Drake — a task runner for Deno

Drake is a Make-like task runner for Deno inspired by Make, Rake and Jake.

  • Drakefiles (c.f. Makefiles) are Deno TypeScript modules.
  • Optional task prerequisites (dependencies).
  • File tasks and non-file tasks.
  • Drake API functions for defining, registering and running tasks.

NOTE: This is a development release and will be subject to breaking changes until 1.0 (see the Git commit log for BREAKING CHANGE). A 1.0 production release will follow once Deno has reached 1.0. If you experience compilation errors try forcing a cache reload with the Deno fetch command e.g. deno fetch Drakefile.ts --reload

Tested with Deno 0.38.0 running on Ubuntu 18.04.

Drakefiles

A drakefile is a TypeScript module that:

  1. Imports the Drake module.
  2. Defines and registers tasks.
  3. Runs tasks.

Example drakefile:

import { desc, run, task } from "https://raw.github.com/srackham/drake/master/mod.ts";

desc("Minimal Drake task");
task("hello", [], function() {
  console.log("Hello World!");
});

run()

The desc() and task() APIs define and register tasks. The run() API executes the tasks that were specified on the command-line along with their prerequisite tasks. run() is normally the last statement in the drakefile. Tasks are executed in the correct dependency order.

Here are some of real-world drakefiles:

Drakefile execution

Drakefiles are executed with the Deno run command, for example:

deno -A Drakefile.ts
deno minimal-drakefile.ts hello --quiet

  • Use the Drake --help option to view the Drake execution options.

  • Use the Drake --list option to display a list of the list of available tasks.

  • By convention, a project’s drakefile is named Drakefile.ts and resides in the project’s root directory.

Tasks

There are two types of task: Normal tasks and File tasks.

Task types are distinguished by their names. Normal task names can only contain alphanumeric, underscore and hyphen characters and cannot start with a hyphen e.g. test, hello-world. File task names are valid file paths. In cases of ambiguity a File task name should be prefixed with a period and a path separator e.g. ./hello-world.

A Normal task executes unconditionally. A File task is only executed if it is out of date i.e. immediately prior to execution either the task name file path does not exist or one or more prerequisite files has a more recent modification time.

If a File task execution error occurs the following precautions are taken to ensure the task remains out of date:

  • If a new target file has been created then it is deleted.
  • If an existing target file modification date has changed then it is reverted to the prior date.

File path task names and file task prerequisite names are normalized at task registration.

Task properties

name: A unique task name.

prereqs: An array of prerequisite task names i.e. the names of tasks to be run prior to executing the task action function. Prerequisites can be Normal task names, File task names, file paths and globs (wildcards):

  • Normal task names must have a matching task.
  • File path prerequisites do not require a matching task.
  • Globs are expanded when the task is registered with the task() API.

desc: An optional task description that is set by the desc() API.

action: An optional function that is run if the task is selected for execution. The action function is bound to the parent task object i.e. the parent task properties are accessible inside the action function through the this object e.g. this.prereqs returns the task’s prerequisite names array.

Asynchronous task actions

Normally you will want tasks to execute sequentially i.e. the next task should not start until the current task has finished. To ensure this happens action functions that call asynchronous functions should:

  1. Be delared async.
  2. Call asynchronous functions with the await operator.

For example, the following task does not return until the shell command has successfully executed:

task("shell", [], async function() {
  await sh("echo Hello World");
});

Without the await operator sh("echo Hello World") will return immediately and the action function will exit before the shell command has even started.

Of course you are free to eschew await and use the promises returned by asynchronous functions in any way that makes sense.

Drake man page

To display the Drake options and command syntax run your drakefile with the --help option:

$ deno -A Drakefile.ts --help

NAME
  drake - a make-like task runner for Deno.

SYNOPSIS
  deno [DENO_OPTION...] DRAKEFILE [OPTION|VARIABLE|TASK]...

DESCRIPTION
  The Drake TypeScript module provides functions for defining and executing
  build TASKs on the Deno runtime.

  A DRAKEFILE is a TypeScript module file containing Drake task definitions.
  Drakefiles are run with the Deno 'run' command.

  A Drake VARIABLE is a named string value e.g. 'vers=0.1.0'.  Variables are
  accessed using the Drake 'env' API e.g. 'env("vers").

OPTIONS
  -a, --always-make     Unconditionally execute tasks.
  -d, --directory DIR   Change to directory DIR before running drakefile.
  -h, --help            Display this help message.
  -l, -L, --list-tasks  List tasks (-L for hidden tasks and prerequisites).
  -n, --dry-run         Skip task execution.
  -q, --quiet           Do not log drake messages to standard output.
  --version             Display the drake version.

ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
  NO_COLOR              Set to disable color (see https://no-color.org/).

SEE ALSO
  The Drake user guide: https://github.com/srackham/drake

Command-line variables

A Drake command-line variable is a named string value that is made available to the drakefile. Variables are formatted like <name>=<value> e.g. vers=0.1.0. Variables are accessed within a drakefile using the env API e.g. env("vers").

Variable names can only contain alphanumeric or underscore characters and must start with an alpha character.

Drake API

The Drake library module exports the following functions:

abort

function abort(message: string): void;

Print error message to to stdout and terminate execution.

debug

function debug(title: string, message?: any): void;

Write the title and message to stderr if it is a TTY and the --debug command-line option was specified or the DRAKE_DEBUG shell environment variable is set.

desc

function desc(description: string): void;

Set description of next registered task. If a task has no description then it won’t be displayed in the tasks list unless the -L option is used.

env

function env(name: string, value?: any): any;

The Drake env API function gets and optionally sets the command-line options, task names and variables.

Options are keyed by their long option name e.g. env("--dry-run"). Command-line flag options are set to true. Unspecified option values default to undefined.

Tasks names are stored in the env("--tasks") string array. A default task can be specified by setting the "--default-task" value to the task name.

Command-line variables are keyed by name. For example vers=1.0.1 on the command-line sets the "vers" value to "1.0.1".

execute

async function execute(names: string | string[]);

Unconditionally execute task action functions ignoring task prerequisites.

  • If names is a task name string execute the task action.
  • If names is an array of task names execute their actions asynchronously.
  • Silently skip tasks that have no action function.

glob

function glob(...patterns: string[]): string[];

Return a sorted array of normalized file names matching the wildcard patterns. Wildcard patterns can include the ** (globstar) pattern. e.g. glob("tmp/*.ts", "lib/**/*.ts", "mod.ts");

log

function log(message: string): void;

Log a message to the console. Do not log the message if the --quiet command-line option is set.

outOfDate

function outOfDate(target: string, prereqs: string[]): boolean;

Return true if either the target file does not exist or its modification time is older then one or more prerequisite files. Otherwise return false.

quote

function quote(values: string[], sep: string = " "): string;

Quote string array values with double-quotes then join them with a separator. Double-quote characters are escaped with a backspace. The separator defaults to a space character.

readFile

function readFile(filename: string): string;

Read the entire contents of a file synchronously to a UTF-8 string.

run

async function run(...names: string[]);

Execute named tasks along with their prerequisite tasks (direct and indirect). If no names are specified then the command-line tasks are run. If no command-line tasks were specified the default task is run (specified by setting the env API "--default-task" value).

Task execution is ordered such that prerequisite tasks are executed prior to their parent task. The same task is never run twice.

sh

async function sh(commands: string | string[], opts: ShOpts = {});

Execute commands in the command shell.

  • If commands is a string execute it.
  • If commands is an array of commands execute them asynchronously.
  • If any command fails throw an error.
  • If opts.stdout or opts.stderr is set to "null" then the respective outputs are ignored.
  • opts.cwd sets the shell current working directory (defaults to the parent process working directory).
  • The opts.env mapping passes additional environment variables to the shell.

Examples:

await sh("echo Hello World");
await sh(["echo Hello 1", "echo Hello 2", "echo Hello 3"]);
await sh("echo Hello World", { stdout: "null" });

shCapture

async function shCapture(command: string, opts: ShCaptureOpts = {}): Promise<ShOutput>;

Execute command in the command shell and return a promise for {code, output, error} (the exit code, the stdout output and the stderr output).

  • If the opts.input string has been assigned then it is piped to the shell stdin.
  • opts.cwd sets the shell current working directory (defaults to the parent process working directory).
  • The opts.env mapping passes additional environment variables to the shell.
  • opts.stdout and opts.stderr have Deno.ProcessStdio semantics. opts.stdout defaults to "piped". opts.stderr defaults to "inherit" (to capture stderr set opts.stderr to "piped").

Examples:

const { code, output } = await shCapture("echo Hello");

task

function task(name: string, prereqs: string[] = [], action?: Action): void;

Create and register a task.

  • name is a unique task name.
  • prereqs is an array of prerequisite task names i.e. the names of tasks to be run prior to executing the task action function.
  • action is an optional function (type Action = (this: Task) => any;) that is run if the task is selected for execution.

touch

function touch(...files: string[]): void;

Update the modification time of each file to the current time. If a file does not exist then create a zero length file. Missing parent directory paths are also created.

writeFile

function writeFile(filename: string, text: string): void;

Write text to a file synchronously. If the file exists it will be overwritten.

updateFile

function updateFile(filename: string, find: RegExp, replace: string): void;

Find and replace in text file synchronously.

vers

function vers(): string;

Returns the Drake version number string.

Tips for using Drake

  • A shell alias shortcut can be set to run the default drakefile:

    alias drake="deno -A Drakefile.ts"

  • Use shell quoting and escapes to pass command-line variable values containing spaces or special characters e.g. "title=Foo & bar".

  • Don’t forget to use await when calling async functions.

  • Task path name prerequisites can be glob wildcards.

  • Path names can refer to any file type (not just regular files).

  • The Drake sh API can be used to run multiple shell commands asynchronously. The following example starts two shell commands then waits for both to finish before continuing:

      await sh(["echo foo", "echo bar"]);

  • The Drake sh API can be used to run multi-line template string scripts e.g.

    await sh(`set -e  # Exit immediately on error.
    echo Hello World
    if [ "$EUID" -eq 0 ]; then
        echo "Running as root"
    else
        echo "Running as $USER"
    fi
    ls
    wc Drakefile.ts`);

  • The built-in Deno API has many useful functions e.g.

    Deno.mkdirSync(dirname);
const tempDir= Deno.makeTempDirSync();
const modTime = Deno.statSync(filename).modified;
Deno.copyFileSync(from, to);

  • Escape backslash and backtick characters and placeholders in template string literals with a backslash:

    • \\ translates to \
    • \` translates to `
    • \${ translates to ${

  • You can use Drake API functions in non-drakefiles. Useful utility functions include: abort, glob, log, outOfDate, quote, readFile, sh, shCapture, touch, updateFile, writeFile. By default Drake functions manifest errors by printing an error message and exiting with a non-zero exit code. You can change the default behaviour so that errors throw a DrakeError exception by setting env("--abort-exits", false). For example:

    import { env, glob, sh } from "https://raw.github.com/srackham/drake/master/mod.ts";
env("--abort-exits", false)