Understand Task Runner Capabilities and Plugin Support
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Task Runners control where and how Kestra executes script tasks — locally, on Kubernetes, or on cloud platforms like AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud.
Capabilities
The table below outlines the main capabilities of Task Runners in Kestra.
| Capability | Description |
|---|---|
| Fine-grained resource allocation | Gain full control over compute resources — allocate the precise amount of CPU, memory, or GPU to individual tasks. |
| Flexible deployment patterns | Deploy tasks across diverse environments, including AWS ECS Fargate, Azure Batch, Google Batch, Kubernetes, and more. You can even mix different runners within a single workflow. |
| No vendor lock-in | Built on a modular plugin system, Task Runners let you run workloads on any cloud or on-prem infrastructure — without being tied to a specific provider. |
| Task isolation | Each task runs in a fully isolated container environment, preventing conflicts and ensuring consistent performance. |
| Development-to-production consistency | Develop locally using Docker containers and seamlessly deploy the same code to production in Kubernetes or cloud environments — just by changing one property. |
| Centralized configuration management | Define and manage runner configurations globally using pluginDefaults. This allows you to govern credentials and environment settings at the namespace or organization level. |
| Built-in documentation and validation | Each Task Runner plugin includes a schema. The Kestra code editor offers inline documentation, autocompletion, and syntax validation for every property, ensuring correctness and standardization. |
| No code changes required | Move between environments — from local to cloud — without altering your business logic or code. |
| Fully customizable | Extend functionality by developing your own Task Runner plugin tailored to your infrastructure and deployment requirements. |
Supported plugins
Task Runners are primarily used in tasks from the Script Plugin and its related sub-plugins. These tasks support execution of custom scripts or command sets via the taskRunner property.
Supported script-based plugins
- Python
- Node.js
- Go
- Shell
- PowerShell
- R
- Julia
- Ruby
- Deno
- Lua
- Bun
- PHP
- Perl
- Groovy
- dbt
- SQLMesh
- Ansible
- Terraform
- Modal
- AWS CLI
- GCloud CLI
- Azure CLI
Whenever you see a task capable of executing a script or a series of commands, it’s a script-based task that can leverage a taskRunner to define where and how that task runs.
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