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Salt.Box - release 0.2.0

· 5 min read
Salt.Box Team
Salt.Box Team
SaltBox maintainers

Salt.Box 0.2.0 — Platform Stabilization, Pillar Subsystem, and File Manager​

Release Date: April 2026

Salt.Box 0.2.0 is a major update focused on UI maturity, a redesigned Pillar subsystem, File Manager integration, and large-scale stabilization across all platform modules. Over 65 bugs have been fixed and more than 60 new features have been implemented.

For Users​

Salt.Box 0.2.0 makes daily work with the platform faster, more visual, and more predictable:

Redesigned Pillar System​

  • Creating global Pillars from the UI.
  • Secure Pillar — sensitive data is stored in encrypted form and decrypted only when transmitted to the Salt Master.
  • Automatic pillarenv substitution when running tasks and commands — no need to specify the environment manually.

Core File Manager​

  • A new File Manager module is integrated into the platform and accessible from the sidebar menu.
  • Caching support and correct header handling for file operations.

Consistent and Predictable Interface​

  • Redesigned tables: unified control styles, click behavior, and actions across all modules.
  • Unified side panels (Drawers) — stable behavior during real-time data updates, consistent behavior for similar entities.
  • Unified filter builder with an active filtering indicator on the button.
  • Tree view for collections in the navigation — a clear infrastructure hierarchy.

Improved Task and Command Handling​

  • Task progress bar with a full set of statuses (including launch errors and ignored states).
  • Targeted task restart on specific clients without affecting the rest.
  • Client response timeout — the system no longer hangs on unreachable minions.
  • Aggregated list of tasks and policies on a single page.
  • Detailed task/policy information in a redesigned form.
  • Menu items are automatically hidden for unavailable modules.
  • Wizards moved to the "SaltBox Settings" section.
  • Inventory module moved to the second level of the sidebar menu.
  • "Back" button instead of breadcrumbs — faster and more compact.

Performance and Stability​

  • Eliminated slow system behavior with large data volumes.
  • Fixed UI disappearance when running tasks on a large number of clients.
  • Added a loader before module loading — eliminated error flashing on startup.
  • Correct table updates via WebSocket with active filters.

For Developers and Integrators​

In release 0.2.0, the backend API has been standardized, the data model has been expanded, and new integration points have been added.

Backend API​

  • List endpoints brought to a unified format (POST with pagination, sorting, and filtering).
  • CRUD endpoints for task templates, including fetching JSON schemas by template name.
  • Endpoints for stopping and restarting scenarios.
  • Endpoint for forced execution of a scheduler task.
  • Timezone support in scheduler tasks.
  • Job timeouts — protection against hanging on unreachable minions.
  • New job statuses with creation of empty Job Returns for all target clients.

Pillar API​

  • Full cycle of creating and listing pillars.
  • Secure Pillar mechanism at the storage level.
  • Automatic pillarenv substitution via kwarg when sending to Salt.
  • Passing collection id as pillarenv.
  • Authorization policies for Pillar endpoints (in development).

Service Discovery​

  • Added is_available field to service configuration — the ability to programmatically disable modules.
  • File Manager connected to Service Discovery.

Tree Structures​

  • API changes to support tree-based collections.
  • New BaseTreeMongoRepository method for returning the full tree.

Deployment Infrastructure​

  • Cleaned up salt-master:/srv/ — organized directory structure.
  • Windows grains installation in the saltbox_livecd.py script when /proc/cmdline parameters are missing.
  • VCD: host address allocation and external address forwarding in CloudInit.
  • Documented the current RabbitMQ configuration schema.

Bug Fixes (65+)​

AreaDescriptionCount
Navigation and "Back" buttonFixed the back button behavior in all contexts (tasks, commands, clients, scheduler)6
FiltersCorrect application, persistence, and display of filters on all pages5
SortingFixed sorting in command and task tables and in MongoDB aggregation4
JSON forms and schemasDefault values, validation, conditional fields, allOf blocks, ui:label6
SchedulerOne-time execution, yearly schedule, date picker3
Tables and dataClient/Total count, table rendering, WebSocket updates7
Drawers and modalsEmpty panels, dialog closing, display errors4
Buttons and icons"Repeat command", switches, missing icons, keyboard shortcuts7
PillarAPI errors for creation/viewing, empty rows in JSON editor3
UI/LayoutHorizontal scrollbar, padding, button placement, network interfaces5
Other401 authorization, task creation with unaccepted master, duplicate clients in MongoDB, performance5+