TaskRuns

Use the TaskRun resource object to create and run on-cluster processes to completion.

To create a TaskRun, you must first create a Task which specifies one or more container images that you have implemented to perform and complete a task.

A TaskRun runs until all steps have completed or until a failure occurs.

Syntax
Status
- Steps
Cancelling a TaskRun
Examples
Sidecars
Logs

Syntax

To define a configuration file for a TaskRun resource, you can specify the following fields:

Required:
- apiVersion - Specifies the API version, for example tekton.dev/v1alpha1.
- kind - Specify the TaskRun resource object.
- metadata - Specifies data to uniquely identify the TaskRun resource object, for example a name.
- spec - Specifies the configuration information for your TaskRun resource object.
  - taskRef or taskSpec - Specifies the details of the Task you want to run
Optional:
- serviceAccount - Specifies a ServiceAccount resource object that enables your build to run with the defined authentication information.
- [inputs] - Specifies input parameters and input resources
- [outputs] - Specifies output resources
- [timeout] - Specifies timeout after which the TaskRun will fail. If the value of timeout is empty, the default timeout will be applied. If the value is set to 0, there is no timeout. You can also follow the instruction here to configure the default timeout.
- podTemplate - Specifies a subset of PodSpec configuration that will be used as the basis for the Task pod.

Specifying a task

Since a TaskRun is an invocation of a Task, you must specify what Task to invoke.

You can do this by providing a reference to an existing Task:

spec:
  taskRef:
    name: read-task

Or you can embed the spec of the Task directly in the TaskRun:

spec:
  taskSpec:
    inputs:
      resources:
        - name: workspace
          type: git
    steps:
      - name: build-and-push
        image: gcr.io/kaniko-project/executor:v0.9.0
        # specifying DOCKER_CONFIG is required to allow kaniko to detect docker credential
        env:
          - name: "DOCKER_CONFIG"
            value: "/builder/home/.docker/"
        command:
          - /kaniko/executor
        args:
          - --destination=gcr.io/my-project/gohelloworld

Input parameters

If a Task has parameters, you can specify values for them using the input section:

spec:
  inputs:
    params:
      - name: flags
        value: -someflag

If a parameter does not have a default value, it must be specified.

Providing resources

If a Task requires input resources or output resources, they must be provided to run the Task.

They can be provided via references to existing PipelineResources:

spec:
  inputs:
    resources:
      - name: workspace
        resourceRef:
          name: java-git-resource

Or by embedding the specs of the resources directly:

spec:
  inputs:
    resources:
      - name: workspace
        resourceSpec:
          type: git
          params:
            - name: url
              value: https://github.com/pivotal-nader-ziada/gohelloworld

Configuring Default Timeout

You can configure the default timeout by changing the value of default-timeout-minutes in config/config-defaults.yaml. The default timeout is 60 minutes, if default-timeout-minutes is not available. There is no timeout by default, if default-timeout-minutes is set to 0.

Service Account

Specifies the name of a ServiceAccount resource object. Use the serviceAccount field to run your Task with the privileges of the specified service account. If no serviceAccount field is specified, your Task runs using the default service account that is in the namespace of the TaskRun resource object.

For examples and more information about specifying service accounts, see the ServiceAccount reference topic.

Pod Template

Specifies a subset of PodSpec configuration that will be used as the basis for the Task pod. This allows to customize some Pod specific field per Task execution, aka TaskRun. The current field supported are:

nodeSelector: a selector which must be true for the pod to fit on a node, see here.
tolerations: allow (but do not require) the pods to schedule onto nodes with matching taints.
affinity: allow to constrain which nodes your pod is eligible to be scheduled on, based on labels on the node.
securityContext: pod-level security attributes and common container settings, like runAsUser or selinux.
volumes: list of volumes that can be mounted by containers belonging to the pod. This lets the user of a Task define which type of volume to use for a Task volumeMount

In the following example, the Task is defined with a volumeMount (my-cache), that is provided by the TaskRun, using a PersistenceVolumeClaim. The Pod will also run as a non-root user.

apiVersion: tekton.dev/v1alpha1
kind: Task
metadata:
  name: myTask
  namespace: default
spec:
  steps:
    - name: write something
      image: ubuntu
      command: ["bash", "-c"]
      args: ["echo 'foo' > /my-cache/bar"]
      volumeMounts:
        - name: my-cache
          mountPath: /my-cache
---
apiVersion: tekton.dev/v1alpha1
kind: TaskRun
metadata:
  name: myTaskRun
  namespace: default
spec:
  taskRef:
    name: myTask
  podTemplate:
    securityContext:
      runAsNonRoot: true
    volumes:
    - name: my-cache
      persistentVolumeClaim:
        claimName: my-volume-claim

Overriding where resources are copied from

When specifying input and output PipelineResources, you can optionally specify paths for each resource. paths will be used by TaskRun as the resource's new source paths i.e., copy the resource from specified list of paths. TaskRun expects the folder and contents to be already present in specified paths. paths feature could be used to provide extra files or altered version of existing resource before execution of steps.

Output resource includes name and reference to pipeline resource and optionally paths. paths will be used by TaskRun as the resource's new destination paths i.e., copy the resource entirely to specified paths. TaskRun will be responsible for creating required directories and copying contents over. paths feature could be used to inspect the results of taskrun after execution of steps.

paths feature for input and output resource is heavily used to pass same version of resources across tasks in context of pipelinerun.

In the following example, task and taskrun are defined with input resource, output resource and step which builds war artifact. After execution of taskrun(volume-taskrun), custom volume will have entire resource java-git-resource (including the war artifact) copied to the destination path /custom/workspace/.

apiVersion: tekton.dev/v1alpha1
kind: Task
metadata:
  name: volume-task
  namespace: default
spec:
  inputs:
    resources:
      - name: workspace
        type: git
  steps:
    - name: build-war
      image: objectuser/run-java-jar #https://hub.docker.com/r/objectuser/run-java-jar/
      command: jar
      args: ["-cvf", "projectname.war", "*"]
      volumeMounts:
        - name: custom-volume
          mountPath: /custom

apiVersion: tekton.dev/v1alpha1
kind: TaskRun
metadata:
  name: volume-taskrun
  namespace: default
spec:
  taskRef:
    name: volume-task
  inputs:
    resources:
      - name: workspace
        resourceRef:
          name: java-git-resource
  outputs:
    resources:
      - name: workspace
        paths:
          - /custom/workspace/
        resourceRef:
          name: java-git-resource
  volumes:
    - name: custom-volume
      emptyDir: {}

Status

As a TaskRun completes, its status field is filled in with relevant information for the overall run, as well as each step.

The following example shows a completed TaskRun and its status field:

completionTime: "2019-08-12T18:22:57Z"
conditions:
- lastTransitionTime: "2019-08-12T18:22:57Z"
  message: All Steps have completed executing
  reason: Succeeded
  status: "True"
  type: Succeeded
podName: status-taskrun-pod-6488ef
startTime: "2019-08-12T18:22:51Z"
steps:
- container: step-hello
  imageID: docker-pullable://busybox@sha256:895ab622e92e18d6b461d671081757af7dbaa3b00e3e28e12505af7817f73649
  name: hello
  terminated:
    containerID: docker://d5a54f5bbb8e7a6fd3bc7761b78410403244cf4c9c5822087fb0209bf59e3621
    exitCode: 0
    finishedAt: "2019-08-12T18:22:56Z"
    reason: Completed
    startedAt: "2019-08-12T18:22:54Z"

Fields include start and stop times for the TaskRun and each Step and exit codes. For each step we also include the fully-qualified image used, with the digest.

Steps

If multiple steps are defined in the Task invoked by the TaskRun, we will see the status.steps of the TaskRun displayed in the same order as they are defined in spec.steps of the Task, when the TaskRun is accessed by the get command, e.g. kubectl get taskrun <name> -o yaml. Replace <name> with the name of the TaskRun.

Cancelling a TaskRun

In order to cancel a running task (TaskRun), you need to update its spec to mark it as cancelled. Running Pods will be deleted.

apiVersion: tekton.dev/v1alpha1
kind: TaskRun
metadata:
  name: go-example-git
spec:
  # […]
  status: "TaskRunCancelled"

Example TaskRun

To run a Task, create a new TaskRun which defines all inputs, outputs that the Task needs to run. Below is an example where Task read-task is run by creating read-repo-run. Task read-task has git input resource and TaskRun read-repo-run includes reference to go-example-git.

apiVersion: tekton.dev/v1alpha1
kind: TaskRun
metadata:
  name: read-repo-run
spec:
  taskRef:
    name: read-task
  inputs:
    resources:
      - name: workspace
        resourceRef:
          name: go-example-git
---
apiVersion: tekton.dev/v1alpha1
kind: PipelineResource
metadata:
  name: go-example-git
spec:
  type: git
  params:
    - name: url
      value: https://github.com/pivotal-nader-ziada/gohelloworld
---
apiVersion: tekton.dev/v1alpha1
kind: Task
metadata:
  name: read-task
spec:
  inputs:
    resources:
      - name: workspace
        type: git
  steps:
    - name: readme
      image: ubuntu
      command:
        - /bin/bash
      args:
        - "cat README.md"

Example with embedded specs

Another way of running a Task is embedding the TaskSpec in the taskRun yaml. This can be useful for "one-shot" style runs, or debugging. TaskRun resource can include either Task reference or TaskSpec but not both. Below is an example where build-push-task-run-2 includes TaskSpec and no reference to Task.

apiVersion: tekton.dev/v1alpha1
kind: PipelineResource
metadata:
  name: go-example-git
spec:
  type: git
  params:
    - name: url
      value: https://github.com/pivotal-nader-ziada/gohelloworld
---
apiVersion: tekton.dev/v1alpha1
kind: TaskRun
metadata:
  name: build-push-task-run-2
spec:
  inputs:
    resources:
      - name: workspace
        resourceRef:
          name: go-example-git
  taskSpec:
    inputs:
      resources:
        - name: workspace
          type: git
    steps:
      - name: build-and-push
        image: gcr.io/kaniko-project/executor:v0.9.0
        # specifying DOCKER_CONFIG is required to allow kaniko to detect docker credential
        env:
          - name: "DOCKER_CONFIG"
            value: "/builder/home/.docker/"
        command:
          - /kaniko/executor
        args:
          - --destination=gcr.io/my-project/gohelloworld

Input and output resources can also be embedded without creating Pipeline Resources. TaskRun resource can include either a Pipeline Resource reference or a Pipeline Resource Spec but not both. Below is an example where Git Pipeline Resource Spec is provided as input for TaskRun read-repo.

apiVersion: tekton.dev/v1alpha1
kind: TaskRun
metadata:
  name: read-repo
spec:
  taskRef:
    name: read-task
  inputs:
    resources:
      - name: workspace
        resourceSpec:
          type: git
          params:
            - name: url
              value: https://github.com/pivotal-nader-ziada/gohelloworld

Note: TaskRun can embed both TaskSpec and resource spec at the same time. The TaskRun will also serve as a record of the history of the invocations of the Task.

Example Task Reuse

For the sake of illustrating re-use, here are several example TaskRuns (including referenced PipelineResources) instantiating the Task (dockerfile-build-and-push) in the Task example docs.

Build mchmarny/rester-tester:

# The PipelineResource
metadata:
  name: mchmarny-repo
spec:
  type: git
  params:
    - name: url
      value: https://github.com/mchmarny/rester-tester.git

# The TaskRun
spec:
  taskRef:
    name: dockerfile-build-and-push
  inputs:
    resources:
      - name: workspace
        resourceRef:
          name: mchmarny-repo
    params:
      - name: IMAGE
        value: gcr.io/my-project/rester-tester

Build googlecloudplatform/cloud-builder's wget builder:

# The PipelineResource
metadata:
  name: cloud-builder-repo
spec:
  type: git
  params:
    - name: url
      value: https://github.com/googlecloudplatform/cloud-builders.git

# The TaskRun
spec:
  taskRef:
    name: dockerfile-build-and-push
  inputs:
    resources:
      - name: workspace
        resourceRef:
          name: cloud-builder-repo
    params:
      - name: IMAGE
        value: gcr.io/my-project/wget
      # Optional override to specify the subdirectory containing the Dockerfile
      - name: DIRECTORY
        value: /workspace/wget

Build googlecloudplatform/cloud-builder's docker builder with 17.06.1:

# The PipelineResource
metadata:
  name: cloud-builder-repo
spec:
  type: git
  params:
    - name: url
      value: https://github.com/googlecloudplatform/cloud-builders.git

# The TaskRun
spec:
  taskRef:
    name: dockerfile-build-and-push
  inputs:
    resources:
      - name: workspace
        resourceRef:
          name: cloud-builder-repo
    params:
      - name: IMAGE
        value: gcr.io/my-project/docker
      # Optional overrides
      - name: DIRECTORY
        value: /workspace/docker
      - name: DOCKERFILE_NAME
        value: Dockerfile-17.06.1

Using a `ServiceAccount`

Specifying a ServiceAccount to access a private git repository:

apiVersion: tekton.dev/v1alpha1
kind: TaskRun
metadata:
  name: test-task-with-serviceaccount-git-ssh
spec:
  serviceAccount: test-task-robot-git-ssh
  inputs:
    resources:
      - name: workspace
        type: git
  steps:
    - name: config
      image: ubuntu
      command: ["/bin/bash"]
      args: ["-c", "cat README.md"]

Where serviceAccount: test-build-robot-git-ssh references the following ServiceAccount:

apiVersion: v1
kind: ServiceAccount
metadata:
  name: test-task-robot-git-ssh
secrets:
  - name: test-git-ssh

And name: test-git-ssh, references the following Secret:

apiVersion: v1
kind: Secret
metadata:
  name: test-git-ssh
  annotations:
    tekton.dev/git-0: github.com
type: kubernetes.io/ssh-auth
data:
  # Generated by:
  # cat id_rsa | base64 -w 0
  ssh-privatekey: LS0tLS1CRUdJTiBSU0EgUFJJVk.....[example]
  # Generated by:
  # ssh-keyscan github.com | base64 -w 0
  known_hosts: Z2l0aHViLmNvbSBzc2g.....[example]

For examples and more information about specifying service accounts, see the ServiceAccount reference topic.

Sidecars

A well-established pattern in Kubernetes is that of the "sidecar" - a container which runs alongside your workloads to provide ancillary support. Typical examples of the sidecar pattern are logging daemons, services to update files on a shared volume, and network proxies.

Tekton doesn't provide a mechanism to specify sidecars for Task steps but it's still possible for sidecars to be added to your Pods: Admission Controllers provide cluster admins a mechanism to inject sidecar containers as Pods launch. As a concrete example this is one possible method used by Istio to inject an envoy proxy in to pods so that they can be included as part of Istio's service mesh.

Tekton will happily work with sidecars injected into a TaskRun's pods but the behaviour is a bit nuanced: When TaskRun's steps are complete any sidecar containers running inside the Pod will be terminated. In order to terminate the sidecars they will be restarted with a new "nop" image that quickly exits. The result will be that your TaskRun's Pod will include the sidecar container with a Retry Count of 1 and with a different container image than you might be expecting.

Except as otherwise noted, the content of this page is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License, and code samples are licensed under the Apache 2.0 License.

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TaskRuns

Syntax

Specifying a task

Input parameters

Providing resources

Configuring Default Timeout

Service Account

Pod Template

Overriding where resources are copied from

Status

Steps

Cancelling a TaskRun

Examples

Example TaskRun

Example with embedded specs

Example Task Reuse

Using a `ServiceAccount`

Sidecars

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TaskRuns

Syntax

Specifying a task

Input parameters

Providing resources

Configuring Default Timeout

Service Account

Pod Template

Overriding where resources are copied from

Status

Steps

Cancelling a TaskRun

Examples

Example TaskRun

Example with embedded specs

Example Task Reuse

Using a ServiceAccount

Sidecars

Using a `ServiceAccount`