Migration from Task

Atkins supports a Taskfile-compatible structure. The main differences are in interpolation syntax and shell substitution. Simple Taskfiles without interpolation often work without any changes.

Full Example

Here's a complete side-by-side comparison showing variable interpolation, shell substitution, and task dependencies:

  # Atkins syntax - runnable with: atkins -f atkins-after.yml
vars:
  project_name: my-app
  commit: $(git rev-parse --short HEAD 2>/dev/null || echo "dev")
  timestamp: $(uname -n)

tasks:
  default:
    desc: Run all build tasks
    cmds:
      - task: clean
      - task: build
      - task: package

  clean:
    desc: Clean build artifacts
    cmds:
      - echo "Cleaning ${{ project_name }} build files..."
      - echo "rm -rf dist/"

  build:
    desc: Build the project
    vars:
      build_flags: -ldflags '-X main.Version=${{ commit }}'
    cmds:
      - echo "Building ${{ project_name }} at commit ${{ commit }}"
      - echo "go build ${{ build_flags }} ./..."

  package:
    desc: Package for distribution
    deps: [build]
    cmds:
      - echo "Packaging ${{ project_name }}-${{ timestamp }}.tar.gz"

  # Taskfile syntax (reference only - not runnable with Atkins)
version: '3'

vars:
  project_name: my-app
  commit:
    sh: git rev-parse --short HEAD
  timestamp:
    sh: date +%Y%m%d

tasks:
  default:
    desc: Run all build tasks
    cmds:
      - task: clean
      - task: build
      - task: package

  clean:
    desc: Clean build artifacts
    cmds:
      - echo "Cleaning {{.project_name}} build files..."
      - rm -rf dist/

  build:
    desc: Build the project
    vars:
      build_flags: "-ldflags '-X main.Version={{.commit}}'"
    cmds:
      - echo "Building {{.project_name}} at commit {{.commit}}"
      - echo "go build {{.build_flags}} ./..."

  package:
    desc: Package for distribution
    deps: [build]
    cmds:
      - echo "Packaging {{.project_name}}-{{.timestamp}}.tar.gz"

Structure Comparison

The overall structure is nearly identical. Atkins doesn't require a version field.

Taskfile:

  version: '3'

vars:
  key: val

tasks:
  default:
    cmds:
      - cmd: echo hello
      - task: other

Atkins:

  vars:
  key: val

tasks:
  default:
    cmds:
      - cmd: echo hello
      - task: other

The task: <name> syntax for invoking other tasks works identically in both tools.

Shell Substitution

Taskfile uses the sh: field for dynamic values. Atkins uses bash-style $(...) which can also be used inline within commands.

Taskfile:

  vars:
  uname:
    sh: uname -n

Atkins:

  vars:
  uname: $(uname -n)

Variable Interpolation

Taskfile uses Go templates which require quoting in YAML. Atkins uses ${{ }} syntax which is YAML-safe.

Taskfile:

  vars:
  foo: bar
  bar: "{{.foo}}"  # Must be quoted

tasks:
  default:
    cmds:
      - echo "{{.foo}}"

Atkins:

  vars:
  foo: bar
  bar: ${{ foo }}  # No quotes needed

tasks:
  default:
    cmds:
      - echo "${{ foo }}"

Benefits of the Atkins syntax:

• No quoting required in YAML
• No . prefix for variable names
• Doesn't conflict with bash ${var} syntax

Environment Variables

Taskfile requires explicit environment declarations and doesn't inherit from the shell by default. Atkins inherits the full environment automatically.

You can still declare environment variables at any level:

  env:
  vars:
    MY_VAR: value

tasks:
  build:
    env:
      vars:
        GOOS: linux
    steps:
      - run: go build

Simple Tasks

Both support shorthand syntax for single-command tasks:

  tasks:
  up: docker compose up -d
  down: docker compose down

Listing Tasks

Taskfile:

  task --list-all  # -l requires descriptions

Atkins:

  atkins -l  # Shows all tasks; uses command as description if none provided

Atkins always shows tasks, displaying the command when no description is set.

What Works Directly

Simple Taskfiles without interpolation work identically:

  tasks:
  up: docker compose up -d --remove-orphans
  down: docker compose down --remove-orphans

Summary