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Simulator Management

Plato Hub provides powerful commands for managing simulators throughout their lifecycle - from creation to deployment.

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Creating New Simulators

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Initialize a New Simulator

Create a brand new simulator with repository setup: 
plato hub init <simulator-name> [options]
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simulator-name
string
required
Name of the new simulator (e.g., myapp, crm-system)
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--description
string
Description for the new simulator
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--sim-type
string
default:"docker_app"
Type of simulator to create
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--directory
string
Directory to create and clone into (defaults to simulator name)
Example: 
plato hub init custom-sim --description "Custom CRM simulator" --directory ./my-crm-app
This command:
  1. Creates a new simulator in the Plato registry
  2. Sets up a Git repository for the simulator
  3. Clones the repository to your local machine
  4. Configures the local directory for development

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Working with Existing Simulators

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Clone an Existing Simulator

Download and set up a local copy of an existing simulator: 
plato hub clone <simulator-name> [--directory <path>]
Example: 
plato hub clone custom-sim
cd custom-sim
Link an existing directory to a simulator (useful for monorepos): 
plato hub link <simulator-name> [directory]
This creates a .plato-hub.json configuration without cloning - perfect for integrating simulators into existing codebases.

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Git Operations

Plato Hub provides enhanced git commands that understand simulator repositories:

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Authenticate with Hub

Set up authentication for git operations: 
plato hub login
This caches your credentials securely for seamless git operations.

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Push Changes

Push your local changes to the simulator repository: 
plato hub git push [branch-name]
Hub git commands work in “isolation” - they sync only the simulator files without affecting your monorepo structure.

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Pull Updates

Pull updates from the simulator repository: 
plato hub git pull

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Check Status

See the difference between your local simulator and the remote: 
plato hub git status
plato hub git diff

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Listing Simulators

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Available Simulators

See all simulators you have access to: 
plato list-simulators
This shows:
  • Simulator names and descriptions
  • Enabled/disabled status
  • Access permissions

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Configuration Management

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Default Configuration

When you clone or create a simulator, Plato automatically creates a plato-config.yml file: 
compute:
  cpus: 1
  memory: 2048
  disk: 10240
  app_port: 8080
  plato_messaging_port: 7000

datasets:
  base:
    entrypoint:
      type: "docker"
      file: "datasets/base/docker-compose.yml"
      healthy_wait_timeout: 300
      required_services: ["*"]
    mutation_listeners:
      container-1:
        type: "db"
        db_type: "postgresql" 
        db_host: "localhost"
        db_port: 5432
        db_user: "app_user"
        db_password: "${DB_PASSWORD}"
        db_database: "app_db"

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Configuration Options

Compute Resources

Configure CPU, memory, and disk for your VM

Datasets

Define different environments (base, test, prod-copy)

Entrypoints

Specify how your simulator services start up

Mutation Listeners

Monitor database changes for state tracking

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Best Practices

Monorepo Integration: Use plato hub link instead of clone when working with monorepos to avoid nested git repositories.
Branch Strategy: Use feature branches for development, push to main for production snapshots.
Always run plato hub login before git operations to ensure proper authentication.

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Next Steps

Now that you understand simulator management, learn about: