what's new?

We're glad you asked! Version 2.0 is the most exciting release of Pulse yet, including changes such as:


detailed new feature list

templated configuration

Almost all continuous integration setups involve a lot of redundancy. For example, all of your projects probably use the same SCM server. Your nightly and continuous builds may be nearly identical. Setting up and maintaining such similar configurations is a pain. In 2.0, we have solved this problem by allowing you to define your common configuration in templates. You can then inherit this shared configuration in multiple concrete projects. Templates can even be nested to allow powerful combinations.

new configuration ui

The templated configuration system comes complete with an all-new user interface. This interface uses AJAX to provide a consistent view with a rich experience. The UI also exposes the power of the new templating system in an intuitive way.

Users coming from earlier versions will notice that the configuration has all moved into the administration section of the UI. This removes noise from the reporting pages and improves overall consistency.

plugins

The extensbility of Pulse has been vastly increased by the addition of a new plugin system. Users can now plugin support for external tools like SCMs, build tools and unit testing libraries. More extension points are planned in the future.

We have invested serious effort into making plugins simple to write. The plugin system is based on the existing OSGI standard. Plugins with configuration need only declare the data they require - the system takes care of persistence, templating support and generation of the GUI!

flexible security

Users have been asking for fine-grained control of access to their Pulse server, and 2.0 delivers. An all-new security system allows ACL-level control of access to projects and agents. This allows control of individual actions such as the ability to trigger a build.

The new security system also supports virtual groups for anonymous users and all users. This allows privileges to be assigned easily without the need to create and maintain equivalent groups manually.

configuration api

Earlier versions of Pulse included an XML-RPC remote API with some access to the server configuration. In 2.0, the API has been extended to allow full access to the new configuration system. Now all configuration is discoverable and editable programmatically.

Imagine creating simple scripts to configure new projects at the push of a button!

external databases

Although Pulse 1.2 had support for MySQL and PostgreSQL, the setup required some manual configuration. In 2.0 you can directly configure an external database in the setup wizard.

Upgrading servers using custom JDBC drivers has also been simplified - there is no need to manually copy in the driver every time.

predictable urls

The URL scheme for the web UI has been completely overhauled to be predictable and user-friendly. URLs no longer contain cryptic IDs, making it easy to manually edit, guess and generate valid URLs.

The scheme also supports virtual identifiers which allow access to moving targets via a static URL. For example, you can use the 'success' identifier in place of a build number to link to the latest successful build.

integrated help

The new configuration UI includes an integrated help system. This gives you direct access to documentation matching your exact Pulse version without ever leaving the UI.

and more...

We see Pulse 2.0 as our most important milestone yet. But why keep reading about it when you can download it now and try it yourself? It's free for 30 days (forever for small teams)!