Task

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Command Line Interface ​

Task CLI commands have the following syntax:

bash
task [options] [tasks...] [-- CLI_ARGS...]

TIP

If -- is given, all remaining arguments will be assigned to a special CLI_ARGS variable

Commands ​

task [tasks...] ​

Run one or more tasks defined in your Taskfile.

bash
task build
task test lint
task deploy --force

task --list ​

List all available tasks with their descriptions.

bash
task --list
task -l

task --list-all ​

List all tasks, including those without descriptions.

bash
task --list-all
task -a

task --init ​

Create a new Taskfile.yml in the current directory.

bash
task --init
task -i

Options ​

General ​

-h, --help ​

Show help information.

bash
task --help

--version ​

Show Task version.

bash
task --version

-v, --verbose ​

Enable verbose mode for detailed output.

bash
task build --verbose

-s, --silent ​

Disable command echoing.

bash
task deploy --silent

Execution Control ​

-f, --force ​

Force execution even when the task is up-to-date.

bash
task build --force

-n, --dry ​

Compile and print tasks without executing them.

bash
task deploy --dry

-p, --parallel ​

Execute multiple tasks in parallel.

bash
task test lint --parallel

-C, --concurrency <number> ​

Limit the number of concurrent tasks. Zero means unlimited.

bash
task test --concurrency 4

-x, --exit-code ​

Pass through the exit code of failed commands.

bash
task test --exit-code

File and Directory ​

-d, --dir <path> ​

Set the directory where Task will run and look for Taskfiles.

bash
task build --dir ./backend

-t, --taskfile <file> ​

Specify a custom Taskfile path.

bash
task build --taskfile ./custom/Taskfile.yml

-g, --global ​

Run the global Taskfile from $HOME/Taskfile.{yml,yaml}.

bash
task backup --global

Output Control ​

-o, --output <mode> ​

Set output style. Available modes: interleaved, group, prefixed.

bash
task test --output group

--output-group-begin <template> ​

Message template to print before grouped output.

bash
task test --output group --output-group-begin "::group::{{.TASK}}"

--output-group-end <template> ​

Message template to print after grouped output.

bash
task test --output group --output-group-end "::endgroup::"

--output-group-error-only ​

Only show command output on non-zero exit codes.

bash
task test --output group --output-group-error-only

-c, --color ​

Control colored output. Enabled by default.

bash
task build --color=false
# or use environment variable
NO_COLOR=1 task build

Task Information ​

--status ​

Check if tasks are up-to-date without running them.

bash
task build --status

--summary ​

Show detailed information about a task.

bash
task build --summary

--json ​

Output task information in JSON format (use with --list or --list-all).

bash
task --list --json

--sort <mode> ​

Change task listing order. Available modes: default, alphanumeric, none.

bash
task --list --sort alphanumeric

Watch Mode ​

-w, --watch ​

Watch for file changes and re-run tasks automatically.

bash
task build --watch

-I, --interval <duration> ​

Set watch interval (default: 5s). Must be a valid Go duration.

bash
task build --watch --interval 1s

Interactive ​

-y, --yes ​

Automatically answer "yes" to all prompts.

bash
task deploy --yes

Exit Codes ​

Task uses specific exit codes to indicate different types of errors:

Success ​

  • 0 - Success

General Errors (1-99) ​

  • 1 - Unknown error occurred

Taskfile Errors (100-199) ​

  • 100 - No Taskfile found
  • 101 - Taskfile already exists (when using --init)
  • 102 - Invalid or unparseable Taskfile
  • 103 - Remote Taskfile download failed
  • 104 - Remote Taskfile not trusted
  • 105 - Remote Taskfile fetch not secure
  • 106 - No cache for remote Taskfile in offline mode
  • 107 - No schema version defined in Taskfile

Task Errors (200-255) ​

  • 200 - Task not found
  • 201 - Command execution error
  • 202 - Attempted to run internal task
  • 203 - Multiple tasks with same name/alias
  • 204 - Task called too many times (recursion limit)
  • 205 - Task cancelled by user
  • 206 - Missing required variables
  • 207 - Variable has incorrect value

INFO

When using -x/--exit-code, failed command exit codes are passed through instead of the above codes.

TIP

The complete list of exit codes is available in the repository at errors/errors.go.

JSON Output Format ​

When using --json with --list or --list-all:

json
{
  "tasks": [
    {
      "name": "build",
      "task": "build",
      "desc": "Build the application",
      "summary": "Compiles the source code and generates binaries",
      "up_to_date": false,
      "location": {
        "line": 12,
        "column": 3,
        "taskfile": "/path/to/Taskfile.yml"
      }
    }
  ],
  "location": "/path/to/Taskfile.yml"
}