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Snippet Configuration Object

Table of Contents

  1. Overview
  2. Core Methods
  3. Snippet Model Attributes
  4. Exceptions
  5. Basic Configuration
  6. Usage Examples
  7. Folder Associations
  8. Error Handling
  9. Best Practices
  10. Full Script Examples
  11. Related Models

Overview

The Snippet class manages snippet objects in Palo Alto Networks' Strata Cloud Manager. It provides methods for creating, retrieving, updating, and deleting snippets, which are reusable configuration elements. The API supports advanced filtering, pagination, and (planned) folder associations.

Core Methods

Method Description Parameters Return Type
create() Creates a new snippet data: Dict[str, Any] SnippetResponseModel
get() Retrieves a snippet by ID object_id: Union[str, UUID] SnippetResponseModel
update() Updates an existing snippet snippet: SnippetUpdateModel SnippetResponseModel
delete() Deletes a snippet object_id: Union[str, UUID] None
list() Lists snippets with filtering **filters List[SnippetResponseModel]
fetch() Gets a snippet by its name name: str Optional[SnippetResponseModel]
associate_folder() Associates a snippet with a folder snippet_id, folder_id SnippetResponseModel
disassociate_folder() Disassociates a snippet from a folder snippet_id, folder_id SnippetResponseModel

Snippet Model Attributes

Attribute Type Required Description
name str Yes Name of the snippet
id UUID Yes* Unique identifier (*response only)
description Optional[str] No Optional description of the snippet
labels Optional[List[str]] No Optional list of labels to apply to the snippet
enable_prefix Optional[bool] No Whether to enable prefix for this snippet
type Optional[str] No Snippet type: 'predefined', 'custom', 'readonly'
display_name Optional[str] No Display name for the snippet
last_update Optional[str] No Timestamp of last update
created_in Optional[str] No Timestamp of creation
folders Optional[List[FolderReference]] No Folders the snippet is applied to
shared_in Optional[str] No Sharing scope (e.g., 'local')

Exceptions

Exception HTTP Code Description
InvalidObjectError 400 Invalid snippet data or format
ObjectNotPresentError 404 Requested snippet not found
APIError Various General API communication error
NotImplementedError 501 Feature not yet implemented (folder associations)
AuthenticationError 401 Authentication failed
ServerError 500 Internal server error

Basic Configuration

The Snippet service can be accessed using either the unified client interface (recommended) or the traditional service instantiation.

from scm.client import ScmClient

# Initialize client
client = ScmClient(
    client_id="your_client_id",
    client_secret="your_client_secret",
    tsg_id="your_tsg_id"
)

# Access the Snippet service directly through the client
# No need to create a separate Snippet instance
snippets = client.snippet

Traditional Service Instantiation (Legacy)

from scm.client import Scm
from scm.config.setup.snippet import Snippet

# Initialize client
client = Scm(
    client_id="your_client_id",
    client_secret="your_client_secret",
    tsg_id="your_tsg_id"
)

# Initialize Snippet object explicitly
snippets = Snippet(client)

Note

While both approaches work, the unified client interface is recommended for new development as it provides a more streamlined developer experience and ensures proper token refresh handling across all services.

Usage Examples

Creating Snippets

snippet_data = {
    "name": "Security Policy Snippet",
    "description": "Common security policy configurations",
    "labels": ["security", "policy"],
    "enable_prefix": True
}
created = snippets.create(snippet_data)
print(created.id, created.name)

Retrieving Snippets

snippet = snippets.get("12345678-1234-1234-1234-123456789012")
print(snippet.name, snippet.type)

Fetching a Snippet by Name

snippet_by_name = snippets.fetch("Security Policy Snippet")
if snippet_by_name:
    print(snippet_by_name.id)

Updating Snippets

from scm.models.setup.snippet import SnippetUpdateModel
update_model = SnippetUpdateModel(
    id="12345678-1234-1234-1234-123456789012",
    name="Updated Security Policy",
    description="Updated security policy configs",
    labels=["security", "updated"]
)
updated = snippets.update(update_model)
print(updated.name)

Listing Snippets

all_snippets = snippets.list()
security_snippets = snippets.list(labels=["security"])
custom_snippets = snippets.list(types=["custom"])

Filtering Responses

# Filter snippets by type
custom_snippets = snippets.list(types=["custom"])
# Filter snippets by labels
security_snippets = snippets.list(labels=["security"])

Controlling Pagination with max_limit

snippets = Snippet(client, max_limit=100)
results = snippets.list()

Deleting Snippets

snippets.delete("12345678-1234-1234-1234-123456789012")

Folder Associations

The API supports associating snippets with folders, but this may not be fully implemented yet: 

try:
    updated_snippet = snippets.associate_folder(snippet_id, folder_id)
    print("Associated snippet with folder")
    result = snippets.disassociate_folder(snippet_id, folder_id)
    print("Disassociated snippet from folder")
except NotImplementedError as e:
    print(f"Folder association not yet implemented: {e}")

Error Handling

from scm.exceptions import ObjectNotPresentError, InvalidObjectError
try:
    snippets.get("nonexistent-id")
except ObjectNotPresentError:
    print("Snippet not found!")

try:
    snippets.create({"name": "", "description": "Invalid"})
except InvalidObjectError as e:
    print("Validation error:", e)

Best Practices

  • Always provide a non-empty name when creating or updating snippets.
  • Use labels to organize and filter snippets.
  • Handle exceptions for robust automation.
  • Use pagination (max_limit) for large snippet sets.

Full Script Examples

See the test suite in tests/scm/config/setup/test_snippet.py for comprehensive usage and edge cases.