We are excited to announce that the ability to trigger workflow runs manually is now available in the CloudBees Platform. This addresses a common use case where deployment workflows need to be handled independently from source code repository events.
Authorized users (currently limited to Admins) can now run workflows on demand from the UI, gaining full control over executing their critical automations. For automations where you do not want to rely on source code repository events, you can now start them on demand.
As a result, developers can now define a workflow that can be triggered manually and run on demand, while SREs gain enhanced control with the ability to run release workflows on demand based on a defined release cadence (such as during low-traffic periods or coordinate with business schedules).
How does this work?
Manual workflow triggers are applied at the workflow level.
Select your component→ workflows→ Create Workflow
Drag trigger→ select manual → click Save -> commit your changes. Then, you can click RUN. (Assuming you have the right permissions)
Upon clicking run, you will receive a series of snapshot messages informing you that the run will start soon, when it starts, and when it finishes. Clicking the link to see a new item for workflow details will send you to the run details.
With this feature, there are now 3 workflow trigger types in the CloudBees Platform UI: pull requests and manual. While these two can be used together, we recommend:
SCM Push Request workflows can be triggered when code is committed
SCM Pull Request for CI Workflows that require a Git commit or pull request to be run.
Manual Triggers to decouple deployment from commit, allowing control in release timing.
Next Steps
Manual workflow triggers provide more control over executing critical automations that must run on demand, such as spinning up new infrastructure or starting a production deployment. Get started using manual workflow triggers in the CloudBees Platform today for free.
Be on the lookout for our next enhancement to manual workflow triggers, where we will allow users to provide input parameter values to the workflow to control execution for boolean, string, number, and choice. To learn more, visit docs.