Exporting or importing a blueprint

Blueprints are stored as .json files in BMC Cloud Lifecycle Management. You can export these files from one environment and import them to another environment as needed. For example, you might have different environments for development and production. After you build and test a blueprint in the development environment, you might export the blueprint and then import it to the production environment.

You can import blueprints that were created in and exported from versions 3.0 and later of BMC Cloud Lifecycle Management.

When importing a blueprint, BMC Cloud Lifecycle Management first checks whether the blueprint already exists on the target server (as identified by the blueprint's unique GUID). If the blueprint already exists, BMC Cloud Lifecycle Management checks out the blueprint on the target server, creates a new version of the blueprint, and then checks it in. For this reason, if you are using the import process to update an existing blueprint, make sure that blueprint is not already checked out. Otherwise, the import fails.

In some cases, BMC Cloud Lifecycle Management displays a warning when you import a blueprint. For example, if you import a Retired blueprint, you are warned that the blueprint will be taken out of the Retired state. As another example, if you import a blueprint that includes another blueprint, and the included blueprint already exists on the target system, you are warned that the included blueprint already exists. If you receive a warning during import, and do not receive an error, the import was successful. No separate success message is displayed.

If you export a blueprint, and then retire blueprints that are included in that exported blueprint, the retired blueprints are restored if you import the reusing blueprint.

The following BMC Communities video (4:20) describes how to export and import a service blueprint into BMC Cloud Lifecycle Management. The video also discusses the validations that occur during the import process.

 https://youtu.be/C1kQPiOa2Cc

To export a blueprint

1. In the Service Designer workspace, click a blueprint in the Blueprint Library.

   Note

   You cannot export a blueprint that is checked out.

2. Select Version > Export.

3. Do one of the following:

   If you are using...	Then...
   Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer 11, or Safari	Follow your browser's instructions for saving the .json file.
   Internet Explorer 10	a. Copy the contents of the displayed .json file to a new file using a text editor. b. Save the new file as a .json file. c. Click OK to close the original displayed .json file.

To import a blueprint

1.  In the Service Designer workspace, click Import.
2. The Import a Service Blueprint dialog box appears.
3. Click Browse, and then select a .json file to import.
4. Click OK.

5. In the Success dialog box, click OK.
   The imported blueprint is added to the Blueprint Library.

6. In the Blueprint Designer workspace, open the blueprint for editing and update its tags as needed for its new environment.
   For more information about tags, see Managing blueprint tags.

Related topics

Services 
Creating cloud services
Navigating the Service Blueprints window
Creating, copying, or editing a service blueprint