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Workflows

Workflows are a way of combining multiple commands into one executable unit of work.

Simple Example​

Here's an example workflow called eks-up which runs a few commands that will bring up the cluster. The workflow name can be anything you want, and the workflows can also be parameterized.

workflows:
  eks-up:
    description: |
      Bring up the EKS cluster.
    steps:
      - command: terraform apply vpc
      - command: terraform apply eks/cluster
      - command: terraform apply eks/alb-controller

Then run this workflow like this:

atmos workflow eks-up --stack tenant1-ue2-dev

Configuration​

Workflows can be defined using two different methods:

  • Stack configurations: Add the workflows section to any Stack configuration.
  • Standalone files: Add reusable workflows in a separate file ( see workflow1.yaml

In the first case, we define workflows in the Stack configuration file (which we specify on the command line). To execute the workflows for some stack (e.g. tenant1-ue2-dev), run the following commands:

atmos workflow eks-up -s tenant1-ue2-dev

Note: Workflows defined in the stack config files can be executed only for the particular stack (environment and stage). It's not possible to provision resources for multiple stacks this way.

In the second case (defining workflows in a separate file), a single workflow can be created to provision resources into different stacks. The stacks for the workflow steps can be specified in the workflow config.

Using Workflow Files​

For example, to run terraform plan and helmfile diff on all terraform and helmfile components in the example, execute the following command:

atmos workflow plan-all -f workflows

where the command-line option -f (--file for long version) instructs the atmos CLI to look for the plan-all workflow in the file workflows.

As we can see, in multi-environment workflows, each workflow job specifies the stack it's operating on:

workflows:
  plan-all:
    description: |
      Run 'terraform plan' on 'test/test-component' and all its derived components.
      The stack must be provided on the command line: atmos workflow terraform-plan-all-test-components -f workflow1 -s <stack>
    steps:
      - command: terraform plan test/test-component
      - command: terraform plan test/test-component-override
      - command: terraform plan test/test-component-override-2
      - command: terraform plan test/test-component-override-3

You can also define a workflow in a separate file without specifying the stack in the workflow's job config. In this case, the stack needs to be provided on the command line.

For example, to run the plan-all workflow from the workflows file for the tenant1-ue2-dev stack, execute the following command:

atmos workflow plan-all -f workflow1 -s tenant1-ue2-dev