#Quick Start

This document helps new users quickly understand and use Tekton Pipelines to create a simple CI/CD workflow.

#Introduction

Tekton is an open-source cloud native CI/CD (Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery/Deployment) solution. It provides Kubernetes-native building blocks for creating containerized, standardized, and portable CI/CD pipelines.

#Use Cases

• Create automated build, test, and deployment workflows
• Run CI/CD pipelines in a Kubernetes-native way
• Build container images without privileged access
• Implement standardized deployment processes across multiple cloud providers
• Create reusable components for your CI/CD systems

#Estimated Reading Time

15-20 minutes

#Prerequisites

• A Kubernetes cluster (you can use minikube for local testing)
• Tekton Pipelines installed on your cluster
• kubectl installed and configured to access your cluster
• Tekton CLI (tkn) installed for easier interaction with Tekton resources

#Process Overview

#Step-by-Step Instructions

#Step 1: Create a "Hello World" Task

A Task is the basic building block of a Tekton Pipeline. It consists of a series of steps that run sequentially in a container.

1. Create a file named hello-task.yaml with the following content:

apiVersion: tekton.dev/v1
kind: Task
metadata:
  name: hello
spec:
  steps:
    - name: echo
      image: ubuntu
      command:
        - echo
      args:
        - "Hello World!"

2. Apply the Task to your cluster:

   kubectl apply -f hello-task.yaml
   

3. A TaskRun object instantiates and executes this Task. Create another file named hello-world-run.yaml with the following content:

apiVersion: tekton.dev/v1
kind: TaskRun
metadata:
  name: hello-task-run
spec:
  taskRef:
    name: hello

4. Apply the TaskRun to your cluster:

   kubectl apply -f hello-world-run.yaml
   

5. Monitor the TaskRun execution:

   kubectl get taskrun hello-task-run
   

   You should see output similar to:

   NAME SUCCEEDED REASON STARTTIME COMPLETIONTIME hello-task-run True Succeeded 1m 2m

6. Take a look at the logs:

   kubectl logs --selector=tekton.dev/taskRun=hello-task-run
   

   You should see output similar to:

   Hello World!

#Step 2: Create a "Goodbye" Task with Parameters

Now let's create a second Task that accepts parameters to make it more flexible.

1. Create a file named goodbye-task.yaml with the following content:

apiVersion: tekton.dev/v1
kind: Task
metadata:
  name: goodbye
spec:
  params:
    - name: username
      type: string
      description: The username to say goodbye to
      default: "World"
  steps:
    - name: goodbye
      image: ubuntu
      command:
        - echo
      args:
        - "Goodbye $(params.username)!"

2. Apply the Task to your cluster:

   kubectl apply -f goodbye-task.yaml
   

#Step 3: Create a Pipeline

A Pipeline defines an ordered series of Tasks arranged in a specific execution order as part of your CI/CD workflow.

1. Create a file named hello-goodbye-pipeline.yaml with the following content:

apiVersion: tekton.dev/v1
kind: Pipeline
metadata:
  name: hello-goodbye
spec:
  params:
    - name: username
      type: string
      description: The username to say goodbye to
      default: "World"
  tasks:
    - name: hello
      taskRef:
        name: hello
    - name: goodbye
      runAfter:
        - hello
      taskRef:
        name: goodbye
      params:
        - name: username
          value: "$(params.username)"

This Pipeline:

• Defines a parameter called username
• Includes two Tasks: hello and goodbye
• Specifies that goodbye should run after hello completes
• Passes the Pipeline parameter to the goodbye Task

2. Apply the Pipeline to your cluster:

   kubectl apply -f hello-goodbye-pipeline.yaml
   

#Step 4: Run the Pipeline

A PipelineRun is used to execute a Pipeline and provide any required parameters.

1. Create a file named hello-goodbye-pipeline-run.yaml with the following content:

apiVersion: tekton.dev/v1
kind: PipelineRun
metadata:
  name: hello-goodbye-run
spec:
  pipelineRef:
    name: hello-goodbye
  params:
    - name: username
      value: "Tekton"

2. Apply the PipelineRun to your cluster to start the Pipeline:

   kubectl apply -f hello-goodbye-pipeline-run.yaml
   

3. Monitor the Pipeline execution:

tkn pipelinerun logs hello-goodbye-run -f

You should see output similar to:

#Step 5: Clean Up

To remove the resources created in this tutorial:

kubectl delete -f hello-task.yaml
kubectl delete -f hello-task-run.yaml
kubectl delete -f goodbye-task.yaml
kubectl delete -f hello-goodbye-pipeline.yaml
kubectl delete -f hello-goodbye-pipeline-run.yaml