Automate Your Workflow with ShellRun — Beginner to Pro

Getting Started with ShellRun: Tips, Tricks, and Shortcuts

What ShellRun is

ShellRun is a command-line utility (assumed here as a shell task runner) that executes scripts, commands, and automated workflows from a single interface. It typically supports task definitions, argument passing, environment variables, and chaining or scheduling of commands.

Quick setup

1. Install: Use the package manager for your environment (example):

   bash
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   # macOS / Linux (example)
   curl -sSL https://example.com/shellrun/install.sh | bash
   

2. Init a project:

   bash
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   shellrun init 

3. Create tasks: Add a tasks file (e.g., ShellRunfile or shellrun.yml) with entries mapping names to commands.

Essential commands

• Run a task: shellrun run
• List tasks: shellrun list
• Run with env file: SHELLRUN_ENV=.env shellrun run build
• Dry-run: shellrun run –dry (shows commands without executing)
• Verbose: shellrun run -v (prints expanded commands and environment)

Recommended task file structure (example)

yaml
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# shellrun.yml
tasks:
build:
    cmd: npm run build     env:
      NODE_ENV: production   test:
    cmd: npm test   deploy:
    cmd: ./scripts/deploy.sh     deps:
      - build       - test 

Useful tips

• Use dependencies: Define deps so build/test run automatically before deploy.
• Parametrize tasks: Accept positional arguments or flags to reuse tasks for different environments (e.g., shellrun run deploy – env=staging).
• Secrets management: Load secrets from a protected .env file and avoid committing it.
• Keep commands idempotent: Make repeated runs safe to avoid state issues.
• Combine with cron/CI: Call ShellRun tasks from CI pipelines or cron jobs to centralize automation.

Handy shortcuts

• Alias frequent tasks: Add shell aliases, e.g., alias sr=‘shellrun run’.
• Tab completion: Enable shell completion if provided (e.g., source /etc/bash_completion.d/shellrun).
• Parallel runs: Use shellrun run –parallel task1 task2 for independent tasks.
• Logging: Redirect output to timestamped logs: shellrun run backup > logs/backup-$(date +%F-%T).log.

Troubleshooting

• Permissions errors: Ensure scripts are executable: chmod +x scripts/*.sh.
• Env differences: Use shellrun run -v to inspect the environment; match CI env to local if failures differ.
• Dependency failures: Run dependent tasks individually to locate the failing step.

Example workflow

1. shellrun init
2. Define tasks in shellrun.yml (build → test → deploy)
3. alias sr=‘shellrun run’
4. Local: sr build → CI: sr deploy env=production