Core Concepts
tsk is a simple task-runner and build tool with opinions. tsk uses TOML to describe units of work called, bear with me, "tasks". By default, your tasks live in a file named tasks.toml. A task is typically composed of one or more commands. For example:
[tasks.hello]
cmds = ["echo Hello, World!"]
Running this task does what you'd expect:
➜ tsk hello
Hello, World!
Nothing Earth shattering here. What seperates tsk from other tools is how it handles dependencies and how it encourages you to not write extensive shell within your task definitions.
Dependencies
A task can include one or more task names in a deps attribute. Dependencies are just regular tasks and can have deps of their own, etc.
[tasks.a]
deps = [["b"]]
cmds = ["echo task A"]
[tasks.b]
cmds = ['echo task B']
Running a will first run b:
➜ tsk a
task b
task a
Dependency Groups
You may have noticed that deps is an array of arrays. Each nested array is a "dependency group". Dependency groups are one of tsk's key features. Individual dependencies within a dependency group are exeucted in parallel, while entire dependency groups are executed sequentially. We can visualize this with the following example:
[tasks.a]
cmds = ["echo a"]
[tasks.b]
cmds = ["echo b"]
[tasks.c]
cmds = ["echo c"]
[tasks.main]
deps = [
["a", "b"], # a and b will run in parallel
["c"], # c will run after the previous group finishes
]
cmds = ["echo done"]
If you run main a few times you'll see that a and b consistently run before c.
➜ tsk main
b
a
c
done
Remember that tasks within a dependency group run in parallel and may not finish in a consistent order. Place dependencies in different groups when the order they run matters.
Avoiding Shell in Config Files
Writing shell in configuration files sucks. Luckily, tsk makes it easy to avoid. If your task doesn't include a cmds attribute, tsk will look for and execute a script: tsk/<task-name>. If your task is more than a few commands or needs flow control, write a script!
[tasks.no-script]
➜ tsk --list --filter no-script
[no-script]
# will run `tsk/no-script`
The script must be executable and should include a hashbang.
Your script doesn't have to be shell. Any valid hashbang will work, provided you have the necessary tools installed.