Contributing to Models
Understanding the internals of Mesheryβs logical object model
Meshery uses a logical object model to describe the infrastructure and capabilities it manages in a consistent and extensible way.
What Are Meshery Models?
At the core of this system are Meshery Models β packages that define a specific type of infrastructure, application, or capability. These models include:
- Components: Individual parts of a system (e.g., services, databases).
- Relationships: How those parts interact.
- Metadata: Visual and behavioral traits, such as icons or capabilities.
Models can describe traditional technologies (like Kubernetes workloads), or more abstract entities (like annotations or diagrams).
Learn more: What are Meshery Models?
What Is the Model Schema?
Each model includes a set of entities (in the form of definitions) that Meshery can manage. Models are defined and versioned using on the Model Schema.
The schema defines the structure of the model, including the entities it contains, their relationships, and the properties they have. The schema also defines the version of the model and the version of the schema itself.
See Registry to learn more about Mesheryβs internal registry and how to use it.
Figure: Model Entity Classification
Meshery Entities and their Lifecycle
This section aids in your understanding of the vernacular of Mesheryβs internal object model and discusses the difference beteween schemas, definitions, declarations, and instances. The lifecycle of Meshery entities (components, relationships, policies) is represented by the following terms, which are used to describe the various stages of their lifecycle.
Schema
Schema (static) : the skeletal structure representing a logical view of the size, shape, characteristics of a construct.
The schema represents the skeletal structure of an entity and provides a logical view of its size, shape, and characteristics. It defines the expected properties and attributes of the entity. The schema serves as a blueprint or template for creating instances of the entity. It is a static representation that defines the structure and properties but does not contain specific configuration values.
Schema example
Component schema excerpt
{ "$id": "https://schemas.meshery.io/component.json", "$schema": "<http://json-schema.org/draft-07/schema#>", "description": "Components are the atomic units for designing infrastructure. Learn more at <https://docs.meshery.io/concepts/components>", "required": [ "apiVersion", "kind", "schema", "model" ], "additionalProperties": false, "type": "object", "properties": { "apiVersion": { "type": "string", "description": "API Version of the component." }, "kind": { "type": "string", "description": "Kind of the component." . . .
Definition
Definition (static) : An implementation of the Schema containing an outline of the specific attributes of a given, unconfigured entity.
A definition is an implementation of the schema. It contains specific configurations and values for the entity at hand. The definition provides the actual configuration details for a specific instance of the entity. It is static because it is created based on the schema but does not change once created. The definition is used to instantiate declarations of the entity.
Definition example
a generic, unconfigured Kubernetes Pod.Declaration
Declaration (static) : - A configured entity with detailed intentions of a given Definition.
Declaration example
NGINX container as a Kubernetes Pod with port 443 and SSL termination.Instance
Instance (dynamic) : A realized entity (deployed/discovered); An instantiation of the declaration.
An instance represents a realized entity. An instance is a dynamic representation that corresponds to a deployed or discovered instantiation of a declaration. An instance is created based on its corresponding definition and represents an actual running or deployed version of the entity within the environment.
Instance example
NGINX-as234z2 pod running in a cluster as a Kubernetes Pod with port 443 and SSL termination.Importing and Creating Models
Models can be created from scratch or imported using either the Meshery UI or the Meshery CLI.
To learn more, see the detailed guides on Importing Models and Creating Models.
Use Create if youβre starting from scratch. Use Import if you already have model definitions (e.g., JSON, CSV, tar).
Post Model Generation
During model generation, corresponding components are created. Next step is to enrich these component details and define their capabilities and relationships.
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Enrich Component Details When a Component is initially generated, a new Component definition is created with default properties (e.g. colors, icons, capabilities, etc.), some of which are inherited from their respective Model.
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1.1. Customize Shapes and Colors
- Default shape for new components is a circle
- Consider enriching componentsβ details based on what they represent
- Reference Cytoscape node types for possible shapes
- Example: Use a pentagon shape to represent a Deployment
- Know more about components shapes and colors
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1.2. Customize Icons
- Components inherit the icon (colored and white SVGs) of their respective Model by default
- Propose specific icons best suited to visually represent each component
- Example: Use a skull icon for a DaemonSet
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1.3. Review Capabilities
- Review and confirm assigned capabilities
- Modify capabilities as needed
See the Contributing to Components for detailed instructions.
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Identify Relationships
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2.1. Review Available Types Review and familiarize yourself with the predefined relationship kinds, types, and subtypes. See βRelationships logical conceptsβ
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2.2. Map Component Relationships
- Identify appropriate relationships for your new components
- Consider how components relate to others within the same model
- Consider relationships with components in other models
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2.3. Create Definitions Codify the relationships you have identified into a Relationship Definition
See the Contributing to Relationships for detailed instructions.
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Next Steps
The Meshery team is currently working on the following:
- Extending the model to support additional entities
- Improving the tooling for working with models
- Defining relationships between components and embedding those policies within models
We encourage you to get involved in the development of Meshery Models and to share your feedback!
Meshery Models are extensible
Meshery Models are designed to be extensible, allowing you to define new components as needed. If you have an idea for a new component, please create one and share it with the Meshery community.Suggested Reading
- Build & Release (CI) - Details of Meshery's build and release strategy.
- Contributing to Meshery Adapters - How to contribute to Meshery Adapters
- Contributing to Meshery CLI End-to-End Tests - How to contribute to Meshery Command Line Interface end-to-end testing with BATS.
- Contributing to Meshery CLI - How to contribute to Meshery Command Line Interface.
- Contributing to Meshery Docker Extension - How to contribute to Meshery Docker Extension
- Meshery Documentation Structure and Organization - Audience, high-Level outline & information architecture for Meshery Documentation
- Contributing to Meshery Docs - How to contribute to Meshery Docs.
- How to write MeshKit compatible errors - How to declare errors in Meshery components.
- Contributing to Meshery using git - How to contribute to Meshery using git
- Meshery CLI Contributing Guidelines - Design principles and code conventions.
- Contributing to Model Components - How to contribute to Meshery Model Components
- Contributing to Model Relationships - How to contribute to Meshery Models Relationships, Policies...
- Contributing to Models Quick Start - A no-fluff guide to creating your own Meshery Models quickly.
- Contributing to Meshery Policies - How to contribute to Meshery Policies
- Contributing to Meshery Schemas - How to contribute to Meshery Schemas
- Contributing to Meshery Server Events - Guide is to help backend contributors send server events using Golang.
- Contributing to Meshery UI - Notification Center - How to contribute to the Notification Center in Meshery's web-based UI.
- Contributing to Meshery UI - Sistent - How to contribute to the Meshery's web-based UI using sistent design system.
- Contributing to Meshery UI End-to-End Tests - How to contribute to end-to-end testing in Meshery UI using Playwright.
- Contributing to Meshery UI - Dashboard Widgets - Guide to extending Meshery dashboards with custom widgets.
- Contributing to Meshery UI - How to contribute to Meshery UI (web-based user interface).
- Contributing to Meshery Server - How to contribute to Meshery Server
- Setting up Meshery Development Environment on Windows - How to set up Meshery Development Environment on Windows
- End-to-End Test Status - Status reports of Meshery's various test results.