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Resources and Resource Types

In Windmill, Resources represent connections to third party systems. Resources are a good way to define a connection to a frequently used third party system such as a database. Think of Resources as a structured way to store configuration and credentials, and access them from scripts.

Each Resource has a Resource Type (RT for short) - for example MySQL, MongoDB, Slack, etc. - that defines the schema that the resource of this type needs to implement. Schemas implement the JSON Schema specification.

Create a Resource​

To create a resource using an existing type, go to the Resources page and click "Add a resource/API".

Add a resource

Just like most objects in Windmill, Resources have a path that define their permissions - see ownership path prefix.

Each Resource has a Resource Type, that defines what fields that resource contains. Select one from the list and check the schema to see what fields are present.

Add resource example

Resources commonly need to access secrets or re-use Variables, for example passwords or API tokens. To insert a Variable into a Resource, use Insert variable (the $ sign button) and select a Variable. The name of a Variable will look like $VAR:<NAME_OF_VAR>. When resources are called from a Script, the Variable reference will be replaced by its value.

tip

It's a good practice to link a script template to Resources, so that users can easily get started with it. You can use markdown in the description field to add a link, for example:

[example script with this resource](/scripts/add?template=script/template/path)

Create a Resource Type​

Windmill comes preloaded with some common Resource Types (databases, apps, SMTP, etc. - see the list on Windmill Hub). You can also add custom Resource Types by clicking "Add a resource type" on the Resources page.

Create resource type

Use the "Add Property" button to add a field to the resource type. You can specify constraints for the field (a type, making it mandatory, specifying a default, etc). You can also view the schema by toggling the "As JSON" option:

Resource type schema view

States​

In Windmill, states are resources (but excluded from the Workspace tab for clarity). States are used by scripts to keep data persistent between runs of the same script by the same trigger (schedule or user).

They are displayed on the Resources menu, with a dedicated tab.

Using Resources​

Provided you have the right permissions, you can access resources from scripts, flows and apps using the Windmill client. For example, to access the u/user/my_postgresql resource of the posgtgresql Resource Type we would create a Script:

import { Resource } from "https://deno.land/x/windmill/mod.ts";

export async function main(
  postgres: Resource<"postgresql">,
) {
  // Use Resource...
}
postgresql = dict

def main(postgres: postgresql):
    # Use Resource...

And then select the Resource in the arguments section on the right:

tip

You can also edit the Resource or even create a new one right from the Script editor.

Select resource