Writing Workflows

This page explains how to create and structure Kuristo workflow files using YAML syntax.

Basic Structure

A Kuristo workflow defines a set of jobs, each identified by a unique job ID. Jobs contain one or more steps to execute.

Example:

jobs:
  job1:
    name: simulation
    steps:
      - run: ./prepare.sh
      - run: ./simulate --input data.in
      - run: ./postprocess.sh

job1 is the job ID (must be unique within the workflow)

Job Fields

name (string, optional): Descriptive job name shown in logs and reports
needs (list of job IDs, optional): Defines job execution order
steps (list, required): Commands or structured actions to run
strategy: TODO

Step Fields

Each step represents a unit of work (e.g., a script or an action). You can also customize the runtime environment.

Supported step fields:

run (string): Shell command to execute
working-directory (string, optional): Directory to run the command in
id (string, optional): Assign unique identified to a step
uses: (string): Name of the action to run

Example:

jobs:
  mesh:
    name: Generate mesh
    steps:
      - run: ./mesh.sh
        shell: /bin/bash
        workdir: scripts/

Job Dependencies

Use the needs field to create dependencies between jobs. This controls execution order.

jobs:
  prep:
    name: Prepare
    steps:
      - run: ./prepare_inputs.sh

  sim:
    name: Run Simulation
    needs: [prep]
    steps:
      - run: ./simulate

Jobs without dependencies may run in parallel, depending on available system resources.