Doer

Doer is simple task runner that uses the TOML file format for configuration.

Installation

cargo install doer

Usage

By default, Doer will run the default step.
Example:

doer

This will run the default step. This can be changed by passing in a different step, or with the default key in the build.toml file.
Example:

doer build

This will run the build step.
You can also pass in a different file to use for configuration.
Example:

doer --file build.toml build

This will run the build step in the build.toml file.

Configuration

Doer uses a TOML file for configuration. The default location is ./build.toml but this can be changed with the --file option.
A simple example:

[step.default]
command = "echo 'Hello, world!'"

[step.build]
command = "cargo build"

This will run echo 'Hello, world!' by default, but if you run doer --task build it will run cargo build.

Steps

Steps are the tasks that Doer will run. They are defined in the step table. Each step has a name, which is used to identify it and a command key, which is the command that will be run.
Example:

[step.run]
command = "cargo run"

[step.build]
command = "cargo build"

This will run cargo run when the run step is run, and cargo build when the build step is run.

Default step

The default step is the step that will be run if no step is specified. By default, this is the default step.
Example:

[step.default]
command = "echo 'Hello, world!'"

This will run echo 'Hello, world!' by default. If you want to change the default step, you can use the default key in the build.toml file.
Example:

default = "build"

[step.build]
command = "cargo build"

Dependencies

Steps can depend on other steps by using the depends key.
Example:

[step.run]
command = "cargo run"
depends = ["build"]

[step.build]
command = "cargo build"

This will run cargo build before running cargo run. If the build step fails, the run step will not run.

Environment variables

Environment variables can be set in the env table for each step.
Example:

[step.run]
command = "cargo run"
env = { RUST_LOG = "debug" }

This will run cargo run with the RUST_LOG environment variable set to debug.

Step groups

A step doesn't have to have a command key. Instead, it can just have a depends key, which is a list of steps that will be run. This is useful for grouping steps together.
Example:

[step.default]
depends = ["build", "release"]

[step.build]
command = "cargo build"

[step.release]
command = "cargo build --release"

This will run both cargo build and cargo build --release when the default step is run.

Asynchronous steps

Steps can be run asynchronously by setting the async key to true.
Example:

[step.default]
depends = ["build", "release"]

[step.build]
command = "cargo build"
async = true

[step.release]
command = "cargo build --release"
async = true

This will run cargo build and cargo build --release at the same time.
A step can also force all of its dependencies to run synchronously by setting the in-order key to true.
Example:

[step.default]
depends = ["build", "release"]
in-order = true

[step.build]
command = "cargo build"
async = true

[step.release]
command = "cargo build --release"
async = true

This will run cargo build and cargo build --release one after the other, even though they are both asynchronous steps.

Cross file dependencies

Steps can depend on other steps in other files by depending on the directory name and the step name, or optionally just the directory name to run the default step.
Example:

# build.toml
[step.default]
depends = ["web", "api"]

[step.build]
depends = ["web:build", "api:build"]

# web/build.toml
[step.default]
command = "echo 'web default'"

[step.build]
command = "trunk build"
async = true

# api/build.toml
[step.default]
command = "echo 'api default'"

[step.build]
command = "cargo build"
async = true

In this example, the default step in build.toml depends on the default step in web/build.toml and the default step in api/build.toml while the build step in build.toml depends on the build step in web/build.toml and the build step in api/build.toml.