Creating a Template

Once logged in to the knot web interface at http://knot.internal (or the domain you configured), you’ll be presented with a list of available spaces. Initially, this list will be blank.

In this tutorial, we’ll create a space that runs PHP and includes a web server powered by Caddy.

Step 1: Start a New Template

Click on Templates in the navigation menu, then select New Template.

Fill out the following fields:
- Name: Enter phptest.
- Description: Enter a short description, such as A test space that runs PHP..
- Template Icon: Type PHP in the field and select the PHP icon.

The icon selected here will be the default icon for new spaces created from this template. However, it can be changed when creating a space.

Step 2: Define the Job

Next, define the job for the template. In this case, we’ll create a Nomad-based space.

Click on Nomad to select the container type.
In the Nomad Job field, enter the following HCL configuration:

job "${{.space.name}}-${{.user.username}}" {
  datacenters = ["dc1"]

  update {
    max_parallel = 1
    min_healthy_time = "30s"
    healthy_deadline = "1m"
    auto_revert = false
  }

  group "php" {
    count = 1

    volume "home_volume" {
      type            = "csi"
      source          = "${{.space.id}}"
      read_only       = false
      attachment_mode = "file-system"
      access_mode     = "single-node-writer"
    }

    task "php" {
      driver = "docker"
      config {
        image = "paularlott/knot-php:8.4"
        hostname = "${{ .space.name }}"
      }

      volume_mount {
        volume      = "home_volume"
        destination = "/home"
      }

      env {
        # Define environment variables for agent
        KNOT_SERVER = "${{.server.url}}"
        KNOT_AGENT_ENDPOINT = "${{.server.agent_endpoint}}"
        KNOT_SPACEID = "${{.space.id}}"
        KNOT_HTTP_PORT = "80=Web"
        KNOT_LOGLEVEL = "info"
        KNOT_USER = "${{.user.username}}"
        KNOT_SERVICE_PASSWORD = "${{.user.service_password}}"
      }

      resources {
        cpu = 300
        memory = 4096
      }
    }
  }
}

Step 3: Add a Volume Definition

To ensure data persistence between reboots, define a volume to host the user’s home directory within the container:

In the Volume Definition field, enter the following YAML configuration:

volumes:
  - id: "${{.space.id}}"
    name: "${{.space.id}}"
    plugin_id: "rbd"
    capacity_min: 10G
    capacity_max: 10G
    mount_options:
      fs_type: "ext4"
      mount_flags:
        - rw
        - noatime
    capabilities:
      - access_mode: "single-node-writer"
        attachment_mode: "file-system"
    secrets:
      userID: "storage"
      userKey: "ZEKPDSUyCCE5RdmykazPRgezLbyvxvFQ"
    parameters:
      clusterID: "e8c43967-e62d-48a8-86d7-9e778d72f77f"
      pool: "rbd"
      imageFeatures: "deep-flatten,exclusive-lock,fast-diff,layering,object-map"

Note: This assumes that the Nomad cluster has access to Ceph RBD services and can create volumes on demand.

Step 4: Enable Features

For this tutorial, we won’t apply any restrictions. However, we’ll enable the following features:

Web Terminal
SSH Access

Step 5: View the New Template

Once saved, you’ll be redirected to the Templates page, where your new template will be displayed.

What’s Next

Creating a Space

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