Hi Friends,

Throughout my project experiences , I have been surrounded with quite challenging tasks. One of that was exploring Groovy Script. By this blog post , I would try to make you familiar with Groovy and I am sure by the end of it, you will be loving this language. Check out all the examples I worked out during my projects and I have tried to explain what magic you can do with Groovy by comments. So go ahead explore and let me know if you have any challenging problems on Groovy.

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Installation of Groovy Console :

The first step to learn Groovy would be to install its IDE. Citytechinc provides a Downloadable zip package which you can install in your instances and you are good to go.

Groovy for AEM 5.6.1 & AEM 6

Groovy for AEM 6.1 with Intelligence (Preferable)

AEM Groovy Console provides an interface for running Groovy scripts in the AEM (Adobe CQ) container. What I will try to do is make you familiar with the language through various examples and then you can solve any use case as per your clients business need.

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AEM examples and Sample Use Cases solved by Groovy

• Hello World

This is the most basic program for any language and its a convention to let you know this. We will jump to more client specific requirements in the subsequent examples.

println 'Hello Groovy World '

---

• Find Number of Pages, Page Title , Page Names in a Site hierarchy 

By this code piece I will try to show you guys how a page is traversed in groovy and how its properties can be retrieved and displayed.

/**@author Hashim Khan */

import javax.jcr.Node

/*Flag to count the number of pages*/
noOfPages = 0
/*Pathfield which needs to be iterated for an operation*/
path='/content/geometrixx/en/'
findAllPages()

/*This method is used to Iterate all the pages under a hierarchy
 *and get their page title ,path and the overall number of
 *pages.*/

def findAllPages(){
  getPage(path).recurse
      { page ->
        println 'Title:'+page.title
        println 'Path:'+page.path
        noOfPages ++
      }
}

---

• Find all the pages wherein a particular component is being used.

Sometimes there will be a scenario where you have to find (and modify/delete) a particular component from the complete site structure in multiple environments. There is no better solution for that kind of problem , other than Groovy Script.

/** @author Hashim Khan */

/** @author Hashim Khan */

/*This method is used to Query the JCR and find results as per the Query.*/
  def buildQuery(page, term) {
        def queryManager = session.workspace.queryManager;
       def statement = 'select * from nt:base where jcr:path like \''+page.path+'/%\' and sling:resourceType = \'' + term + '\'';
        queryManager.createQuery(statement, 'sql');
    }

    /*Defined Content Hierarchy */
   final def page = getPage('/content/geometrixx/en/')
   /*Component ResourceType which is searched in the content hierarchy */
   final def query = buildQuery(page, 'foundation/components/text');
   final def result = query.execute()

   count = 0;
   result.nodes.each { node ->
   String nodePath = node.path;
   println nodePath
 }
   println 'No Of Pages found :' + result.nodes.size();
/** @author Hashim Khan */

---

• Find all the pages of a particular Template .

I have depicted to display all the pages using a specific template. In real world you might be asked to modify some of the properties of a template or add, subtract something. All this you can easily do in an instant using groovy script.

/**@author Hashim Khan */

import javax.jcr.Node

/*Flag to count the number of pages*/
noOfPages = 0
/*Pathfield which needs to be iterated for an operation*/
path='/content/geometrixx/en/'
findAllPagesWidTemplate()

/*This method is used to Iterate all the pages under a hierarchy
 *and find pages with a specific template
 */

def findAllPagesWidTemplate(){
 getPage(path).recurse
 { page ->
      def content = page.node
      def property= content.get('sling:resourceType')
      if(property=="geometrixx/components/contentpage"){
         noOfPages ++
         println 'Page Path:'+content.path
      }
 }
}
println 'No Of Pages::'+noOfPages

Alternatively we could have used Query Builder API to find the pages with a particular template. The below method is more robust and user friendly :

SQL QUERY

/** @author Hashim Khan */

/*This method is used to Query the JCR and find results as per the Query.*/
  def buildQuery(page, term) {
        def queryManager = session.workspace.queryManager;
        def statement = 'select * from nt:base where jcr:path like \''+page.path+'/%\' and sling:resourceType = \'' + term + '\'';
/*Here term is the sling:resourceType property value*/
        queryManager.createQuery(statement, 'sql');
    }

    /*Defined Content Hierarchy */
   final def page = getPage('/content/geometrixx/en/')
   /*Template which is searched in the content hierarchy */
   final def query = buildQuery(page, 'geometrixx/components/contentpage');
   final def result = query.execute()

   println 'No Of pages found = ' + result.nodes.size();

   result.nodes.each { node ->
        println 'nodePath::'+node.path
   }

XPATH QUERY

/*This method is used to Query the JCR and find results as per the Query.*/
 def buildQuery(page, term) {
 def queryManager = session.workspace.queryManager;
 def statement = "/jcr:root${page.path}//element(*, cq:Page)[jcr:content/@cq:template = '"+term+"']"
 /*Here term is the cq:template value*/
 def query = queryManager.createQuery(statement, 'xpath')
 }

 /*Defined Content Hierarchy */
 final def page = getPage('/content/geometrixx/en/')
 /*Component ResourceType which is searched in the content hierarchy */
 final def query = buildQuery(page, '/apps/geometrixx/templates/contentpage');
 final def result = query.execute()

 count = 0;
 result.nodes.each { node ->
 String nodePath = node.path;
 println nodePath
 }
 println 'No Of component found :' + result.nodes.size();
 result.nodes.each { node ->
 println 'nodePath::'+node.path
 }

---

• Delete all the nodes of a particular type with a specific property.

Deletion of a particular node is quite handy when you have to similar use case and want to modify the content quickly and easily.

/** @author Hashim Khan */

/*This method is used to Query the JCR and find results as per the Query.*/
 def buildQuery(page, term) {
 def queryManager = session.workspace.queryManager;
 def statement = 'select * from nt:base where jcr:path like \''+page.path+'/%\' and sling:resourceType = \'' + term + '\'';
 queryManager.createQuery(statement, 'sql');
 }

 /*Defined Content Hierarchy */
 final def page = getPage('/content/geometrixx/en/')
 /*Component ResourceType which is searched in the content hierarchy */
 final def query = buildQuery(page, 'foundation/components/flash');
 final def result = query.execute()

 count = 0;
 result.nodes.each { node ->
 String nodePath = node.path;

 if(nodePath.contains('flash') && !nodePath.contains('jcr:versionStorage') ){
 count ++;
 println 'deleting--'+nodePath ;
 node.remove();
 /* Save this session if you are sure the correct nodes are being deleted. Once the session is saved the nodes couldn't be retrieved back.
 *session.save();*/
 }
 }
 println 'No Of component found :' + result.nodes.size();
 println 'Number of Component Deleted: ' + count;

---

• Modify a property in a complete site hierarchy as per business logic. 

There was a real time problem in one of my project where we have to fill in jcr:title in the Page-title whenever the Page title was a null. Moreover we were having multiple languages sites and have to browse through all of them at once. We used groovy to solve this problem for multiple development environments. Similar to the below example where I am modifying a particular node and its property for the complete hierarchy using Groovy. I have used example for a Geometrixx site (AEM 6.0) so that you can may the results for yourself.

/** @author Hashim Khan */

/*This method is used to Query the JCR and find results as per the Query.*/
 def buildQuery(page, term) {
 def queryManager = session.workspace.queryManager;
 def statement = 'select * from nt:base where jcr:path like \''+page.path+'/%\' and sling:resourceType = \'' + term + '\'';
 queryManager.createQuery(statement, 'sql');
 }

 /*Defined Content Hierarchy */
 final def page = getPage('/content/geometrixx/en/')
 /*Component ResourceType which is searched in the content hierarchy */
 final def query = buildQuery(page, 'collab/calendar/components/event');
 final def result = query.execute()

 count = 0;
 result.nodes.each { node ->
 String nodePath = node.path;

 if(nodePath.contains('event') && !nodePath.contains('jcr:versionStorage') ){
 /*The below iterator is used to fetch the child pages of the parent node */
 node.findAll { it.hasNodes() }.each {
 if(it.name.contains("event")){
 count ++;
 println 'Title--'+it.get('jcr:title') ;
 println 'Node Path--'+it.path ;
 it.set('jcr:title','Hashim');
 println 'Title--'+it.get('jcr:title') ;
 session.save()
 }
 }
 }
 }
 println 'Number Of Component Found :' + result.nodes.size();
 println 'Number of Component Modified:' + count;

---

• Count Number of Nodes which have more than 1000+ child nodes.

This a common use case wherein you are asked to check whether a particular hierarchy has nodes which has more than 1000 child nodes . You can change the Search Path as per you convenience and list down the nodes under that hierarchy.

/** @author Hashim Khan */

import javax.jcr.NodeIterator

def path="/etc/tags"
def variable = 1000

println 'Node,COUNT'
getNode(path).recurse { node >
 NodeIterator it = node.getNodes()
 def count =0
 while(it.hasNext()){
 def nodetemp = it.nextNode()
 count++
 }

 if(count>=variable)
 println node.path + ','+count
}

---

• Delete all the Unused Tags in an application. 

In this script the unused tags are counted in an application and deleted with a delay . If the tag count is much more it is advisable to run this script in a more specified path.  You have to run this script a few times as it doesn’t delete the tags which has any child nodes.

/** @author Hashim Khan */

 import org.apache.sling.api.resource.Resource
 import com.day.cq.tagging.Tag
 import com.day.cq.tagging.TagManager
 import org.apache.sling.api.resource.ResourceResolver
 import java.lang.Thread.*;
 import javax.jcr.Node;

def tagpath = "/etc/tags";
def delay = 10 ; //in Milliseconds.

def query = getAllTags(tagpath)
def result = query.execute()

def rows = result.rows
def unusedTags = 0

rows.each { row >
 Resource res = resourceResolver.getResource(row.path)
 if(res!=null){
 Tag tag = res.adaptTo(com.day.cq.tagging.Tag)
 Node tempNode = res.adaptTo(javax.jcr.Node);

 if(tag.getCount()==0){
 if(!tempNode.hasNodes()){
 unusedTags++
 println "Deleted Tag : " + tag.getPath()
 tempNode.remove()
 }
 }
 Thread.currentThread().sleep((long)(delay));
 }

}
println "Total Unused Tags :"+unusedTags
//session.save() //Uncomment this to make it working.

def getAllTags(tagpath) {
 def queryManager = session.workspace.queryManager
 def statement = "/jcr:root"+tagpath+"//element(*, cq:Tag)"
 def query = queryManager.createQuery(statement, "xpath")
}

---

• Merge Duplicate Tags in an Application

This was a requirement in one of my client who asked us to merge the Duplicate Tags .  This way you can list out all the duplicate tags and merge all of them into the first Master Tag. All the related references in the Pages will automatically be changed as per the API.

/** @author Hashim Khan */

 import org.apache.sling.api.resource.Resource
 import com.day.cq.tagging.Tag
 import org.apache.sling.api.resource.ResourceResolver
 import com.day.cq.tagging.TagManager
 import javax.jcr.Node;
 import java.lang.Thread.*; 

 def tagLocation = "/etc/tags"
 def delay = 10 ; //in Milliseconds.

 def buildQuery(tagLocation) {
 def queryManager = session.workspace.queryManager;
 def statement = "/jcr:root"+tagLocation+ "//element(*, cq:Tag)"
 def query = queryManager.createQuery(statement, 'xpath')
 }

 def findDuplicateTags(tagLocation,tagNodeName) {
 def queryManager = session.workspace.queryManager;
 def statement = "/jcr:root"+tagLocation+ "//element(*, cq:Tag) [fn:name() = '" + tagNodeName + "' ]"
 def query = queryManager.createQuery(statement, 'xpath')
 }

 final def query = buildQuery(tagLocation);
 final def result = query.execute()

 def tagList = []

 result.nodes.each {node->
 String nodeTitle = node.name;
 tagList.add(nodeTitle);
 }
 def duplicates = tagList.findAll {tagList.count(it) > 1}
 def uniqueUsers = duplicates.unique(mutate = false)
 def count = 0;
 TagManager tm = resourceResolver.adaptTo(com.day.cq.tagging.TagManager);
 def mergecount = 0;

 uniqueUsers.each {
 def tagquery = findDuplicateTags(tagLocation,it);
 def pathresult = tagquery.execute()
 Tag tag , masterTag =null;

 count = 0;
 pathresult.nodes.each {node->
 Resource r = resourceResolver.getResource(node.path)
 tag = r.adaptTo(com.day.cq.tagging.Tag)
 Node tempNode = r.adaptTo(javax.jcr.Node);
 if(count == 0 ){
 masterTag = tag ;
 }else if(tm!=null && !(tag.getPath()==masterTag.getPath())){
 if(!tempNode.hasNodes()){
 println 'Merging Tag :: ' + tag.getPath() +' into>> '+ masterTag.getPath()
 mergecount++
 tm.mergeTag(tag,masterTag)
 }
 }
 count++
 Thread.currentThread().sleep((long)(delay));
 }

 }
println 'Merged tags count ::'+ mergecount

---

• Create a CSV File for Duplicate Tags List in the Application.

This script can be used to generate a CSV output and store into filesystem . It lists down all the tags which are Duplicate and all the pages where they are being used. It will help to analyse the System Taxonomy.

/** @author Hashim Khan */

import org.apache.sling.api.resource.Resource
import com.day.cq.tagging.Tag
import org.apache.sling.api.resource.ResourceResolver

def filePath = "/opt/adobe/output.csv"
def tagLocation = "/etc/tags/geometrixx-media"

def buildQuery(tagLocation) {
def queryManager = session.workspace.queryManager;
def statement = "/jcr:root"+tagLocation+ "//element(*, cq:Tag)"
def query = queryManager.createQuery(statement, 'xpath')
}

def findDuplicateTags(tagLocation,tagNodeName) {
def queryManager = session.workspace.queryManager;
def statement = "/jcr:root"+tagLocation+ "//element(*, cq:Tag) [fn:name() = '" + tagNodeName + "' ]"
def query = queryManager.createQuery(statement, 'xpath')
}

def findPagesWithTag(tagId, tagPath) {
def queryManager = session.workspace.queryManager;
def statement = "//element(*, cq:Page)[(jcr:content/@cq:tags = '" + tagId + "' or jcr:content/@cq:tags = '" + tagPath + "' )]"
def query = queryManager.createQuery(statement, 'xpath')
}

final def query = buildQuery(tagLocation);
final def result = query.execute()

def tagList = []

f = new File(filePath)

result.nodes.each {node->
String nodeTitle = node.name;
tagList.add(nodeTitle);
}

def duplicates = tagList.findAll {tagList.count(it) > 1}
def uniqueUsers = duplicates.unique(mutate = false)

print 'TAGTITLE ,TAGID , Pages , Count'+'\n'
f.append('TAGTITLE ,TAGID , Pages , Count'+'\n')
uniqueUsers.each {
def tagquery = findDuplicateTags(tagLocation,it);
def pathresult = tagquery.execute()
pathresult.nodes.each {node->
Resource r = resourceResolver.getResource(node.path)
Tag t1 = r.adaptTo(com.day.cq.tagging.Tag)
print t1.getTitle()+','
f.append(t1.getTitle()+',')
def pagequery = findPagesWithTag(t1.getTagID(), node.path);
def pageresult = pagequery.execute()
print t1.getTagID()+','
f.append(t1.getTagID()+',')
count = 0;
def totalResults = pageresult.getTotalSize()
pageresult.nodes.each { pagenode->
if(count>0){
print ','
f.append(',')
}
print pagenode.path+','
f.append(pagenode.path+',')

if(count==0){
print t1.getCount()+','
f.append(t1.getCount())+','
}
count++;

if (totalResults != count ){
print '\n'
f.append('\n')
}
print ','
f.append (',')
}
print '\n'
f.append ('\n')
}
print '\n'
f.append ('\n')
}

---

• Fill all the Unused Assets in AEM Content

/*
Find all the Assets which are not referenced in the content and could be removed.
@author Hashim Khan */

def predicates = [path: "/content/dam/geometrixx", type: "dam:Asset",  "orderby.index": "true", "orderby.sort": "desc"]
def query = createQuery(predicates)
query.hitsPerPage = 500
def result = query.result
println "${result.totalMatches} hits, execution time = ${result.executionTime}s\n--"

result.hits.each { hit ->
    def path=hit.node.path
    Resource res = resourceResolver.getResource(path)
    if(res!=null){
        getAllReferences(path);
    }
}

def getAllReferences(assetpath) {
    def queryManager = session.workspace.queryManager
    def statement = "/jcr:root" + "/content/geometrixx//*" + "[jcr:contains(., '"+assetpath+"')]"
    def query = queryManager.createQuery(statement, "xpath")
    def result = query.execute()
    def rows = result.getRows().size
    if(rows==0){
        println "Unused Asset: "+assetpath
    }

}

---

• Fill all the Unused Components in AEM Content

/*
Find all the Components which are not used in the content and could be removed.
@author Hashim Khan */

def predicates = [path: "/apps/geometrixx/components", type: "cq:Component",  "orderby.index": "true", "orderby.sort": "desc"]
def query = createQuery(predicates)
query.hitsPerPage = 1000
def result = query.result
println "${result.totalMatches} hits, execution time = ${result.executionTime}s\n--"

result.hits.each { hit ->
    def path=hit.node.path
    Resource res = resourceResolver.getResource(path)
    if(res!=null){
        path = path.substring(6,path.length())
        getAllReferences(path);
    }
}

def getAllReferences(assetpath) {
    def queryManager = session.workspace.queryManager
    def statement = "/jcr:root" + "/content/geometrixx//*" + "[@sling:resourceType='"+ assetpath+"']"
    def query = queryManager.createQuery(statement, "xpath")
    def result = query.execute()
    def rows = result.getRows().size
    if(rows==0){
        println "Asset="+assetpath+"; Results="+rows
        println "********Unused Component*******: "
    }

}

---

• Validate Dispatcher Security for your website

/*
This script could be used to check the Dispatcher security by checking the the below paths as per
Security Checklist https://helpx.adobe.com/experience-manager/dispatcher/using/dispatcher-configuration.html#TestingDispatcherSecurity
Make sure to Change the protocol, domain and one valid page as per your website.
None of the curl response should give a 200 status.
@author Hashim Khan */

/*Defines the protocol for th website */
def protocol="https://"
/*Defines the main domain URL for the website */
def domain="www.intel.com"
/*Defines a sample page in the application to check content grabbing.  */
def valid_page="/content/www/us/en/homepage"

/*Defines a list of security URLs which are used to verify Dispatcher Configurations.
You can add more if you like. Current list is from https://helpx.adobe.com/experience-manager/dispatcher/using/dispatcher-configuration.html#TestingDispatcherSecurity  */
def list = [
    protocol+domain+"/admin",
    protocol+domain+"/system/console",
    protocol+domain+"/dav/crx.default",
    protocol+domain+"/crx",
    protocol+domain+"/bin/crxde/logs",
    protocol+domain+"/jcr:system/jcr:versionStorage.json",
    protocol+domain+"/_jcr_system/_jcr_versionStorage.json",
    protocol+domain+"/libs/wcm/core/content/siteadmin.html",
    protocol+domain+"/libs/collab/core/content/admin.html",
    protocol+domain+"/libs/cq/ui/content/dumplibs.html",
    protocol+domain+"/var/linkchecker.html",
    protocol+domain+"/etc/linkchecker.html",
    protocol+domain+"/home/users/a/admin/profile.json",
    protocol+domain+"/home/users/a/admin/profile.xml",
    protocol+domain+"/libs/cq/core/content/login.json",
    protocol+domain+"/content/../libs/foundation/components/text/text.jsp",
    protocol+domain+"/content/.{.}/libs/foundation/components/text/text.jsp",
    protocol+domain+"/apps/sling/config/org.apache.felix.webconsole.internal.servlet.OsgiManager.config/jcr%3acontent/jcr%3adata",
    protocol+domain+"/libs/foundation/components/primary/cq/workflow/components/participants/json.GET.servlet",
    protocol+domain+"/content.pages.json",
    protocol+domain+"/content.languages.json",
    protocol+domain+"/content.blueprint.json",
    protocol+domain+"/content.-1.json",
    protocol+domain+"/content.10.json",
    protocol+domain+"/content.infinity.json",
    protocol+domain+"/content.tidy.json",
    protocol+domain+"/content.tidy.-1.blubber.json",
    protocol+domain+"/content/dam.tidy.-100.json",
    protocol+domain+"/content/content/geometrixx.sitemap.txt",
    protocol+domain+valid_page+".query.json?statement=//*",
    protocol+domain+valid_page+".qu%65ry.js%6Fn?statement=//*",
    protocol+domain+valid_page+".query.json?statement=//*[@transportPassword]/(@transportPassword%20|%20@transportUri%20|%20@transportUser)",
    protocol+domain+valid_page+"/_jcr_content.json",
    protocol+domain+valid_page+"/_jcr_content.feed",
    protocol+domain+valid_page+"/jcr:content.feed",
    protocol+domain+valid_page+"._jcr_content.feed",
    protocol+domain+valid_page+".jcr:content.feed",
    protocol+domain+valid_page+".docview.xml",
    protocol+domain+valid_page+".docview.json",
    protocol+domain+valid_page+".sysview.xml",
    protocol+domain+"/etc.xml",
    protocol+domain+"/content.feed.xml",
    protocol+domain+"/content.rss.xml",
    protocol+domain+"/content.feed.html",
    protocol+domain+valid_page+".html?debug=layout"
]

list.each {
    checkUrlGetStatus(it)

}
checkUserGeneratedPath(protocol,domain)
checkDispatcherInvalidation(protocol,domain)

/*Method to make a GET call for the above list. */
def checkUrlGetStatus(String path) {
    print path+" , "
    def process ="curl -s -o /dev/null -w %{http_code} ${path} ".execute().text
    printf("%2s", "STATUS:")
    process.each { text->
        print "${text}"
    }
    println ""
}
/*Method to make a POST call for the user generated path. */
def checkUserGeneratedPath(String protocol,String domain) {
    print "POST:"+protocol+domain+"/content/usergenerated/mytestnode  ,"
    def process ="curl -X POST -s -o /dev/null -w %{http_code} -u anonymous:anonymous ${protocol}${domain}/content/usergenerated/mytestnode".execute().text
    printf("%2s", "STATUS:")
    process.each { text->
        print "${text}"
     }
     println ""

}
/*Method to make a Dispatcher invalidation call.  */
def checkDispatcherInvalidation(String protocol,String domain) {
    print "Dispatcher Invalidation: "+protocol+domain+"/dispatcher/invalidate.cache  ,"
    def process ="curl -s -o /dev/null -w %{http_code} -H \'CQ-Handle:/content\' -H \'CQ-Path:/content\' ${protocol}${domain}/dispatcher/invalidate.cache".execute().text
    printf("%2s", "STATUS:")
    process.each { text->
        print "${text}"
    }
}

/* Curl Command Syntax to Parse the XML output.
def proc = "curl -u admin:admin http://localhost:4502/content/geometrixx/en.html".execute().text
def crx = new XmlSlurper().parseText(proc);
def packages = crx.response.data.packages
def status = crx.response.status;
println "status:"+status;
packages.package.each { pack->
    println "${pack.name}: ${pack.size}"
}
*/

---

• Validate & Read Sitemap XML paths to create Cache

/*
This script could be used to create Cache by reading Sitemap and making a GET call for all the paths present in it. 
Make sure to Change the protocol and domain as per your website. 
Note that none of the request should give a 404. 
@author Hashim Khan */


/*Defines the protocol for the website */
def protocol="https://"
/*Defines the main domain URL for the website */
def domain="www.lifetime.life"

readSitemapXML(protocol,domain)

/*Method to make a GET call for the above list. */
def checkUrlGetStatus(String path) {
    print path+" , "
    def process ="curl -s -o /dev/null -w %{http_code} ${path} ".execute().text
   
    printf("%2s", "STATUS:") 
    process.each { text->
        print "${text}"
    }
    println ""
}


/*Method to make a GET call at Sitemap and read the XML output recursively. */
/* Curl Command Syntax to Parse the XML output. */
def readSitemapXML( String protocol,String domain) {
    
    def proc = "curl -X GET ${protocol}${domain}/sitemap.xml".execute().text
    def output = new XmlSlurper().parseText(proc);
    def urls = output.url.loc
    urls.each { path->
       def url = "${path}"
       checkUrlGetStatus(url)
       
    }
}

---

So friends as you may have noticed that Groovy could be quite useful in an AEM project where you need to modify some content / property in one go. Do let me know if you face any other challenging issues where I could help you in using Groovy.
There could be million of other things where Groovy is very useful . If you want to explore more on Groovy use the pdf :: Groovy Recipes

Happy Groovying !! :)

Now all the Groovy Scripts are available in the GITHUB Project – https://github.com/hashimkhan786/aem-groovy-scripts