Feature Request: Plugins Configuration View

[jvanderaa]

Environment

• Python version: N/A
• Nautobot version: 1.0

Proposed Functionality

Provide plugin configuration UI for plugin settings. There is a push for having plugins configuration being in the UI already such as the Chatops, circuit maintenance, and config compliance. It would be great to continue to have the settings in a single view. Case being if there are no views for several plugins, then the plugins will not add clutter to the Plugins menu.

Use Case

One place to keep configurations for plugins in a UI without having each plugin add it's own settings page.

Database Changes

Plugin settings maybe?

External Dependencies

[glennmatthews]

Thanks for the request! This is closely related to #16 and #370.

[glennmatthews]

To keep the conversational threads separate, this is distinct from #370 in that it's not about how plugin configuration is stored, but rather how it is displayed/managed in the UI. In my opinion this makes sense to provide a UI pattern for even if each plugin has its own idiosyncratic way of managing its own settings (i.e. a unique "settings" view per plugin).

I think this logically intersects with the plan of moving the "installed plugins" table from admin to the main UI - if we can display a table of installed/enabled plugins, it logically would make sense to have an API to define a "configure" button for each relevant row, similar to how for example a device Interfaces table includes "connect", "trace", "add IP address" etc. buttons for each row.

[jedelman8]

This makes sense. @glennmatthews based on the current thoughts process, this would be focused on:

a1) creating a landing page for plugins in the main UI (similar to and/or a port from "installed plugins") -
a2) possibly having that landing page inject data to the homepage for easy access
b) creating a UI pattern (one or more view templates) within the plugin API that can be used to configure (assumption is the "configure" button you mention directs to a settings page per plugin

Is this inline with what you were describing?

[glennmatthews]

a1) creating a landing page for plugins in the main UI (similar to and/or a port from "installed plugins")

Yes

a2) possibly having that landing page inject data to the homepage for easy access

Not sure about this one - what information are you thinking would be appropriate on the homepage?

b) creating a UI pattern (one or more view templates) within the plugin API that can be used to configure (assumption is the "configure" button you mention directs to a settings page per plugin

I actually wasn't thinking of a standard view template for plugin configuration, because the structure of plugin configs is going to differ substantially between plugins. I was just thinking to have a way for a plugin to specify "I have a configuration view, and here's its URL pattern" and then have a corresponding link/button be automatically injected into the installed-plugins table/landing page for each such plugin.

[jedelman8]

Not sure about this one - what information are you thinking would be appropriate on the homepage?

Initially, was thinking a scrolling list of installed plugins and allowing one counter/metric for the plugin developer to inject into it. One-line description and a counter to mimic what is on the home page now. May not be a ton of value in this.

I actually wasn't thinking of a standard view template for plugin configuration, because the structure of plugin configs is going to differ substantially between plugins. I was just thinking to have a way for a plugin to specify "I have a configuration view, and here's its URL pattern" and then have a corresponding link/button be automatically injected into the installed-plugins table/landing page for each such plugin.

This makes sense and simplifies things a bit for initial development.

[glennmatthews]

Addressed in next by #935.