automation

Automation Go API

This package defines automation contracts and execution policies shared by Go callers and embedded language adapters. It has no dependency on Starlark. pkg/runner/step.NewAutomationLibrary implements the API using the existing step registry, schema, and executor.

Go caller ───────────────────────────┐
                                    v
Starlark steps.* -> automation.StepLibrary -> step registry -> existing handlers

A future interpreter supplies argument/result conversion and calls this same interface. It does not implement prompts, HTTP, containers, or step validation again. Interpreter registration and the other shared host services remain in pkg/script; this package establishes the step-facing SDK contract, not a separate implementation of those services.

Go usage

library := step.NewAutomationLibrary(nil, nil)
request := &automation.StepCall{
    Type: "join",
    Configuration: map[string]any{
        "options": []string{"api", "worker"},
        "separator": ",",
    },
}
if err := library.Validate(request); err != nil {
    return err
}
result, err := library.Run(ctx, request)
// result.Value is "api,worker" when err is nil.

Import github.com/cloudposse/atmos/pkg/automation for the contract and github.com/cloudposse/atmos/pkg/runner/step for its implementation. A CLI host passes its existing Variables and optional WorkflowDefinition to the constructor to supply Atmos configuration, component resolution, and template context. The CLI also links the workflow package's control/test runners.

Ownership and execution

• Names discovers canonical names and aliases from the registry.
• Validate checks configuration without invoking a handler. Run validates again before execution; callers are not required to call Validate first.
• Configuration contains native Go values using the documented YAML field names. The shared schema decodes polymorphic fields such as with and output. Configuration decoding does not mutate the request.
• StepResult carries the handler's value, selections, metadata, named outputs, skipped flag, and error text. Treat returned results as read-only.
• An instance owns its mutable state. Call Fork before using it in a concurrent branch; fork the parent before starting its children, and wait for them before mutating the parent again. AAL does this automatically for every task attempt.
• Calls preserve context cancellation and error chains. Handler-level terminal and workflow-context requirements still apply.
• Explicit writers route command output through the caller. Captures retain raw values while displayed output uses Atmos masking. Interactive forms and casts retain the existing handlers' terminal facilities.
• Parallel rejects operations that require exclusive terminal/process access. Nested scripts inherit that restriction. Nested automation calls have a depth limit so starting another embedded interpreter cannot bypass recursion limits.
• Workflow scheduling, identity preparation, background jobs, and freshness policies remain responsibilities of the enclosing YAML runner. Unsupported direct-call policies fail explicitly.

The Go API is exercised independently in pkg/runner/step/automation_library_test.go. The Starlark adapter is tested against a generated mock of StepLibrary, with additional handler integration tests in pkg/runner/step/script_library_test.go.

Execution policy

The ExecutionPolicy type applies one timeout across an operation and its retry waits. The operation receives a context; the caller supplies the predicate that decides which errors may be retried. It reuses the shared retry implementation. Script process calls use this policy for exec.run and component.exec. The step registry adapter still owns handler-specific execution behavior.

Filesystem inspection

The FileSystem interface supplies context-aware Glob, Stat, Exists, and Readlink operations. LocalFileSystem implements them with the operating system. FileInfo carries byte size and regular-file, directory, and symlink flags. Interpreters resolve paths against their invocation directory and convert the results to language values. The Starlark engine accepts an alternate implementation through WithFileSystem.

For synchronous host-owned step lists, AutomationLibrary.RunSteps accepts schema.Tasks plus invocation streams and working directory. It validates the sequence before execution and shares outputs and environment changes between steps. Workflow scheduler policies are rejected. Atmos Git hooks use this path.