Kaizen #160: Automating ZDK CLI commands using shell scripting

Kaizen #160: Automating ZDK CLI commands using shell scripting


Hello everyone,
Welcome back to Kaizen.  ZDK CLI's command-line nature allows you to easily incorporate it within a shell script, to achieve any custom action that you want to execute.  It allows you to execute multiple ZDK CLI commands seamlessly, enhancing productivity.

In this week's Kaizen post, we will discuss a shell script designed to automate the process of pushing locally modified metadata to our CRM environment. Before executing the push operation, ensure that the local metadata is up-to-date and conflicts (same file has been modified in both the local ZDK environment and the remote UI environment) are resolved. To achieve this, we will perform the following steps for files in conflict where manual intervention is required:
  • Retrieve the latest metadata from Zoho CRM to our local environment using zdk org:pull command
  • Address conflicts that may arise during the pull operation using zdk org:pull:resolve command 
  • Update our local directory with the newly pulled file using zdk org:pull:update command
  • Push changes from your local environment to the CRM using zdk org:push command
  • Update local directory and check status of push command using zdk org:push:result command
This script automates the sequential execution of these commands.

Prerequisites
  • ZDK CLI Version 1.0.2-beta
To update ZDK CLI, execute the following command in your terminal


  npm install -g @zohocrm/zdk-cli


This will initiate the installation process for the latest version.

Crafting the Shell Script

 
1.Create a new shell script file zdk_automation.sh in your ZDK project's root directory.
#!/bin/bash
touch stdout.txt
#This script is used to automate ZDK CLI conflict resolve flow
conflict_flag=false
# Clear stdout.txt at the start
> stdout.txt
#Step 1: Initial Push Command
echo "====Start of the script ====" >> stdout.txt
echo "**Executing the initial zdk org:push -j" >> stdout.txt
json_content=$(zdk org:push -j)
echo "Output  $json_content" >> stdout.txt
next_command=$(echo "$json_content" | jq -r '.next_command_sequence // empty')
echo "next_command after initial push  is $next_command">> stdout.txt
# Check if the JSON is valid
if echo "$json_content" | jq empty 2>/dev/null; then
#Step 2: Conflict Detection
    message=$(echo "$json_content" | jq -r '.message')
    echo "message: $message" >>stdout.txt
    if [[ "$message" == *"Merge Conflicts!"* ]]; then
        #Step 3: Resolving Conflicts
        conflict_flag=true
        # Pull changes to the local repository and store the output in a variable
        echo "**Executing zdk org:pull -j" >> stdout.txt
        json_content=$(zdk org:pull -j)
        echo "Output  $json_content" >> stdout.txt
        if echo "$json_content" | jq empty 2>/dev/null; then
            message=$(echo "$json_content" | jq -r '.result')
            echo "message $message" >>stdout.txt
            IFS=$'\n' read -r -d '' -a filenames <<< "$message"
            # Iterate over each filename and execute the resolve command
            for filename in "${filenames[@]}"; do
                echo "**Executing zdk org:pull:resolve for $filename" >> stdout.txt
                # Executing zdk org:pull:resolve 
                json_content=$(zdk org:pull:resolve -f "$filename" -j)
                echo "Output  $json_content" >> stdout.txt
            done
            echo "***Executing zdk org:pull:update" >> stdout.txt
            json_content=$(zdk org:pull:update -j)
            echo "Output  $json_content" >> stdout.txt
        fi
    fi
fi
#Step 4: Second Push Attempt after conflict
if [ "$conflict_flag" = true ]; then
# Push changes to the org and store the output in a variable again
echo "***Executing: zdk org:push -j after conflict resolution" >> stdout.txt
json_content=$(zdk org:push -j)
echo "Output  $json_content" >> stdout.txt
# Extract the line containing "next_command_sequence" from the push output
next_command=$(echo "$json_content" | jq -r '.next_command_sequence')
echo "Next command $next_command " >> stdout.txt
fi
#Step 5: Push result command
# Execute the next command if it exists
counter=0  # Initialize a counter
if [ -n "$next_command" ]; then
    while true; do
    # Execute the command stored in next_command and capture the output
    echo "***Executing: $next_command -j"  >> stdout.txt
    output=$(eval "$next_command -j")
    echo "Output $output" >>stdout.txt
    # Check if the output contains "Process in progress"
    if echo "$output" | grep -q "Process in progress"; then
        echo "Push process in progress. Waiting for 5 seconds..."  >> stdout.txt
        sleep 5  # Wait for 5 seconds
    else
        # If not found, break the loop and handle the output
        echo "Command executed successfully or completed."  >> stdout.txt
        break
    fi
     # Increment the counter
    counter=$((counter + 1))

    # Break the loop after 10 iterations
    if [ "$counter" -ge 10 ]; then
        echo "Maximum number of attempts(10) reached. Exiting the loop." >> stdout.txt
        echo "Try executing $next_command after some time" >> stdout.txt
        break
    fi
done
fi

Explanation of the script

Step 1: Initial Push Command
  • The script starts by executing the zdk org:push -j command. 
  • The commands executed using -j option ensures that the output is in a machine-readable JSON format, which facilitates easier parsing and processing.
  • The conflict_flag is set to false.
Step 2: Conflict Detection
  • The script checks the output for any merge conflicts. 
  • If conflicts are detected, it executes the zdk org:pull -j  command to retrieve the latest changes from the organization. The conflict_flag is set to true.
  • If conflicts are not present, the script proceeds to Step 5: Executing the push:result command.
Step 3: Resolving Conflicts
  • If conflicts are present, the script extracts a list of filenames associated with these conflicts. 
  • It iterates through this list and executes the zdk org:pull:resolve -j command for each filename, allowing for manual resolution of conflicts as needed. 
  • This opens a three-way editor in the browser where the conflicts can be resolved.
Step 4: Second Push Attempt after conflict
  • Once all conflicts are resolved, the script attempts to push any changes back to Zoho CRM by executing the zdk org:push -j command. 
Step 5: Executing push:result command 
  • This command should be followed by zdk org:push:result --jobid {id} command (indicated by a next_command_sequence) which displays the result of the push process with the mentioned job id and updates the local directory. 
  • During this process, if the result is shown as "Process in progress", a subsequent push:result command is required. In this case, the script waits for five seconds before trying again to ensure that operations complete successfully. 

2.Make the script executable
chmod +x zdk_automation.sh

3.Run your script
./zdk_automation.sh & tail -f stdout.txt

Logging Actions: All actions taken by the script are logged in stdout.txt. This serves as a record for later reference and troubleshooting.







Using ZDK CLI with shell script ensures that your ZDK CLI operations are automated daily, minimizing manual intervention while effectively managing conflicts. 
Notes
For the current beta release, ZDK CLI is exclusively available for Sandbox environment and is not operational in Production environments. 

We hope you found this post useful. We will meet you next week with another interesting topic!
If you have any questions, let us know in the comment section.

Happy Exploring!


    • Recent Topics

    • How to Delete Old Tasks/Streams Assigned by Deactivated Users? 'Operation Not Permitted' Error

      Hello, I’m using Zoho Mail and have several old tasks assigned to me in Tasks and Streams. These tasks were created by former employees whose accounts are now deactivated. When I try to delete these tasks, I get an "Operation Not Permitted" error. These

    • Zoho Books - Sales Person Contact Details on Quotes

      Hi Zoho Books Team, I've had various clients ask me about showing the phone number and email of the sales person on Quotes to help eliminate any barriers to closing sales. When I tell them that it is not possible they are always surprised and say something

    • Related products category instead recommended products.

      Hi there, It is possible to show related products of the same category (as it works in the rest of the ecommerce) instead of showing recommended products.

    • Uploading PDF files

      How do I upload a PDF file to my ZOHO site?

    • How to send invoices to 2 emails?

      Hi! We are sending invoices to the "Customer email" field that is defined Zoho Books and is obtained/synced from a custom email field in Zoho CRM. But in some clientes, the invoices have to be sent to 2 emails and we are wondering how this could be accomplished.

    • It returns 1 record

      Var1= Tools_Request[Liability_Receipt == input.Liability_No]; for each rec in Var1.Tool_Request_Description { Var2= (ET_Inventory[SKU == rec.Tools_SKU].SKU).getAll(); } info call for Var2 It only fetch 1 record On record file

    • Narrative 5: The essential role of SLAs

      Behind the scenes of a successful ticketing system - BTS Series Narrative 5: The essential role of SLAs Every organization that interacts with customers establishes a timeframe within which agents should respond to queries as part of a service level agreement

    • Nextdoor Integration

      Does Zoho social work with Nextdoor? www.nextdoor.com? Are there any plans for an integration?

    • My email sending has beed blocked due to high bounce rate. NEED HELP

      User ID: 886739811 Dear Zoho Team, I hope this message finds you well. My account (User ID: 886739811) was blocked from sending emails last week due to an unusually high bounce rate. This spike was caused by a bot attack on our platform, which led to

    • Can Zoho CRM Emails be used in Zoho Analytics in any capacity?

      We're wanting to display details about Lead Activity in regular reports through Zoho Analytics but we're having difficulty integrating Emails at all. We'd like to be able to note when an email is received and when it is sent somewhere other than just

    • IF Statement in Zoho CRM Formula Field

      Hi, I am attempting to write a formula field that will give me one result if one statement AND another statement are true, then a different value if the first statement AND a different statement are true, else 0. Stated differently: if account = destination

    • Scheduled Maintenances

      Hi, Why is adding scheduled maintenance so arduous. It should be a simple process and take very little time for basically a recurring job. Creating 3 records with similar data seems crazy to me. Is there a easy way to do this? I have to create hundreds

    • Subform Fields for Form Rules & Subform Fields as a Condition with Form Fields as the Action

      Hi, The Subform in Field Rules is great, but it is missing completley from Form Rules and it lacks being able to have Subform Fields in the Condition while having Form Fields in the Action, it works the other way around. Thanks Dan

    • Power of Automation :: Implementing Deadline-Based Task Scoring with Custom Fields

      Hello Everyone, A custom function is a software code that can be used to automate a process and this allows you to automate a notification, call a webhook, or perform logic immediately after a workflow rule is triggered. This feature helps to automate

    • Zoho Forms - Subform Integration with Zoho CRM?

      I created a form in Zoho Forms that includes a sub-form for information that I want to integrate with the CONTACTS module. I am unable to find a way integrate/map the fields in the sub-form with the Contacts module in Zoho CRM. Is there a way to do this

    • Filter by user in Pivot Chart

      I have a Pivot chart where the data should be filtered by user. The user enters the system and should see only the data that correspond to it. Can anyone help me?

    • Is ZeptoMail Still Supported? No Response to API Query in Over a Week

      Is ZeptoMail Still Supported? No Response to API Query in Over a Week I’m posting here to express my growing frustration and concern over the lack of professionalism I’ve experienced with Zoho's ZeptoMail support. On July 21st, I received a response asking

    • Add ID to the recycling bin page

      Feature request to add the ID to the recycling bin page. This would be helpful for reference when trying to recover things. This is the long zoho ID for each item. - ticket ID - contact ID - account ID - etc.

    • Remove System Defined Ticket Layout

      Hi ZohoDesk, I have created a new Ticket Layout and made it the default and I want to remove the original default one so there is only one to choose from. It won't allow me to do this, or go into the options and take the tick out of the show in Help Center.

    • ZOHOLICS Japan 2025 開催のお知らせ

      ユーザーの皆さま こんにちは、Zoho コミュニティチームの中野です。 年に一度の自社最大イベント、「ZOHOLICS Japan 2025」（ゾーホリクス）の開催が決定しましたので、こちらでお知らせします。 今年の開催回は、特別ゲストやZoho のエキスパートが、 最新のDX事情や皆さまのビジネスプロセス改善、業績アップのヒントとなる情報をお届けします。 Zoho コミュニティからは、Zoho Championの西尾さん（@西尾　真言）、 コミュニティアンバサダープログラム（ZCAP）メンバーの箕輪さんにご登壇いただき、

    • Unable to connect Zoho Learn to other Zoho Tools

      Hello Zoho, Can you work on Zoho Learn. I am unable to connect it with other Zoho tools like Zoho people or even Zoho SalesiQ. This is needed, especially if I am connect Ai to my systems. Please work on connecting your applications better, especially

    • Chatbot for Urdu language

      Hello, I have successfully set up Zoho Desk and integrated it with Moodle using ASAP. I am now looking for a chatbot that supports the Urdu language to enhance student support. My goal is to enable the chatbot within ASAP so that students can ask questions,

    • Multi Level Hierarchical Query

      Hi guys I have a situation where i am trying to extract the descendants of a particular entry. So long story short, i have the Account table with Agency (A) id = 1, and that has child Agency (B) id = 2. This child agency (B) has a child agency (C) id

    • AI-Powered Grouping and Tagging of Related Issues and Tasks in Zoho Projects

      Dear Zoho Projects Team, Greetings, We would like to suggest a feature that would greatly enhance how we manage feature requests and bug reports submitted through the Zoho Desk to Zoho Projects integration. Use Case: Our support agents handle customer

    • How to change side bar from dark mode to light mode?

      The side bar on the left side in workdrive doesn't appear to have a way to fix it from dark mode - is there a way to? I can't read in dark mode without excessive headaches, and I would really like to be able to see while I have workdrive open, as workdrive

    • How to see history on Bulk send of Customer Statements

      Hi, We bulk send statements to customers every month via Books - every month we have customers emailing requesting a statement. Currently I have no visibility on if a customer was sent the statement or not and if our process is being followed or overlooked

    • Guided Conversations - Ticket Creation

      Hi there, Using Guided Conversations to Take Customer Data and apply it into a Support Ticket for internal use, Is there a way to take multiple Textual Variables Inputs (A series of questions), and have the answers all appear in the Description of the

    • How to add buttons elements in the Header

      I am trying to add CTA (Call to Action) buttons in the right side of the main navigation menu. This is a common practice for sites but I can't seem to figure this out for Zoho Sites. Is there a custom workflow that could be shared with me? 

    • Automatic back up - Zoho Recruit, books, people,crm, analytics

      Hello, Has anyone found a good way of automatically backing up Zoho (CRM, expense, recruit, people, books, analytics).? I have found with tool that does, but it doesn't include recruit or analytics It's a bit annoying and time consuming having to go to

    • delete departments on zoho desk

      I created test departments on zoho desk. how can i delete them now?

    • Validation, checking if a file has been attached to the ticket

      A very useful option would be to allow checking, under specific conditions, whether the user has attached a file to the application, e.g., a bug report. Some applications require files to be attached, and the system could enforce this after the system

    • AI & Zoho Recruit

      Hello, I guess we all are using AI in our personal and professional lives. Now, let's imagine. Recruitment is just a succession of stages and steps. For which step would you like to see AI implemented into Zoho Recruit ? I'll start : - Automatic translation

    • Zoho Flow not handling Boolean properly

      Hi, I have a checkbox in one system that I'm trying to sync with a checkbox in Zoho CRM. The value from the source system comes in as blank (unticked) or 1 (ticked). I've written the following custom function to convert the output to either boolean false

    • Quotes Module - import data

      Hello Zoho, is it possible to import Quotes records? I was trying and i have no results. Raport shows no data imported. Could you help me please how to do it?

    • Balance Sheet - Zoho Analytics

      Hi Team, I’m looking to implement a feature that captures the conversion rate based on the filters applied. By default, it should fetch the most recent conversion rate, and when a filter (such as a timeline filter) is applied, it should return the conversion

    • files sent will not open for recipient

      work files (done in writer) which previously opened will not open for the recipient

    • How to Print the Data Model Zoho CRM

      I have created the data model in Zoho CRM and I want the ability to Print this. How do we do this please? I want the diagram exported to a PDF. There doesnt appear to be an option to do this. Thanks Andrew

    • Cisco Webex Calling Intergration

      Hi Guys, Our organisation is looking at a move from Salesforce to Zoho. We have found there is no support for Cisco Webex Calling however? Is there a way to enable this or are there any apps which can provide this? Thanks!

    • Migration of Mails from Pipedrive

      Hi, so far the migration from Pipedrive to ZOHO works pretty good. For full completeness of the migration we miss all the mails linked to Deals, Contacts, Customers, ... What possibilities do we have to have Pipedrive fully migrated to ZOHO? Best Regards,

    • Published sheets don't work anymore

      Hi, Published sheets don't work anymore. The display of values is very very slow and calculations are not displayed at all. Thanks!

    • Next Page