Understand Task Runner Capabilities and Plugin Support

Table of Contents

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Available on:Open Source Edition Enterprise Edition

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 Batch, 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	Container-based runners (Docker and the remote runners) run each task in its own container, so dependencies don’t conflict between tasks. The Process runner runs commands directly on the worker host, without isolation.
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	In Enterprise Edition, define and manage runner configurations globally using Policies. 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

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.

Task Runner BenefitsTask Runner Benefits: Resource Control & Flexibility

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