Parameters for CreateEnvironment API

A new platform environment can be created through the CLI, a direct API request, or a JPS manifest. The CreateEnvironment method supports detailed topology settings through the env, nodes, and Docker-specific configuration arrays.

On this page

CreateEnvironment Structure
Common Environment Configurations
Node Configurations
Docker-Based Configurations
Container Links
Environment Variables
Private Registry
Volumes and Mounts
Combined Example
What’s next?

CreateEnvironment Structure

The topology parameters are divided into three main sections:

env — general environment settings.
nodes — server types, counts, resource limits, and Public IP settings.
docker — specialised settings used when nodeType is docker.

~/jelastic/environment/control/createenvironment \
  --env '{...}' \
  --nodes '[{...}]'

Common Environment Configurations

The following parameters are specified inside the env object.

Name	Description	Type	Example	Mandatory
`region`	Environment region. Available values depend on the hosting provider.	string	`default_hn_group`	No
`ishaenabled`	Enables High Availability for supported legacy Java stacks.	boolean	`true`, `false`	No
`engine`	Programming-language version.	string	`java8`, `php5.5`	Yes, except Docker-based environments
`displayName`	Environment alias.	string	`my-env-alias`	No
`sslstate`	Enables or disables Built-In SSL.	boolean	`true`, `false`	No
`shortdomain`	Name of the environment to create.	string	`my-cli-env`	Yes

--env '{
  "region": "default_hn_group",
  "ishaenabled": "false",
  "engine": "java7",
  "displayName": "my-env-alias",
  "sslstate": "true",
  "shortdomain": "my-cli-env"
}'

Node Configurations

The nodes array defines each server layer and its resource limits.

Name	Description	Type	Example	Mandatory
`extip`	Attaches a Public IP.	boolean	`true`, `false`	No
`count`	Number of nodes in the layer.	integer	`1`, `2`, `3`	No
`fixedCloudlets`	Number of fixed Cloudlets.	integer	`16`	Yes
`flexibleCloudlets`	Number of flexible Cloudlets. It cannot be lower than `fixedCloudlets`.	integer	`32`	Yes
`displayName`	Node alias.	string	`my-node-alias`	No
`nodeType`	Software stack identifier.	string	`docker`, `tomcat7`, `mysql5`, `apache2`	Yes
`docker`	Docker-specific configuration object.	object	`{...}`	Required for Docker node type

--nodes '[{
  "extip": "true",
  "count": "2",
  "fixedCloudlets": "16",
  "flexibleCloudlets": "32",
  "displayName": "my-node-alias",
  "nodeType": "docker",
  "docker": {...}
}]'

Docker-Based Configurations

The docker subsection contains the specialised parameters required for custom-container deployment.

Name	Description	Type	Example	Mandatory
`cmd`	Container run command.	string	`run.sh`	No
`image`	Docker image name with an optional tag.	string	`ubuntu`, `jelastic/tomcat8:latest`	Yes
`nodeGroup`	Environment layer where the image should be placed.	string	`cp`, `bl`, `sqldb`, `nosqldb`, `cache`, `storage`	No
`links`	Links to other containers in the environment.	array	`["cp:alias","sqldb:DB"]`	No
`env`	Container environment variables.	object	`{"VAR":"value"}`	No
`registry`	Private-registry credentials and endpoint.	object	`{...}`	No
`volumes`	Local persistent volume paths.	array	`["/data"]`	No
`volumeMounts`	Mounted remote data directories.	object	`{...}`	No
`volumesFrom`	Nodes from which volume settings should be imported.	array	`[{...}]`	No

"docker": {
  "cmd": "run.sh",
  "image": "jelastic/tomcat8:latest",
  "nodeGroup": "cp",
  "links": [...],
  "env": {...},
  "registry": {...},
  "volumes": [...],
  "volumeMounts": {...},
  "volumesFrom": [{...}]
}

When nodeGroup is omitted, the custom image is added to the Extra layer.

Container Links

The links array connects Docker containers inside one environment and assigns an alias to each link.

"links": [
  "cp:alias",
  "sqldb:DB"
]

Each value follows the nodeGroup:alias format.

Environment Variables

Use the Docker env object to declare container environment variables:

"env": {
  "DB_HOST": "database",
  "APP_MODE": "production"
}

Private Registry

When the image is stored in a private registry, provide the registry endpoint and credentials inside the registry configuration.

"registry": {
  "url": "registry.example.com",
  "user": "registry-user",
  "password": "registry-password"
}

Credential security: Do not store private-registry passwords in public repositories, shared shell history, or exposed configuration files.

Volumes and Mounts

Local Volumes

"volumes": [
  "/var/lib/app",
  "/var/log/app"
]

Mounted Directories

"volumeMounts": {
  "/mnt/shared": {
    "sourcePath": "/data",
    "sourceNodeId": 459315,
    "readOnly": false
  }
}

A mount source can be identified by a source node ID, a source node group, or a source host, depending on the storage topology.

Volumes from Another Node

"volumesFrom": [{
  "sourceNodeId": 459315,
  "readOnly": false,
  "volumes": [
    "/var/lib/app"
  ]
}]

Combined Example

~/jelastic/environment/control/createenvironment \
--env '{
  "region": "default_hn_group",
  "shortdomain": "my-docker-env",
  "displayName": "My Docker Environment",
  "sslstate": "true"
}' \
--nodes '[{
  "nodeType": "docker",
  "count": 1,
  "fixedCloudlets": 1,
  "flexibleCloudlets": 8,
  "extip": false,
  "docker": {
    "image": "jelastic/tomcat8:latest",
    "nodeGroup": "cp",
    "cmd": "run.sh",
    "links": ["sqldb:DB"],
    "env": {
      "APP_MODE": "production"
    },
    "volumes": [
      "/var/lib/app"
    ]
  }
}]'

Validation: Confirm that flexibleCloudlets is not lower than fixedCloudlets, all required stack identifiers are valid, and the selected region is enabled for the account.