The Application Manager is a backend microservice in FlowX.AI that:

✅ Manages FlowX applications, versions, manifests, and configurations.
✅ Acts as a proxy for front-end resource requests.

The Application Manager and Runtime Manager share the same container image and Helm chart. Check the Deployment Guidelines in the release notes for version compatibility.

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Infrastructure prerequisites

Before you start setting up the Application Manager service, ensure the following infrastructure components are in place:

ComponentVersionPurpose
PostgreSQL13+Storing application data
MongoDB4.4+Managing runtime builds
Redis6.0+Caching needs
Kafka2.8+Event-driven communication
OAuth2 Server-Authentication (Keycloak recommended)

Ensure that the database for storing application data is properly set up and configured before starting the service.

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Dependencies

The Application Manager relies on other FlowX services and components to function properly:

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Core configuration environment variables

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Basic service configuration

Environment VariableDescriptionExample Value
CONFIG_PROFILESpring configuration profilesk8stemplate_v2,kafka-auth
MULTIPART_MAX_FILE_SIZEMaximum file upload size25MB
MULTIPART_MAX_REQUEST_SIZEMaximum request size25MB
LOGGING_CONFIG_FILELogging configuration filelogback-spring.xml

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Database configuration

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PostgreSQL configuration

Environment VariableDescriptionExample Value
SPRING_DATASOURCE_URLPostgreSQL JDBC URLjdbc:postgresql://postgresql:5432/app_manager
SPRING_DATASOURCE_USERNAMEDatabase usernameflowx
SPRING_DATASOURCE_PASSWORDDatabase passwordpassword
SPRING_DATASOURCE_DRIVERCLASSNAMEJDBC driver classorg.postgresql.Driver

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MongoDB configuration

The Application Manager requires MongoDB to store runtime build information. Use the following environment variables for configuration:

Environment VariableDescriptionExample Value
SPRING_DATA_MONGODB_URIMongoDB connection URImongodb://${DB_USERNAME}:${DB_PASSWORD}@mongodb-0.mongodb-headless,mongodb-1.mongodb-headless,mongodb-arbiter-0.mongodb-arbiter-headless:27017/app-runtime?retryWrites=false
DB_USERNAMEMongoDB usernameapp-runtime
DB_PASSWORDMongoDB passwordpassword
SPRING_DATA_MONGODB_STORAGEStorage type (Azure environments only)mongodb (alternative: cosmosdb)

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Redis configuration

If caching is required, configure Redis using the following environment variables:

Environment VariableDescriptionExample Value
SPRING_DATA_REDIS_HOSTRedis server hostnameredis-master
SPRING_DATA_REDIS_PASSWORDRedis passwordpassword
SPRING_DATA_REDIS_PORTRedis server port6379
SPRING_REDIS_TTLDefault Redis TTL in milliseconds5000000

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Kafka configuration

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Kafka connection and security variables

Environment VariableDescriptionExample Value
SPRING_KAFKA_BOOTSTRAPSERVERSKafka broker addresseskafka-flowx-kafka-bootstrap:9092
SPRING_KAFKA_SECURITY_PROTOCOLSecurity protocolPLAINTEXT
KAFKA_MESSAGE_MAX_BYTESMaximum message size52428800 (50MB)
FLOWX_KAFKA_PAYLOADSIZELIMITPayload size limit512000 (500KB)

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Kafka producer configuration

Environment VariableDescriptionExample Value
SPRING_KAFKA_PRODUCER_KEYSERIALIZERKey serializer classorg.apache.kafka.common.serialization.StringSerializer
SPRING_KAFKA_PRODUCER_PROPERTIES_MAX_REQUEST_SIZEMaximum request size52428800 (50MB)

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OAuth authentication variables (when using SASL_PLAINTEXT)

Environment VariableDescriptionExample Value
KAFKA_OAUTH_CLIENTIDOAuth client IDflowx-service-client
KAFKA_OAUTH_CLIENTSECRETOAuth client secretflowx-service-client-secret
KAFKA_OAUTH_TOKEN_ENDPOINT_URIOAuth token endpoint{baseUrl}/auth/realms/kafka-authz/protocol/openid-connect/token

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Kafka consumer configuration

Environment VariableDescriptionDefault Value
KAFKA_CONSUMER_GROUPID_APPLICATION_RESOURCE_EXPORTApplication export consumer groupappResourceExportGroup
KAFKA_CONSUMER_GROUPID_APPLICATION_RESOURCE_IMPORTApplication import consumer groupappResourceImportGroup
KAFKA_CONSUMER_GROUPID_APPLICATION_RESOURCE_USAGESResource usages consumer groupappResourceUsagesGroup
KAFKA_CONSUMER_GROUPID_APPLICATION_RESOURCE_RESELEMUSAGEVALIDATIONRESPResource element validation groupappResElemUsageValidationResp
KAFKA_CONSUMER_GROUPID_APPLICATION_RESOURCE_COPYResource copy consumer groupappResourceCopyGroup
KAFKA_CONSUMER_GROUPID_APPLICATION_MERGEApplication merge consumer groupappMergeItemGroup
KAFKA_CONSUMER_GROUPID_BUILD_CREATEBuild create consumer groupbuildCreateGroup
KAFKA_CONSUMER_GROUPID_BUILD_UPDATEBuild update consumer groupbuildUpdateGroup
KAFKA_CONSUMER_GROUPID_BUILD_RESOURCE_EXPORTBuild export consumer groupbuildResourceExportGroup
KAFKA_CONSUMER_GROUPID_BUILD_RESOURCE_IMPORTBuild import consumer groupbuildResourceImportGroup
KAFKA_CONSUMER_GROUPID_BUILD_STARTTIMEREVENTS_UPDATESBuild timer events updates consumerbuildStartTimerEventsUpdatesGroup
KAFKA_CONSUMER_GROUPID_PROCESS_STARTProcess start consumer groupprocessStartGroup
KAFKA_AUTH_EXCEPTION_RETRY_INTERVALAuth exception retry interval (seconds)10

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Kafka consumer threads configuration

Environment VariableDescriptionDefault Value
KAFKA_CONSUMER_THREADS_APPLICATION_RESOURCE_EXPORTApplication export consumer threads3
KAFKA_CONSUMER_THREADS_APPLICATION_RESOURCE_IMPORTApplication import consumer threads3
KAFKA_CONSUMER_THREADS_APPLICATION_RESOURCE_USAGESResource usages consumer threads3
KAFKA_CONSUMER_THREADS_APPLICATION_RESOURCE_RESELEMUSAGEVALIDATIONRESPResource validation response threads3
KAFKA_CONSUMER_THREADS_APPLICATION_RESOURCE_COPYResource copy consumer threads3
KAFKA_CONSUMER_THREADS_APPLICATION_MERGEApplication merge consumer threads3
KAFKA_CONSUMER_THREADS_BUILD_CREATEBuild create consumer threads2
KAFKA_CONSUMER_THREADS_BUILD_UPDATEBuild update consumer threads4
KAFKA_CONSUMER_THREADS_BUILD_RESOURCE_EXPORTBuild export consumer threads3
KAFKA_CONSUMER_THREADS_BUILD_RESOURCE_IMPORTBuild import consumer threads3
KAFKA_CONSUMER_THREADS_BUILD_STARTTIMEREVENTS_UPDATESBuild timer events updates consumer threads3

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Topic naming convention and pattern creation

The Application Manager uses a sophisticated topic naming convention that follows a structured pattern. This ensures consistency across environments and makes topics easily identifiable.

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Topic naming components

ComponentDefault ValueEnvironment VariableDescription
packageai.flowx.KAFKA_TOPIC_NAMING_PACKAGEBase package identifier
environmentdev.KAFKA_TOPIC_NAMING_ENVIRONMENTDeployment environment
version.v1KAFKA_TOPIC_NAMING_VERSIONTopic version
separator.KAFKA_TOPIC_NAMING_SEPARATORMain separator (referred to as dot)
separator2-KAFKA_TOPIC_NAMING_SEPARATOR2Secondary separator (as dash)
prefix${KAFKA_TOPIC_NAMING_PACKAGE}${KAFKA_TOPIC_NAMING_ENVIRONMENT}KAFKA_TOPIC_NAMING_PREFIXCombined package and environment
suffix${KAFKA_TOPIC_NAMING_VERSION}KAFKA_TOPIC_NAMING_SUFFIXThe version suffix

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Topic pattern creation

Topics are constructed using the following pattern:

{prefix} + service + {separator/dot} + action + {separator/dot} + detail + {suffix}

For example, a typical topic might look like:

ai.flowx.dev.application-version.export.v1

Where:

  • ai.flowx.dev. is the prefix (package + environment)
  • application-version is the service
  • export is the action
  • .v1 is the suffix (version)

For more complex topics, additional components are added:

ai.flowx.dev.application-version.resources-usages.sub-res-validation.response.v1

Where:

  • resources-usages represents the resource type
  • sub-res-validation represents the operation type
  • response indicates it’s a response message

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Kafka topic configuration

Application resource topics
Environment VariableDescriptionDefault Pattern
KAFKA_TOPIC_APPLICATION_RESOURCE_EXPORTApplication resource export topicai.flowx.dev.application-version.export.v1
KAFKA_TOPIC_APPLICATION_RESOURCE_IMPORTApplication resource import topicai.flowx.dev.application-version.import.v1
KAFKA_TOPIC_APPLICATION_RESOURCE_USAGES_INResource usages in topicai.flowx.dev.application-version.resources-usages.operations.bulk.v1
KAFKA_TOPIC_APPLICATION_RESOURCE_USAGES_OUTResource usages out topicai.flowx.dev.application-version.resources-usages.operations.bulk.v1
KAFKA_TOPIC_APPLICATION_RESOURCE_USAGES_REFRESHResource usages refresh topicai.flowx.dev.application-version.resources-usages.refresh.v1
KAFKA_TOPIC_APPLICATION_RESOURCE_RESELEMUSAGEVALIDATION_RESPONSEResource element usage validation responseai.flowx.dev.application-version.resources-usages.sub-res-validation.response.v1
KAFKA_TOPIC_APPLICATION_RESOURCE_RESELEMUSAGEVALIDATION_OUT_INTEGRATIONResource validation integration topicai.flowx.dev.application-version.resources-usages.sub-res-validation.request-integration.v1
KAFKA_TOPIC_APPLICATION_RESOURCE_RESELEMUSAGEVALIDATION_OUT_CMSResource validation CMS topicai.flowx.dev.application-version.resources-usages.sub-res-validation.cms.v1
KAFKA_TOPIC_APPLICATION_RESOURCE_COPYResource copy topicai.flowx.dev.application-version.copy-resource.v1
KAFKA_TOPIC_APPLICATION_MERGEApplication merge topicai.flowx.dev.application-version.merge.v1
Build resource topics
Environment VariableDescriptionDefault Pattern
KAFKA_TOPIC_BUILD_UPDATEBuild update topicai.flowx.dev.build.update.v1
KAFKA_TOPIC_BUILD_CREATEBuild create topicai.flowx.dev.build.create.v1
KAFKA_TOPIC_BUILD_RESOURCE_EXPORTBuild export topicai.flowx.dev.build.export.v1
KAFKA_TOPIC_BUILD_RESOURCE_IMPORTBuild import topicai.flowx.dev.build.import.v1
KAFKA_TOPIC_BUILD_STARTTIMEREVENTS_UPDATESTimer events updates topicai.flowx.dev.build.start-timer-events.updates.in.v1
Process topics
Environment VariableDescriptionDefault Pattern
KAFKA_TOPIC_PROCESS_STARTFOREVENT_INProcess start for event topicai.flowx.dev.core.trigger.start-for-event.process.v1
KAFKA_TOPIC_PROCESS_STARTBYNAME_INProcess start by name topicai.flowx.dev.core.trigger.start-by-name.process.v1
KAFKA_TOPIC_PROCESS_STARTBYNAME_OUTProcess start by name out topicai.flowx.dev.core.trigger.start-by-name.process.out.v1
KAFKA_TOPIC_PROCESS_SCHEDULEDTIMEREVENTS_OUT_SETSet timer schedule topicai.flowx.dev.core.trigger.set.timer-event-schedule.v1
KAFKA_TOPIC_PROCESS_SCHEDULEDTIMEREVENTS_OUT_STOPStop timer schedule topicai.flowx.dev.core.trigger.stop.timer-event-schedule.v1
Other topics
Environment VariableDescriptionDefault Pattern
KAFKA_TOPIC_AUDIT_OUTAudit topicai.flowx.dev.core.trigger.save.audit.v1
KAFKA_TOPIC_EVENTSGATEWAY_OUT_MESSAGEEvents gateway messages topicai.flowx.dev.eventsgateway.receive.copyresource.v1

These Kafka topics use predefined naming conventions for ease of use. Optional adjustments may be made if the desired topic name cannot be achieved with the standard structure.

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Authentication configuration

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OpenID Connect configuration

Environment VariableDescriptionDefault Value
SECURITY_TYPESecurity typeoauth2
SECURITY_OAUTH2_CLIENTEnable OAuth2 clientenabled
SECURITY_OAUTH2_BASE_SERVER_URLOAuth2 server base URL
SECURITY_OAUTH2_REALMOAuth2 realm name
SECURITY_OAUTH2_CLIENT_CLIENTIDOAuth2 client ID
SECURITY_OAUTH2_CLIENT_CLIENTSECRETOAuth2 client secret
SECURITY_OAUTH2_CLIENT_ACCESS_TOKEN_URIOAuth2 access token URI${SECURITY_OAUTH2_BASE_SERVER_URL}/realms/${SECURITY_OAUTH2_REALM}/protocol/openid-connect/token

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Service account configuration

Environment VariableDescriptionDefault Value
SECURITY_OAUTH2_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_ADMIN_CLIENTIDService account client IDflowx-runtime-manager-sa
SECURITY_OAUTH2_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_ADMIN_CLIENTSECRETService account client secret

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Spring security OAuth2 client configuration

Environment VariableDescriptionDefault Value
SPRING_SECURITY_OAUTH2_RESOURCE_SERVER_OPAQUE_TOKEN_INTROSPECTION_URIToken introspection URI${SECURITY_OAUTH2_BASE_SERVER_URL}/realms/${SECURITY_OAUTH2_REALM}/protocol/openid-connect/token/introspect
SPRING_SECURITY_OAUTH2_RESOURCE_SERVER_OPAQUE_TOKEN_CLIENTIDResource server client ID${SECURITY_OAUTH2_CLIENT_CLIENTID}
SPRING_SECURITY_OAUTH2_RESOURCE_SERVER_OPAQUE_TOKEN_CLIENTSECRETResource server client secret${SECURITY_OAUTH2_CLIENT_CLIENTSECRET}
SPRING_SECURITY_OAUTH2_CLIENT_REGISTRATION_MAINIDENTITY_PROVIDERIdentity provider namemainAuthProvider
SPRING_SECURITY_OAUTH2_CLIENT_REGISTRATION_MAINIDENTITY_CLIENT_NAMEClient namemainIdentity
SPRING_SECURITY_OAUTH2_CLIENT_REGISTRATION_MAINIDENTITY_CLIENTIDClient ID${SECURITY_OAUTH2_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_ADMIN_CLIENTID}
SPRING_SECURITY_OAUTH2_CLIENT_REGISTRATION_MAINIDENTITY_CLIENTSECRETClient secret${SECURITY_OAUTH2_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_ADMIN_CLIENTSECRET}
SPRING_SECURITY_OAUTH2_CLIENT_REGISTRATION_MAINIDENTITY_AUTHORIZATION_GRANT_TYPEAuthorization grant typeclient_credentials
SPRING_SECURITY_OAUTH2_CLIENT_REGISTRATION_MAINIDENTITY_CLIENT_AUTHENTICATION_METHODClient authentication methodclient_secret_post
SPRING_SECURITY_OAUTH2_CLIENT_PROVIDER_MAINAUTHPROVIDER_TOKEN_URIProvider token URI${SECURITY_OAUTH2_BASE_SERVER_URL}/realms/${SECURITY_OAUTH2_REALM}/protocol/openid-connect/token

The Application Manager requires proper authentication settings to secure access to application resources and APIs. By default, the service is configured to use Keycloak as the OpenID provider, but it can be adapted to work with other OAuth2-compatible providers.

Refer to the dedicated section for configuring user roles and access rights:

Access Management

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File storage configuration

S3 is used in the Application Manager for:

  • Storing imported and exported resources
  • Storing application versions and builds that are imported or exported
Environment VariableDescriptionExample ValueDefault
APPLICATION_FILESTORAGE_S3_SERVERURLS3 server URLhttp://minio:9000None
APPLICATION_FILESTORAGE_S3_ACCESSKEYS3 access keyHa0wvtOE9gQ2NSzghEcsNone
APPLICATION_FILESTORAGE_S3_SECRETKEYS3 secret keyjY7nYLVtNh9JzMflliQKu3noPpjxD3prxIkliErXNone
APPLICATION_FILESTORAGE_TYPEStorage types3s3
APPLICATION_FILESTORAGE_DELETIONSTRATEGYFile deletion strategydeletedelete
APPLICATION_FILESTORAGE_S3_ENABLEDEnable S3 storagetruetrue
APPLICATION_FILESTORAGE_S3_ENCRYPTIONENABLEDEnable S3 encryptionfalsefalse
APPLICATION_FILESTORAGE_S3_BUCKETPREFIXS3 bucket name prefixapplications-bucketapplications-bucket

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Monitoring and health check configuration

Environment VariableDescriptionExample ValueDefault
MANAGEMENT_METRICS_EXPORT_PROMETHEUS_ENABLEDPrometheus metricstruefalse
MANAGEMENT_HEALTH_KUBERNETES_ENABLEDKubernetes health checkfalsetrue
MANAGEMENT_HEALTH_REDIS_ENABLEDRedis health checkfalsetrue
MANAGEMENT_HEALTH_KAFKA_ENABLEDKafka health checktruetrue
MANAGEMENT_HEALTH_LIVENESSSTATE_ENABLEDLiveness statetruefalse
MANAGEMENT_HEALTH_READINESSSTATE_ENABLEDReadiness statetruefalse
MANAGEMENT_ENDPOINT_HEALTH_GROUP_LIVENESS_INCLUDELiveness probesping,diskSpace,accessInfo,buildInfo,db,mongo,kafkaClusterHealthCheckIndicatorping
MANAGEMENT_ENDPOINT_HEALTH_GROUP_READINESS_INCLUDEReadiness probesping,diskSpace,accessInfo,buildInfoping

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Resource proxy configuration

The Resource Proxy module forwards resource-related requests to appropriate services, handling CRUD operations on the manifest. It requires proper configuration of proxy endpoints:

Environment VariableDescriptionExample ValueDefault
RESOURCE_PROXY_MANIFEST_URLManifest URL for resource proxyURL valueNone
RESOURCE_PROXY_TARGET_URLTarget URL for resource forwardingURL valueNone
FLOWX_RESOURCEPROXY_RETRYGETRESOURCETIMEOUTMSResource retrieval timeout500500
FLOWX_RESOURCEPROXY_RETRYGETRESOURCEMAXCOUNTMaximum resource retrieval retries1010
FLOWX_RESOURCEPROXY_WEBCLIENT_RETRYATTEMPTSWeb client retry attempts22
FLOWX_RESOURCEPROXY_WEBCLIENT_RETRYBACKOFFRetry backoff time (seconds)11
FLOWX_RESOURCEPROXY_WEBCLIENT_MAXINMEMORYSIZEMaximum in-memory size5MB5MB
FLOWX_RUNTIMEEXECUTIONPROXY_WEBCLIENT_MAXINMEMORYSIZEMaximum REST request size5242880 (5 MB)5242880

FLOWX_RUNTIMEEXECUTIONPROXY_WEBCLIENT_MAXINMEMORYSIZE - Specifies the maximum size (in bytes) of in-memory data for REST requests. This is particularly useful when dealing with large payloads to prevent excessive memory consumption.

  • Default Value: 5242880 (5 MB)
  • Usage Example: Set to 10485760 (10 MB) to allow larger in-memory request sizes.

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Scheduler configuration

The Application Manager scheduler supports retrying failed deployments and master election for better coordination of tasks across instances:

Environment VariableDescriptionExample ValueDefault
FLOWX_SCHEDULER_RETRYFAILEDDEPLOYMENTSCRONFailed deployment retry cron0 * * * * *None
FLOWX_SCHEDULER_MASTERELECTION_ENABLEDEnable master electiontruefalse
FLOWX_SCHEDULER_MASTERELECTION_CRONEXPRESSIONMaster election cron*/30 * * * * *None
FLOWX_SCHEDULER_MASTERELECTION_PROVIDERElection providerredisNone

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Retry failed deployments

Configures a cron job to retry updating builds in the runtime database every minute when previous attempts have failed.

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Master election

Enables master election for improved scheduling coordination when multiple instances of the Application Manager are running, ensuring that scheduled tasks are only executed once.

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Configuring logging

To control the logging levels for the Application Manager, use the following environment variables:

Environment VariableDescriptionExample Value
LOGGING_LEVEL_ROOTRoot Spring Boot logs levelINFO
LOGGING_LEVEL_APPApplication-level logs levelINFO
LOGGING_LEVEL_DBDatabase interactions log levelINFO

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Data model overview

The Application Manager stores application data using a relational database schema, with key entities such as application, application_version, and application_manifest. Below are descriptions of primary entities:

  • Application - Defines an application with its details like name, type, and metadata.
  • Application Branch - Represents branches for versioning within an application.
  • Application Version - Keeps track of each version of an application, including committed and WIP statuses.
  • Application Manifest - Contains the list of resources associated with a specific application version.

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Ingress configuration

Configure ingress to control external access to Application Manager:

ingress:
  enabled: true
  public:
    enabled: false
  admin:
    enabled: true
    hostname: "{{ .Values.flowx.ingress.admin }}"
    path: /appmanager(/|$)(.*)
    annotations:
      nginx.ingress.kubernetes.io/rewrite-target: /$2
      nginx.ingress.kubernetes.io/cors-allow-headers: DNT,Keep-Alive,User-Agent,X-Requested-With,If-Modified-Since,Cache-Control,Content-Type,Range,Authorization,flowx-platform

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