New user

User-Specific Pilot Configuration

Different PanDA users may have distinct requirements and preferences for how the pilot should operate. To support this flexibility, the pilot implements a plugin-based architecture that separates user-specific functionality from the core pilot framework. This design allows users to customize pilot behavior without modifying the main codebase.

To create a new user configuration:

1. Create a new directory under pilot/users/ corresponding to the new user.
2. The name of this directory will serve as the user label.
3. When launching the pilot, specify this label using the --pilot-user NAME option.

This mechanism ensures that user-specific logic is cleanly encapsulated and easily maintained, while the core pilot framework remains consistent and stable.

Actual Configuration

The pilot utilizes a standard configuration file located at pilot/util/default.cfg. This file defines a wide range of parameters (for example, Pilot.pandaserver) whose values typically remain static across runs.

In addition to the configuration file, the pilot can be launched with various command-line options that determine its behavior at startup. These options are fixed for the duration of the pilot’s execution and cannot be modified while it is running. For a complete list and description of available options, refer to the Pilot Options documentation

Implementation

The pilot ships with a generic user plugin that serves as a reference implementation. It provides default hooks the pilot expects and demonstrates how to customize behavior safely without touching the core framework. A user should copy this plugin to a new directory (e.g., pilot/users/atlas/) and adapt only what’s necessary.

Directory layout (generic plugin)

generic/ __init__.py common.py container.py copytool_definitions.py cpu.py diagnose.py jobdata.py jobmetrics.py loopingjob_definitions.py memory.py monitoring.py proxy.py setup.py utilities.py

Module overview

• common.py - Payload and workflow helpers Central helpers that the pilot calls to prepare and run the user payload. Typical responsibilities:
  • Build the payload command (including proxy export, transform setup, utility commands).
  • Validate job inputs/outputs; perform sanity checks and cleanup of redundant files.
  • Inject utility commands to run before/with/after the payload (e.g., sidecar monitors).
  • Small policy/gating decisions (e.g., time floors, debug toggles). Customize when you need to change how the payload command is assembled, what gets validated, or which auxiliary utilities run.