examples/

scafctl Examples

This directory contains runnable examples demonstrating scafctl features. Each example is self-contained and can be run directly.

Quick Start

# Run any example (full solution with actions)
scafctl run solution -f examples/<path-to-example>.yaml

# Run resolvers only (debugging/inspection)
scafctl run resolver -f examples/resolver-demo.yaml

# Run specific resolvers with verbose output
scafctl run resolver environment region -f examples/resolver-demo.yaml --verbose

# Run with parameters
scafctl run resolver -f examples/resolvers/parameters.yaml -r name=Alice

# Run with debug logging (see what scafctl is doing)
scafctl run solution -f examples/actions/hello-world.yaml --debug

# Run with JSON logs for troubleshooting
scafctl run solution -f examples/actions/hello-world.yaml --log-level info --log-format json

Browse Examples from the CLI

You can also discover and download examples using the built-in examples command:

# List all available examples
scafctl examples list

# Filter by category
scafctl examples list --category resolvers
scafctl examples list --category actions
scafctl examples list --category solutions

# Download an example
scafctl examples get resolvers/hello-world.yaml -o hello.yaml

# List in JSON format
scafctl examples list -o json

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Directory Structure

Directory	Description
actions/	Workflow automation with actions
exec/	Exec provider shell execution patterns
providers/	Provider-specific solution examples (http, exec, hcl, github, identity, message, metadata)
resolvers/	Dynamic value resolution patterns
solutions/	Complete end-to-end solution examples
snapshots/	Execution snapshot capture and comparison
catalog/	Catalog bundling and registry examples
config/	Configuration file examples
eval/	CEL and Go template evaluation data and templates
serve/	REST API server configuration and curl examples
plugins/	go-plugin source code examples (see note below)
mcp/	MCP server configurations for AI clients

Terminology Note: The plugins/ directory contains go-plugin source code for developing custom providers. When distributing via the catalog, these are pushed as provider or auth-handler artifacts:

# Build and push a provider to the catalog
scafctl build provider ./my-provider --version 1.0.0
scafctl catalog push my-provider@1.0.0 --catalog ghcr.io/myorg

# The artifact is stored at: ghcr.io/myorg/providers/my-provider:1.0.0

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Actions Examples

Action workflows demonstrate executing tasks with dependencies, parallelism, and error handling.

Example	Description	Run
hello-world.yaml	Simplest action workflow	scafctl run solution -f examples/actions/hello-world.yaml
sequential-chain.yaml	Actions running in sequence	scafctl run solution -f examples/actions/sequential-chain.yaml
parallel-with-deps.yaml	Parallel execution with dependencies	scafctl run solution -f examples/actions/parallel-with-deps.yaml
conditional-execution.yaml	Skip actions based on conditions	scafctl run solution -f examples/actions/conditional-execution.yaml
foreach-deploy.yaml	Iterate over arrays with forEach	scafctl run solution -f examples/actions/foreach-deploy.yaml
retry-backoff.yaml	Retry with exponential backoff	scafctl run solution -f examples/actions/retry-backoff.yaml
error-handling.yaml	Handle errors gracefully	scafctl run solution -f examples/actions/error-handling.yaml
finally-cleanup.yaml	Cleanup actions that always run	scafctl run solution -f examples/actions/finally-cleanup.yaml
template-render.yaml	Render files from templates	scafctl run solution -f examples/actions/template-render.yaml
go-template-inline.yaml	Inline Go templates with loops/conditionals	scafctl run solution -f examples/actions/go-template-inline.yaml
complex-workflow.yaml	Full CI/CD-style workflow	scafctl run solution -f examples/actions/complex-workflow.yaml

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Eval Examples

Data files and templates for use with scafctl eval commands.

Example	Description	Run
cel-data.json	Sample data for CEL expression evaluation	scafctl eval cel --expression '_.items.filter(i, i.active).map(i, i.name)' --file examples/eval/cel-data.json
deployment.tmpl	Kubernetes deployment template	scafctl eval template --template-file examples/eval/deployment.tmpl --file examples/eval/template-data.json
template-data.json	Data for Go template rendering	Used with deployment.tmpl above

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Exec Provider Examples

Demonstrate the exec provider's embedded POSIX shell, shell types, and cross-platform patterns.

Example	Description	Run
simple.yaml	Basic commands, arguments, working directory	scafctl run solution -f examples/exec/simple.yaml
shell-features.yaml	Pipes, variables, conditionals, loops	scafctl run solution -f examples/exec/shell-features.yaml
shell-types.yaml	Embedded, bash, and PowerShell shells	scafctl run solution -f examples/exec/shell-types.yaml
environment-and-io.yaml	Environment vars, stdin, timeouts	scafctl run solution -f examples/exec/environment-and-io.yaml
cross-platform.yaml	Patterns that work on all platforms	scafctl run solution -f examples/exec/cross-platform.yaml

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Resolver Examples

Resolvers demonstrate dynamic value computation, validation, and transformation.

Example	Description	Run
hello-world.yaml	Simplest resolver	scafctl run resolver -f examples/resolvers/hello-world.yaml
parameters.yaml	CLI parameters with defaults	scafctl run resolver -f examples/resolvers/parameters.yaml -r name=Alice
dependencies.yaml	Resolver dependencies & phases	scafctl run resolver -f examples/resolvers/dependencies.yaml
env-config.yaml	Environment-based configuration	scafctl run resolver -f examples/resolvers/env-config.yaml -r env=production
validation.yaml	Input validation patterns	scafctl run resolver -f examples/resolvers/validation.yaml
transform-pipeline.yaml	Data transformation pipeline	scafctl run resolver -f examples/resolvers/transform-pipeline.yaml
feature-flags.yaml	Feature flag patterns	scafctl run resolver -f examples/resolvers/feature-flags.yaml
secrets.yaml	Secret management (requires secret store)	scafctl run resolver -f examples/resolvers/secrets.yaml
identity.yaml	Authentication identity info (requires auth)	scafctl run resolver -f examples/resolvers/identity.yaml
cel-extensions.yaml	All custom CEL extension functions	scafctl run resolver -f examples/resolvers/cel-extensions.yaml -o json
cel-transforms.yaml	Data transformation patterns with CEL	scafctl run resolver -f examples/resolvers/cel-transforms.yaml -o yaml
go-template-sprig.yaml	Sprig v3 functions in Go templates	scafctl run resolver -f examples/resolvers/go-template-sprig.yaml -o json
go-template-extensions.yaml	Custom Go template extensions (toHcl, toYaml, fromYaml)	scafctl run resolver -f examples/resolvers/go-template-extensions.yaml -o json

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Solution Examples

Complete solutions demonstrating real-world use cases.

Example	Description
comprehensive/	Full-featured solution with all capabilities
terraform/	Terraform project scaffolding
taskfile/	Taskfile.yaml generation
email-notifier/	Email notification workflow
k8s-clusters/	Read a Go template file, iterate 10 K8s clusters, render and write unique manifests
bad-solution-yaml/	Invalid solution demonstrating error handling for conflicting ValueRef keys
tested-solution/	Functional testing features: assertions, inheritance, tags, watch mode
scaffold-demo/	Test scaffolding with scafctl test init — generates starter test suites
github-auth/	GitHub authentication — identity, API calls, and status checks
message-demo/	Message provider — styled terminal output with templates

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Snapshot Examples

Snapshots capture resolver execution state for debugging, testing, and comparison.

Example	Description	Run
basic-snapshot.yaml	Capture and inspect a snapshot	scafctl render solution -f examples/snapshots/basic-snapshot.yaml --snapshot --snapshot-file=/tmp/snapshot.json
snapshot-diff.yaml	Compare snapshots across environments	See example header for commands
redacted-snapshot.yaml	Redact sensitive values in snapshots	scafctl render solution -f examples/snapshots/redacted-snapshot.yaml --snapshot --snapshot-file=/tmp/redacted.json --redact

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Catalog Examples

Catalog build and distribution examples.

Example	Description
bundling-example/	Solution bundling with local file dependencies
remote-registry-workflow.md	Guide for remote OCI registry workflows

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Configuration Examples

Application configuration file examples.

Example	Description
minimal-config.yaml	Minimal configuration
full-config.yaml	Full configuration with all options
api-server-config.yaml	API server configuration
api-server-README.md	API server configuration guide

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Serve Examples

REST API server configuration and usage examples.

Example	Description
README.md	Overview and quickstart
minimal-config.yaml	Minimal server configuration
production-config.yaml	Production-ready server configuration
curl-examples.sh	Curl examples (bash)
curl-examples.ps1	Curl examples (PowerShell)

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Demo Files

Standalone demo files in the root examples directory:

File	Description
resolver-demo.yaml	Interactive resolver demonstration
resolver-stress-demo.yaml	Performance testing with many resolvers
resolver-validation-failures-demo.yaml	Demonstrates validation error handling

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Plugin Examples

Custom plugin development examples.

Example	Description
echo/	Simple echo plugin implementation
auto-fetch-solution.yaml	Solution demonstrating automatic plugin fetching from catalogs

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MCP Server Configurations

AI client configuration examples for connecting to scafctl's MCP server.

File	Description
mcp/README.md	Overview and setup instructions
mcp/vscode-mcp.json	VS Code / GitHub Copilot configuration
mcp/claude-desktop-config.json	Claude Desktop configuration
mcp/cursor-mcp.json	Cursor configuration
mcp/windsurf-mcp.json	Windsurf configuration

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Tips

View Output as JSON

scafctl run resolver -f examples/resolvers/hello-world.yaml -o json

Dry Run Mode

scafctl run solution -f examples/actions/hello-world.yaml --dry-run

Debug Logging

scafctl run resolver -f examples/resolvers/dependencies.yaml -v

Pass Multiple Parameters

scafctl run resolver -f examples/resolvers/parameters.yaml \
  -r name=Bob \
  -r count=5 \
  -r uppercase=true

Interactive Mode

# Explore output in a TUI (navigate, search, filter)
scafctl run resolver -f examples/resolvers/dependencies.yaml -i

Filter with CEL Expressions

# Extract specific values from output
scafctl run resolver -f examples/resolvers/dependencies.yaml -e '_.fullName'

Snapshots

# Capture a snapshot during render
scafctl render solution -f examples/snapshots/basic-snapshot.yaml \
  --snapshot --snapshot-file=/tmp/snapshot.json

# View the snapshot
scafctl snapshot show /tmp/snapshot.json

# Compare two snapshots
scafctl snapshot diff /tmp/snap-a.json /tmp/snap-b.json

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Catalog Workflows

Build and Run from Catalog

# Build a solution into the catalog
scafctl build solution -f examples/resolver-demo.yaml --version 1.0.0

# Run by name (no file path needed)
scafctl run resolver resolver-demo

# List catalog contents
scafctl catalog list

Export and Import (Air-Gapped Transfer)

# Build and export a solution
scafctl build solution -f examples/resolver-demo.yaml --version 1.0.0
scafctl catalog save resolver-demo -o resolver-demo.tar

# Transfer the tar file to another machine, then import
scafctl catalog load --input resolver-demo.tar

# Run the imported solution
scafctl run resolver resolver-demo

Version Management

# Build multiple versions
scafctl build solution -f examples/resolver-demo.yaml --version 1.0.0
scafctl build solution -f examples/resolver-demo.yaml --version 2.0.0

# Export specific version
scafctl catalog save resolver-demo@1.0.0 -o resolver-demo-v1.tar

# Delete old versions
scafctl catalog delete resolver-demo@1.0.0

# Clean up orphaned blobs
scafctl catalog prune