GitLab CI Workflows for Hawk.js

Case 1: GitLab CI Workflow for IndexNow Strategy

Prerequisites

GitLab CI Secrets Setup:

To set up secrets in GitLab CI, follow these steps:

1. Navigate to your GitLab repository.
2. Go to Settings > CI / CD > Variables.
3. Add the following secrets:
   • FTP_HOST
   • FTP_USERNAME
   • FTP_PASSWORD

Hawk.js Configuration Example (hawk.config.js):

Ensure that the configuration references the secrets and FTP details:

module.exports = {
  // Your basic config here
  ftpCredential: {
    hostname: process.env.FTP_HOST,
    username: process.env.FTP_USERNAME,
    password: process.env.FTP_PASSWORD,
  },
};

Workflow

This workflow will:

• Set up Node.js.
• Install Hawk.js.
• Run the Hawk.js CLI with the IndexNow strategy to notify search engines about updates to your website content.

Workflow File: .gitlab-ci.yml

stages:
  - indexnow
 
indexnow:
  stage: indexnow
  image: node:20 # Choose your Node.js version
  script:
    - npm install @cresteem/hawk-js -g
    - echo "FTP_HOST=${FTP_HOST}" >> .env
    - echo "FTP_USERNAME=${FTP_USERNAME}" >> .env
    - echo "FTP_PASSWORD=${FTP_PASSWORD}" >> .env
    - npx hawk --strategy 1  # Trigger the IndexNow strategy
    - npx hawk genmap  # Optionally generate the sitemap
  only:
    - main  # Trigger only on changes to the main branch

Breakdown of the Workflow:

1. Trigger on main branch: This workflow will run whenever changes are pushed to the main branch.
2. Set up Node.js environment: It sets up the required Node.js environment using the official node:20 Docker image.
3. Install Hawk.js: Installs @cresteem/hawk-js globally.
4. Set up FTP credentials: It uses GitLab CI variables (FTP_HOST, FTP_USERNAME, FTP_PASSWORD) to set environment variables, which are later used by Hawk.js.
5. Run Hawk.js with IndexNow strategy: It runs the Hawk.js CLI with the --strategy 1 flag to notify search engines of updates.
6. Generate the sitemap (Optional): Optionally generates the sitemap with npx hawk genmap.

Case 2: GitLab CI Workflow for GWebMaster & GWebMaster2 Strategy

Prerequisites

GitLab CI Secrets Setup:

Before running the workflow, you’ll need to set up the necessary secrets in your GitLab repository:

1. Navigate to your GitLab repository.
2. Go to Settings > CI / CD > Variables.
3. Add the following secrets:
   • FTP_HOST
   • FTP_USERNAME
   • FTP_PASSWORD
   • GOOGLE_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_JSON (this will be the contents of the gserv.json file)

Hawk.js Configuration Example (hawk.config.js):

Ensure that your hawk.config.js is properly set to reference the secrets and configure FTP credentials and the Google Service Account file. Example:

module.exports = {
  lookupPatterns: ["**/*.html", "**/*.htm"],
  ignorePattern: ["node_modules/**"],
  timeZone: "Asia/Kolkata",
  domainName: "www.cresteem.com",
  serviceAccountFile: "gserv.json", // Path to Google service account file
  ftpCredential: {
    hostname: process.env.FTP_HOST,
    username: process.env.FTP_USERNAME,
    password: process.env.FTP_PASSWORD,
  },
};

Workflow

This workflow will:

• Set up Node.js.
• Install Hawk.js.
• Run the Hawk.js CLI with the Google Webmaster (GWebMaster) or Google Webmaster 2 (GWebMaster2) strategy to notify Google about updates to your website content.

Workflow File: .gitlab-ci.yml

stages:
  - gwebmaster
 
gwebmaster:
  stage: gwebmaster
  image: node:20  # Choose your desired Node.js version
  script:
    - npm install @cresteem/hawk-js -g
    - echo "${GOOGLE_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_JSON}" > gserv.json
    - echo "FTP_HOST=${FTP_HOST}" >> .env
    - echo "FTP_USERNAME=${FTP_USERNAME}" >> .env
    - echo "FTP_PASSWORD=${FTP_PASSWORD}" >> .env
    - npx hawk --strategy 2  # Trigger the GWebMaster strategy or 3 for GWebMaster2
  only:
    - main  # Trigger only on changes to the main branch

Breakdown of the Workflow:

1. Trigger on main branch: The workflow is triggered when changes are pushed to the main branch.
2. Set up Node.js environment: It uses the node:20 Docker image to set up the required environment.
3. Install Hawk.js: The @cresteem/hawk-js package is installed globally.
4. Set up Google Service Account: The Google Service Account JSON is retrieved from GitLab CI secrets and written to a file, gserv.json.
5. Set up FTP credentials: FTP credentials are retrieved from GitLab CI variables and added as environment variables.
6. Run Hawk.js with Google Webmaster strategy: It runs the Hawk.js CLI with the --strategy 2 flag to submit the sitemap to Google Search Console.

Case 3: GitLab CI Workflow for GIndex Strategy

Prerequisites

GitLab CI Secrets Setup:

Before running the workflow, you’ll need to set up the necessary secrets in your GitLab repository:

1. Navigate to your GitLab repository.
2. Go to Settings > CI / CD > Variables.
3. Add the following secrets:
   • GOOGLE_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_JSON (this will be the contents of the service-account.json file)

Hawk.js Configuration Example (hawk.config.js):

Ensure that your hawk.config.js is properly configured to reference the service account file. Example:

module.exports = {
  lookupPatterns: ["**/*.html", "**/*.htm"],
  ignorePattern: ["node_modules/**"],
  domainName: "www.cresteem.com", // Replace with your domain
  serviceAccountFile: "gserv.json", // Path to Google service account file
};

Workflow

This workflow will:

• Set up Node.js.
• Install Hawk.js.
• Run the Hawk.js CLI with the G-Index strategy to notify Google about updates to your website content.

Workflow File: .gitlab-ci.yml

stages:
  - gindex
 
gindex:
  stage: gindex
  image: node:20 # Choose your Node.js version
  script:
    - npm install @cresteem/hawk-js -g
    - echo "${GOOGLE_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_JSON}" > gserv.json
    - npx hawk --strategy 4  # Trigger the G-Index strategy
    - npx hawk genmap  # Optionally generate the sitemap
  only:
    - main  # Trigger only on changes to the main branch

Breakdown of the Workflow:

1. Trigger on main branch: The workflow is triggered when changes are pushed to the main branch.
2. Set up Node.js environment: It uses the node:20 Docker image to set up the required Node.js environment.
3. Install Hawk.js: The @cresteem/hawk-js package is installed globally.
4. Set up Google Service Account: The Google Service Account JSON is retrieved from GitLab CI secrets and written to a file.
5. Run Hawk.js with G-Index strategy: It runs the Hawk.js CLI with the --strategy 4 flag to notify Google Search Console.

Case 4: GitLab CI Workflow for Generating Sitemap

This section provides a GitLab CI workflow for generating a sitemap using Hawk.js, with the option to upload the sitemap to an FTP server.

Workflow File: .gitlab-ci.yml

stages:
  - generate-sitemap
 
generate-sitemap:
  stage: generate-sitemap
  image: node:20  # Set your desired Node.js version
  script:
    - npm install @cresteem/hawk-js -g  # Install Hawk.js globally
    - npx hawk genmap -i "src/**/*.html" -e "node_modules/**"  # Generate sitemap without uploading
    - npx hawk genmap -i "src/**/*.html" -c  # Generate and upload sitemap
  only:
    - main  # Trigger only on changes to the main branch

Breakdown of the Workflow:

1. Generate Sitemap Without Upload:
   The workflow generates the sitemap without uploading it. This is done using the npx hawk genmap -i "src/**/*.html" -e "node_modules/**" command.

2. Generate and Upload Sitemap to FTP:
   If you wish to upload the generated sitemap, the workflow also includes

npx hawk genmap -i "src/**/*.html" -c to upload the sitemap after generation.

Conclusion

With these workflows, you can easily automate the process of generating sitemaps, notifying search engines about updates, and ensuring real-time indexing of your web content. For workflows tailored to other CI platforms such as GitHub Actions or Jenkins, refer to the relevant documentation links.

• Hawk.js
• GitLab CI
• SEO automation
• IndexNow strategy
• Google Webmaster
• Google Indexing API
• Sitemap generation
• Continuous integration