Tekton Fundamentals
Tekton is a set of Kubernetes resources for defining and running CI/CD pipelines. You assemble container-based steps into reusable tasks, connect tasks into pipelines, and create runs to execute them on a cluster.
itDevOps and software delivery | OpenSkills.info
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Intro
Tekton Fundamentals
Tekton turns software delivery work into Kubernetes resources. You describe the work in YAML. Tekton controllers then create Pods, track execution, and report status through the Kubernetes API.
This approach matters when your delivery platform already centers on Kubernetes. Your pipelines use the same API patterns, namespaces, service accounts, and reconciliation model as other cluster workloads. Tekton gives you building blocks rather than a complete hosted CI service.
The mental model
Separate definitions from executions:
- A Step runs one container image and performs one operation.
- A Task defines an ordered set of Steps.
- A TaskRun executes one Task.
- A Pipeline defines a graph of Tasks.
- A PipelineRun executes one Pipeline.
A Task runs as one Kubernetes Pod. Its Steps run in order inside that Pod. A Pipeline can run independent Tasks in parallel, while dependencies form a directed acyclic graph. Each Task in that Pipeline gets its own Pod.
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Sources
- https://tekton.dev/docs/concepts/overview/
Supports
- Tekton as a Kubernetes extension built from Custom Resources
- Intended platform-engineer and developer audiences
- Tekton component map and component responsibilities
- Tasks execute in separate Pods and do not share data by default
- Task, Pipeline, TaskRun, and PipelineRun selection guidance
- https://tekton.dev/docs/concepts/concept-model/
Supports
- Step, Task, Pipeline, TaskRun, and PipelineRun relationships
- Each Step uses a container image
- A Task runs as a Pod and a Pipeline forms a directed acyclic graph
- Manual and Trigger-created Runs
- https://tekton.dev/docs/pipelines/tasks/
Supports
- Task fields, ordered Steps, Parameters, Workspaces, Results, volumes, and sidecars
- Workspaces as volume requirements
- Results as values passed to later Tasks
- Failure behavior when a consumed declared Result is not produced
- https://tekton.dev/docs/pipelines/pipelines/
Supports
- Pipeline graph configuration
- Parameter and Workspace mapping
- Result dependencies, runAfter, when, retries, timeouts, and finally Tasks
- Pipeline Results and Task Result references
- https://tekton.dev/docs/pipelines/pipelineruns/
Supports
- PipelineRun as on-cluster Pipeline execution
- Automatic TaskRun creation
- Parameters, Workspaces, ServiceAccounts, Pod templates, and timeouts
- Resolved Pipeline specification and child execution status
- Cancellation and failure behavior
- https://tekton.dev/docs/getting-started/pipelines/
Supports
- Current tekton.dev v1 Task, Pipeline, and PipelineRun examples
- Creating resources with kubectl
- Reading PipelineRun logs with tkn
- https://tekton.dev/docs/pipelines/auth/
Supports
- Runtime authentication through a Run ServiceAccount
- Supported Git and registry Secret types
- Difference between Step credentials and private Step image pull credentials
- https://tekton.dev/docs/triggers/
Supports
- Event-driven TaskRun and PipelineRun creation
- EventListener, Trigger, TriggerBinding, and TriggerTemplate roles
- https://tekton.dev/docs/chains/
Supports
- Observation of completed TaskRuns and PipelineRuns
- Snapshot conversion, signing, attestation formats, and storage backends
- https://tekton.dev/docs/cli/
Supports
- tkn as the Tekton command-line interface
- https://tekton.dev/docs/installation/
Supports
- Component installation paths and local-cluster guidance
- https://github.com/sindresorhus/awesome
Supports
- Discovery entry point for curated awesome lists
- https://github.com/cicdops/awesome-ciandcd
Supports
- CI and CD ecosystem discovery
- https://github.com/ramitsurana/awesome-kubernetes
Supports
- Kubernetes delivery-project discovery, including Argo CD
- https://github.com/NotHarshhaa/awesome-devops-cloud
Supports
- Discovery of Tekton-adjacent Argo CD, Trivy, and Harbor projects
- https://argo-cd.readthedocs.io/en/stable/
Supports
- Argo CD as declarative GitOps continuous delivery for Kubernetes
- Git desired-state reconciliation and learner documentation
- https://trivy.dev/docs/latest/guide/scanner/vulnerability/
Supports
- Detection of known vulnerabilities in software components
- https://www.trivy.dev/docs/latest/guide/scanner/secret/
Supports
- Secret scanning for images, filesystems, and Git repositories
- https://trivy.dev/docs/dev/guide/scanner/misconfiguration/
Supports
- Misconfiguration checks for infrastructure as code
- https://goharbor.io/docs/2.14.0/
Supports
- Harbor registry installation, configuration, project use, and administration documentation