Basic configuration

When an environment is created the system loads Automations from the default file: .gitpod/automations.yaml relative to your repository root. You can change this location using Projects. An automations.yaml consists of services and tasks defined at the root level, for example:

yml

services: ...

tasks: ...

Services and tasks are a map where the key serves as reference for the corresponding item. When looking at task dependencies their use becomes clear.

See reference for a full example.

Services in the automations.yaml

Example workflow:

yml

services:
    database:
        name: PostgreSQL
        description: The backend database
        triggeredBy:
            - postEnvironmentStart
        commands:
            start: 'docker run --rm -t --name database postgres:latest'
    redis:
        name: Redis
        description: Our message bus
        triggeredBy:
            - postEnvironmentStart
        commands:
            start: >-
                docker run --rm -t --name redis -p 6379:6379
                redis/redis-stack-server:latest
    backend:
        name: Application Backend
        description: The application backend
        triggeredBy:
            - postEnvironmentStart
        commands:
            start: cd backend && go run main.go

Tasks in the automations.yaml

Example workflow:

yml

tasks:
    buildAll:
        name: Build All
        description: builds all code
        command: go build .
    runUnitTests:
        name: Runs unit tests
        command: go test -v ./...
    validate:
        name: Validate
        description: Builds and tests the code
        triggeredBy:
            - postEnvironmentStart
        dependsOn:
            - buildAll
            - runUnitTests

Iterating on Automations

You can iterate on Automations using the CLI which is available by default in every Gitpod environment. The CLI can

reload the Automations file using:

bash

gitpod automations update [optional-path-to-automations.yaml]

start a task or service:

bash

gitpod automations service start ...
gitpod automations task start ...

Simulate an environment trigger:

bash

gitpod automations trigger postEnvironmentStart

Using Automations outside of an environment

The CLI commands to interact with an environment’s Automations are also available outside of an environment. The following snippet brings up an environment, adds a task, runs it, waits for the task to complete and brings the environment back down again:

bash

# gitpod env create will set the environment context to the newly created env
gitpod env create https://github.com/some/repo

# add the task to the environment
cat <<EOF | gitpod automations update -
tasks:
  build:
    command: go build ./...
EOF

# run it
gitpod automations task start build

# stop the environment
gitpod env stop

Basic configuration

Services in the automations.yaml

Tasks in the automations.yaml

Iterating on Automations

Using Automations outside of an environment

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