coder-template-push

name	coder-template-push
description	Upload a Coder template via API — pack tar, upload file, create version with variable overrides, publish or create workspace

Use when editing Coder template Terraform files and needing to publish without the Coder CLI.

IDs (prod)

ORG_ID=8aa3e329-80eb-4a8c-a674-2125c4788dc2
BASE=https://coder.local.abbottland.io
TOKEN=$(grep CODER_TOKEN /workspaces/home-kubernetes/.env | cut -d= -f2)

Known template IDs:

• kubernetes-devcontainer: 9ee07212-25ee-4288-a1f3-1171bc89ff75
• kubernetes-ubuntu: 06e4058e-58f5-4534-894a-9181c7b9d945

Step 1: Pack template

tar -cf /tmp/template.tar -C /tmp/my-template main.tf
# Include README.md if present

Step 2: Upload file

FILE_ID=$(curl -s -X POST \
  -H "Coder-Session-Token: $TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/x-tar" \
  --data-binary @/tmp/template.tar \
  "$BASE/api/v2/files?content_type=application/x-tar" | python3 -c "import sys,json; print(json.load(sys.stdin)['hash'])")
echo "File: $FILE_ID"

Step 3: Create template version

For an existing template (new version):

VERSION=$(curl -s -X POST \
  -H "Coder-Session-Token: $TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d "{
    \"storage_method\": \"file\",
    \"file_id\": \"$FILE_ID\",
    \"provisioner\": \"terraform\",
    \"template_id\": \"<template_id>\",
    \"message\": \"<change description>\",
    \"user_variable_values\": [
      {\"name\": \"namespace\", \"value\": \"coder-workspaces\"},
      {\"name\": \"use_kubeconfig\", \"value\": \"false\"}
    ]
  }" \
  "$BASE/api/v2/organizations/$ORG_ID/templateversions") && \
echo "$VERSION" | python3 -c "import sys,json; v=json.load(sys.stdin); print('Version:', v['id'], '| Status:', v['job']['status'])"

For a new template (no template_id): omit the template_id field, then create the template separately (Step 5).

Step 4: Wait for import

VERSION_ID=<from step 3>
until curl -s -H "Coder-Session-Token: $TOKEN" \
  "$BASE/api/v2/templateversions/$VERSION_ID" | \
  python3 -c "import sys,json; v=json.load(sys.stdin); s=v['job']['status']; print(s); exit(0 if s in ('succeeded','failed') else 1)"; do sleep 3; done

Verify variables resolved correctly:

curl -s -H "Coder-Session-Token: $TOKEN" \
  "$BASE/api/v2/templateversions/$VERSION_ID/variables" | \
  python3 -c "import sys,json; [print(v['name'], '->', v['value']) for v in json.load(sys.stdin)]"

Step 5: Create new template (if brand new)

curl -s -X POST \
  -H "Coder-Session-Token: $TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d "{
    \"name\": \"kubernetes-ubuntu\",
    \"display_name\": \"Kubernetes (Ubuntu)\",
    \"description\": \"Ubuntu workspace in Kubernetes.\",
    \"icon\": \"/icon/k8s.png\",
    \"template_version_id\": \"$VERSION_ID\"
  }" \
  "$BASE/api/v2/organizations/$ORG_ID/templates" | \
  python3 -c "import sys,json; v=json.load(sys.stdin); print('Template:', v.get('id'), v.get('name'))"

Step 5b: Promote version as active (after Step 4)

curl -s -X PATCH \
  -H "Coder-Session-Token: $TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d "{\"id\": \"$VERSION_ID\"}" \
  "$BASE/api/v2/templates/<template_id>/versions" | python3 -c "import sys,json; print(json.load(sys.stdin)['message'])"

Note: PATCH /templates/:id with active_version_id body does NOT work. Use PATCH /templates/:id/versions with {"id": "..."} instead.

Step 6: Create workspace with specific version

curl -s -X POST \
  -H "Coder-Session-Token: $TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d "{
    \"name\": \"<workspace-name>\",
    \"template_version_id\": \"$VERSION_ID\",
    \"rich_parameter_values\": [
      {\"name\": \"repo\", \"value\": \"owner/repo\"}
    ]
  }" \
  "$BASE/api/v2/organizations/$ORG_ID/members/me/workspaces" | \
  python3 -c "import sys,json; v=json.load(sys.stdin); b=v.get('latest_build',{}); print('Workspace:', v.get('id')); print('Build:', b.get('id'))"

Gotchas

• user_variable_values must be set at version creation — cannot be patched after. If wrong, create a new version.
• Terraform state persists across workspace rebuilds. If a build used a wrong namespace, delete the workspace entirely before rebuilding with a new version — otherwise state drives the old values.
• Template version PATCH /templates/:id with active_version_id silently ignores the change if the version was created without user_variable_values set correctly.
• file_id returned from upload is a UUID hash — reuse it for multiple version attempts.