🧰 Main Taskfile Overview¶

This section describes the purpose and layout of the main Taskfile.yaml used in this project. The Taskfile defines automation tasks to simplify development workflows and ensure consistency across environments.

⚙️ Purpose of This Taskfile¶

This Taskfile provides command-line shortcuts for tasks like:

Bootstrapping a local Kind cluster with Istio
Deploying the ZTA-enabled demo app using Helm
Toggling Zero Trust policies on/off
Building and pushing Docker images
Fetching authorization tokens for mTLS-authenticated service access
Serving MkDocs-based documentation locally

It abstracts repetitive shell commands into named tasks you can run with:

task <task-name>

🧱 Core Sections¶

1. Setup & Initialization¶

Includes tasks for:

Creating the Kind cluster (task create-cluster)
Labeling namespaces for Istio sidecar injection
Preparing Docker Buildx builder for multi-platform builds
Creating necessary namespaces (zta-demo)

2. Development Workflow¶

Common tasks for:

Starting the full dev environment with task dev
Automatically deploying Istio and Helm charts
Port-forwarding to access the app on localhost:8081
Activating and deactivating ZTA (task activate-zta, task deactivate-zta)

3. Documentation¶

Tasks to:

Serve documentation locally using MkDocs (task docs)
Automatically watch for changes and hot-reload the preview

4. Deployment & Automation¶

Tasks automate:

Building Docker images (task build-local, task build-push)
Pushing images to remote registries
Upgrading app Helm chart (task upgrade-all)
Applying dynamic config changes using yq

5. Cleanup & Teardown¶

Includes safe commands to:

Remove Kind cluster and Helm releases (task cleanup-dev)
Delete generated files like token.txt and kubeconfigs
Reset state for fresh Zero Trust experiments

🧪 Typical Usage Flow¶

A typical flow using this Taskfile might look like:

Set up your environment:

task setup

Start development:

task dev

Activate Zero Trust:

task activate-zta

Get a valid token and test curl:

task get-token

Serve documentation:

task docs

Clean up:

task cleanup-dev

📝 Notes¶

To list all available tasks:

task --list-all

Variables and flags can be passed to tasks like so:

task build-local TAG=mytag

You can structure task dependencies using deps: and reuse shell logic cleanly across environments.

📝 Tips¶

Key	Description
dotenv + env:	Loads `.env` to inject secrets like Auth0 credentials.
vars:	Supports Git-derived tags or CLI overrides for dynamic configuration.
prompt:	Use confirmation prompts before destructive actions (e.g., uninstall).
preconditions:	Ensure cluster exists before attempting deployment.
deps:	Used to serialize setup steps (e.g., `setup` → `create-cluster` → `istio`).
internal:	Tasks like `_deploy` are hidden helpers invoked only by higher-level tasks.
platforms:	Set up Buildx for multi-arch Docker builds if targeting ARM or others.
requires:	Not used here, but can enforce vars like `REPOSITORY`.
status:	Skips setup if the cluster is already running (e.g., using `kubectx`).

📬 Contact¶

For issues or suggestions related to automation and task structure, open an issue or contact the maintainer at sean.njela@gmail.com.