What's New in Octopus Deploy
Octopus introduces our streamlined deployment process editor, contextual help, Jira integration, build information and work item tracking, better release notes, a new way to organise your Octopus resources called Spaces, and first-class Kubernetes support.
2019.10
16 October 2019
Tentacle for Linux
Octopus has long supported deploying applications to Linux via SSH; however, some companies operate in highly secure environments where it's not possible to open port 22 on production servers. Our customers faced scenarios where applications exist in their own DMZs with no incoming connections permitted other than HTTPS for web traffic.
We're unlocking this scenario with Tentacle agent for Linux. Tentacle is a lightweight service that enables secure communication between the Octopus Server and deployment targets in a listening and polling modes. In polling mode, it contacts the Octopus Server and executes deployment work as required including retrieving application packages and deployment scripts.
Powershell Core support
This release adds built-in PowerShell Core support enabling teams to write cross-platform scripts for Windows and Linux platforms. Many teams are comfortable writing PowerShell scripts, and now they can write scripts on their platform of choice.
On Windows platforms, Octopus will use Windows PowerShell by default and provides the option to use PowerShell Core if desired.
On Linux platforms, Octopus will automatically execute PowerShell scripts with PowerShell Core if available.
Simpler package-based step templates
Step templates are a popular way for teams to create reusable steps for their projects. We’ve made it easier to share package-based step templates across projects with the introduction of package parameters. Previously, you needed to create parameters to expose package-based properties. With package parameters, this is no longer necessary as we now automatically show our package selector when the step template is added to a project. This makes it easier to create package-based step templates, and lets teams bind against these parameters in a much simpler way.
2019.8
29 August 2019
Streamlined deployment process editor
We updated our deployment process editor to streamline the editing process with better visibility and fewer clicks. You can now see the entire deployment process, which is useful when referencing other step names in scripts and variables. This should also make navigating between steps faster with fewer clicks, and less scrolling.
2019.5
11 June 2019
Context-sensitive help
Octopus often starts in one team at a company, and then more teams start adopting it. Thanks to customer feedback, we've learned that new users were often struggling to connect-the-dots on various Octopus concepts, from deployment targets and lifecycles, to packaging, tenants and even variables.
We want new users to be successful, and as a part of that goal, we looked at how we could make it easier to get started and grok Octopus concepts. We decided on a sidebar of helpful information that is both readily available and easily dismissible. This sidebar provides a quick summary of concepts related to the page you're viewing, as well as links to our documentation and additional helpful resources for people beginning their journey with Octopus.
2019.4
8 April 2019
Jira Plugin - Better visibility for your software pipeline
Done means deployed to production. Our new Octopus plugin for Jira Cloud enables teams to see the status of their releases and deployments directly in their Jira issues with deep links back to Octopus for further details. This enables greater visibility and insight for your team and company in the tool that they're most comfortable with.
Tracking your work from idea to production
Software usually runs through a CI/CD pipeline on its way to production. Developers push code to repositories like GitHub, and build servers like Azure DevOps and TeamCity, build it, and finally, Octopus deploys it. Traditionally, the linkages between each of those steps can get lost.
With the introduction of our build information and work item tracking, it’s now possible to see build, commit and issue details directly in Octopus. This allows teams to view the issues and build details that contributed to a release giving end-to-end traceability from issue to production. You can even click deep links for more information.
This feature shipped with support for GitHub Issues, Jira Issues and Azure DevOps work items.
Generate and share release notes automatically
Release notes are a great way to help your team and customers understand what’s new in production. This is generally a manual process and can involve talking to numerous teams and reviewing project tracking tools and source code repos.
Octopus has simplified this process by leveraging metadata from your source code commits and build process to determine what’s new in an environment. It can show you which issues and changes are new since your last deployment. You can even share this with your team on Slack or send it to your customers via email.
This feature shipped with support for GitHub Issues, Jira Issues and Azure DevOps work items.
2019.1
28 January 2019
Give teams their own space
Spaces is a new way to organize your Octopus Server, making it easy to group your projects, environments and most other things into a space for each team. It’s like moving teams from a large open plan office to private offices.
Spaces are useful for teams who have a large number of projects, environments, or tenants, and often have trouble finding the resources that are important to them. They eliminate distractions and enable teams to focus on what matters to them.
Another great benefit of Spaces is that it is a permissions boundary, simplifying the configuration of teams and roles. Octopus Server admins can delegate responsibility to “Space Managers” who are given full access to manage a space. They can define who is allowed to deploy to production and do other things within their space, without affecting teams in other spaces.
2018.9
25 October 2018
Kubernetes deployments for your whole team
Octopus helps teams adopt and scale Kubernetes. Teams new to Kubernetes can use our rich step templates to get started quickly, and experienced teams can pick the strategy that suits them: full-control with kubectl or first-class HELM support. You can work with as much or as little YAML as you prefer, and time-saving deployment strategies help you get started faster.
Our Kubernetes support builds upon Octopus fundamentals that enable you to deploy releases in a repeatable and reliable manner. Things like promoting releases through environments like Dev and Test before deploying to Production, comprehensive variable management with scoping rules and secret storage, and separating the design time process of building a deployment from the deploy time process of selecting package versions. What this means is that as you roll out new versions of your containers and Octopus will update your YAML for you.
All of these features enable teams to create a roadmap for adopting Kubernetes that works for them.