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+# Auto sync support design doc
+
+* Author(s): Appu Goundan (@loosebazooka)
+* Design Shepherds: Tejal Desai (@tejal29), Balint Pato (@balopat)
+* Date: 09/17/2019
+* Status: Implementation in progress
+
+## Background
+
+Currently skaffold does not support `sync` for files that are generated
+during a build. For example when syncing java files to a container, one
+would normally expect `.class` files to be sync'd, but skaffold is
+really only aware of `.java` files in a build.
+
+1. Why is this required?
+  - We would like to support the following features
+      - Skaffold can sync files that are not watched (these files are not
+        considered inputs for the container builder). Motivating example: user
+        compiles java class files outside of the container _manually_, while
+        Spring Boot DevTools is running inside the container. The class files
+        would be picked up by Skaffold and copied over, and the app would pick
+        up the changes.
+      - Skaffold can sync files that are generated by a buildscript. Motivating
+        example: user changes java files, Skaffold watchers notices this, runs the
+        buildscript that generates class files. Since class files are marked 'generated'
+        synacbles, they are synced to the container, where Spring Boot DevTools
+        picks up the change.
+      - And one or both of the following:
+          - Skaffold can be configured to run a custom script to when certain files change.
+            Motivating example: Jib by default will run a full container build
+            on "build", but we only want to generate intermediate assets (class
+            files, etc) when doing a sync build.
+          - Skaffold can sync an externally generated tar file to a remote container (see
+            [alternative design for builder using tar](#delegate-generation-of-sync-tar-to-builder))
+
+2. If this is a redesign, what are the drawbacks of the current implementation?
+  - This is not a redesign, but a new sync mode that may or may not be available
+    in the skaffold.yaml directly to users. It could simply be an internal API
+    that is usable by builders like Jib.
+  - This is similar to `_smart_` described in [sync-improvements](sync-improvements.md)
+
+3. Is there any another workaround, and if so, what are its drawbacks?
+  - Currently one can create a docker file that only copies specific build
+    results into the container and relies on a local build to generate those
+    intermediate artifacts. This requires a user to trigger a first build
+    manually before docker kicks in to containerize the application. While
+    it may be possible to automate this (for example: gradle --continuous), it
+    is not an acceptable solution to require manual external processes for
+    a build to succeed. Covered in [Hack it](#hack-it)
+
+4. Mention related issues, if there are any.
+  - This is not trying to solve the problem of dealing with a multistage
+    dockerbuild. Intermediate build artifacts might still be possible to
+    determine, however that would require an extra mechanism to do a partial
+    docker build and sync files from a built container to a running container --
+    something we do not intend to cover here.
+
+#### Problems with current API/config
+The current `sync` system has the following problems:
+1. No way to trigger local out-of-container processes - for example, in jib, to build a
+   container, one would run `./gradlew jib`, but to update class files so the
+   system may sync them, one would only be required to run `./gradlew classes`.
+2. No way to tell the system to sync non build inputs. Skaffold is
+   normally only watching `.java` files for a build, in the sync case, we want
+   it to watch `.java` files, trigger a partial build, and sync `.class` files
+   so a remote server can pick up and reload the changes.
+
+## Design
+
+### Hack it
+To get close to the functionality we want, without modifying skaffold at all, a
+Dockerfile which depends on java build outputs could be used, like:
+```
+FROM openjdk:8
+COPY build/dependencies/ /app/dependencies
+COPY build/classes/java/main/ /app/classes
+
+CMD ["java", "-cp", "/app/classes:/app/dependencies/*", "hello.Application"]
+```
+
+with a skaffold sync block that looks like:
+```
+sync:
+  manual:
+    - src: "build/classes/java/main/**/*.class"
+      dest: "/app/classes"
+      strip: "build/classes/java/main/"
+```
+
+A user's devloop then looks like this:
+
+1. run `./gradlew classes copyDependencies`
+1. run `skaffold dev`
+1. *make changes to some java file*
+1. run `./gradlew classes`
+1. *skaffold syncs files*
+
+which is far from ideal.
+
+### A new `auto` option
+
+Provide users with an `auto` option, users that use `auto` should expect
+the builder-sync to do the right thing and will not be required to do much
+configuration.
+
+`auto` will only work with builders that have implemented the `auto` spec. We
+expect at least `jib` to do implement the spec.
+
+#### User Configuration
+
+```yaml
+build:
+  artifacts:
+  - image: ...
+    context: jib-project
+    jib: {}
+    sync:
+      auto: {}
+```
+
+
+#### Get necessary information from the builder
+
+Skaffold can expose an API that can accept a complex configuration on how
+skaffold should be doing synchronization.
+
+The builder will talk to sync component by providing it with the following data
+1. A list of `generated` configs, each containing
+    1. A `command` to generate files to sync
+    1. A list of inputs to watch as triggers
+    1. A list of syncs (src, dest) to execute after generation
+1. A list of `direct` sync directives (src, dest) to execute without any script
+   execution
+
+So maybe some datastructures like (I don't really know a lot of go, so assume
+this will be written in some consistent way eventually):
+
+```golang
+type AutoSync struct {
+  generated []Generated
+  direct []Direct
+}
+
+type Generated struct {
+  command []String
+  inputs []File
+  syncables []Syncables
+}
+
+type Direct struct {
+  syncables []Syncables
+}
+
+type Syncables struct {
+  src String
+  dest String
+}
+```
+
+#### Jib - Skaffold Sync interface
+
+How a tool like Jib might surface the necessary information to Skaffold
+
+I would expect to add a task like `_jibSkaffoldSyncMap` that will produce
+json output for the skaffold-jib intergration to consume and forward to the sync
+system. And example output might look like:
+
+```
+BEGIN JIB JSON: SYNCMAP/1
+{
+  "generated": [
+    {
+      src: “target/classes”
+      dest: "app/classes",
+    },
+    {
+      src: “target/resources"
+      dest: "app/resources",
+    }
+  ]
+  "direct": [
+    {
+      src: "src/main/extra1",
+      dest: "/"
+    },
+    {
+      src: "src/main/extra2",
+      dest: "/"
+    },
+    {
+      src: ".m2/some/dep/my-dep-SNAPSHOT.jar",
+      dest: "app/dependencies/my-dep-SNAPSHOT.jar"
+    }
+  }
+}
+```
+
+Files in the `generated` section will trigger a partial rebuild of the container
+(everything before containerization) while files in the `direct` section can
+just be synchronized to the running container without a rebuild of anything.
+
+##### Sync or Rebuild?
+
+Each builder implementing an `auto` builder should be able to decide when a sync
+should be skipped and a rebuild done instead. In the jib case for instance, a
+rebuild will be triggered if:
+- a build file has changed (`build.gradle`, `pom.xml`, etc)
+- a file is deleted
+
+#### Open Issues/Questions
+
+**What about files that have specific permissions?**
+
+Jib allows users to customize file permissions, for instance a file on the
+container can be configured to be 0x456 or something. One option instead of
+dealing with this, is to just make all sync'd files 777? Or we allow passthrough
+of permissions from the build system to the sync system.
+
+**Should we allow the user to configure the auto block?**
+
+Perhaps the user knows something that jib doesnt, and wants to ignore some files
+from synchronization. They might want to do:
+
+```
+sync:
+  auto:
+    ignored:
+    - "src/main/jib/myExtraFilesThatBreakADeployment"
+```
+
+## Implementation plan for jib
+
+- [`schemas/<version>.go`] Add `Auto` to the schema under `Sync`
+- Before first build, initialize the `sync` state for builders in `auto` mode, this
+sync state is saved in the builder's specific implementation of `auto`
+
+- On file change in dev mode:
+```
+if (files were deleted)
+  return REBUILD
+
+if (changes were made to build def)
+  return REBUILD
+
+lastSyncState = syncStates["this project"]
+
+if (if all files changes are in lastSyncState.direct)
+  return SYNC{list of direct files}
+
+newSyncState = buildAndCalculateNewSyncState("this project")
+syncStates["this project"] = newSyncState
+
+diff = diff(lastSyncState, newSyncState)
+return SYNC{files in diff}
+```
+
+## Integration test plan
+
+
+This can be a Kind based test, we don't need GCP secrets. 
+Hence: 
+- need to install gradle or maven on travis integration test jobs outside the cluster for testing the build script
+- the test would do the following steps: 
+    - spin up a simple java app built by jib with skaffold dev + autosync enabled
+    - get pod name
+    - change a .java file (should trigger generation of a class file) 
+    - check with kubectl inside the pod (if pod not found as rebuild was triggered, fail) that the class file is copied over (compare content with external version) 
+
+## Alternatives Explored
+
+The following implementation had a few problems and that were potential deal
+breakers, this implementation is left in here for information purposes, no
+attempt was made to implement this. It has the following issues:
+1. Depends on `sync` using `tar` which should be an implementation detail
+2. Doesn't really provide a good base for exposing the `auto` sync configuration
+   block. As skaffold takes care of fewer things, the user must be responsible
+   for implementing it.
+
+#### Delegate generation of sync tar to builder
+
+One option is to complete hand over the detection of container updates to the
+builder which would provide skaffold with a tar to synchronize.
+
+A potential runthrough might look like:
+
+1. Skaffold detects changes
+1. Skaffold asks build system if sync should happen
+1. Build system can reply
+  1. Yes: and here is the `tar` to sync
+  1. No: this will tell skaffold it should do a rebuild
+
+This allows the builder implementation to make the sync decisions within it's
+own system.
+
+#### Jib - Skaffold Sync interface
+
+For a potential consumer of this mechanism like jib, we would expose a task like
+`_jibCreateSyncTar` which would so something like
+
+1. If we should rebuild -> tell skaffold to rebuild, so output something like
+  ```
+  REBUILD
+  ```
+1. If we can sync
+  1. Compare against last build
+  2. Tar up files for synchronization
+  3. Tell skaffold where to find that tar
+  ```
+  SYNC: /path/to/sync.tar
+  ```