come from .env.local (auto-loaded) or environment variables:

• SALEOR_URL - Saleor GraphQL endpoint (must end with /graphql/)
• SALEOR_TOKEN - API authentication token

Safety Rules

• Always validate before deploying
• Always show diff/plan before executing
• Warn explicitly about deletions
• Use --fail-on-delete in CI/CD pipelines
• Parse JSON envelopes rather than scraping text output
• Non-interactive mode is auto-detected in non-TTY environments

Related Skills

• configurator-cli - Individual command reference and flags
• agent-output-parsing - JSON envelope structure and parsing patterns
• configurator-troubleshoot - Error diagnosis and fix guidance