ocp-pipelines-about

name	ocp-pipelines-about
metadata	{"author":"rhoai3-coding-demo","version":"1.0.0","platform-family":"ocp","platform-baseline":"repo","ocp-baseline":"repo","skill-group":"OpenShift Platform"}
description	Use when documenting, reviewing, or explaining OpenShift Pipelines concepts, architecture, and Tekton CRDs: Task, TaskRun, Pipeline, PipelineRun, Workspace, StepAction, Trigger, TriggerBinding, TriggerTemplate, EventListener, when expressions, finally tasks, and pod templates from the official OpenShift Pipelines 1.22 documentation. Do NOT use for installing or configuring pipelines (use ocp-pipelines-install-config), creating CI/CD pipelines (use ocp-pipelines-cicd), Pipelines as Code (use ocp-pipelines-as-code), security (use ocp-pipelines-security), or observability (use ocp-pipelines-observability).

OCP Pipelines About

Use this skill to ground OpenShift Pipelines conceptual guidance in the official Red Hat OpenShift Pipelines 1.22 about guide for the active baseline in docs/PLATFORM_BASELINE.md.

Source Grounding

Read references/source-capture.md before using product behavior. Official Red Hat documentation is product authority.

Pipelines Concepts

Tasks

A Task resource defines a set of sequentially executed steps. Each task runs as a pod; each step runs as a container within that pod. Steps share the same volumes for caching files, config maps, and secrets. Tasks are reusable across many pipelines and can run individually or as part of a pipeline.

Key fields: apiVersion: tekton.dev/v1, kind: Task, spec.steps, spec.workspaces, spec.params.

Steps

Steps are the sequential commands within a task. Each step specifies a container image and commands to execute. Since OpenShift Pipelines 1.6, steps no longer default HOME to /tekton/home or workingDir to /workspace.

When Expressions

When expressions guard task execution. Components:

• input: static inputs or variables (parameter, task result, execution status)
• operator: in or notin
• values: array of string values (static values, parameters, results, workspace bound state)

Evaluation: True runs the task; False skips it. When expressions also work in finally tasks.

Finally Tasks

Tasks specified in the finally field always execute after all pipeline tasks complete, regardless of success or failure. Finally tasks run in parallel with each other. They can consume results from earlier tasks and use when expressions for conditional execution.

TaskRun

A TaskRun instantiates a task for execution with specific inputs, outputs, and execution parameters. It runs steps in order until all succeed or a failure occurs. A PipelineRun automatically creates a TaskRun for each task.

Key fields: apiVersion: tekton.dev/v1, kind: TaskRun, spec.taskRef, spec.workspaces, spec.podTemplate.

Pipelines

A Pipeline arranges a collection of tasks in a specific execution order. Each pipeline definition must contain at least one task. Pipelines can include workspaces, parameters, and conditions.

Key fields: apiVersion: tekton.dev/v1, kind: Pipeline, spec.tasks, spec.workspaces, spec.params, spec.finally.

Task ordering uses runAfter to define sequential dependencies. Tasks without runAfter constraints run in parallel.

PipelineRun

A PipelineRun binds a pipeline to workspaces, credentials, and parameter values for execution. It creates a TaskRun for each task. The status field tracks progress for monitoring and auditing.

Key fields: apiVersion: tekton.dev/v1, kind: PipelineRun, spec.pipelineRef, spec.params, spec.workspaces, spec.taskRunTemplate.

Pod Templates

Define a pod template in PipelineRun or TaskRun to configure every pod created during execution. Any Pod spec parameter is available.

• PipelineRun: spec.taskRunTemplate.podTemplate
• TaskRun: spec.podTemplate

Common use: security context (runAsNonRoot, runAsUser), scheduler name.

Workspaces

Workspaces declare shared storage volumes needed at runtime. They separate volume declaration from runtime storage, making tasks reusable.

Workspace capabilities:

• Store task inputs and outputs
• Share data among tasks
• Mount credentials (secrets), configurations (config maps), and tools
• Cache build artifacts

Backing storage options:

• Read-only ConfigMap or Secret
• Existing PersistentVolumeClaim
• PVC from volumeClaimTemplate
• emptyDir (discarded after task run)

StepActions

A StepAction CR defines a reusable action that a step performs. Steps reference StepAction objects via ref. StepActions can be resolved from external sources using resolvers.

Key fields: apiVersion: tekton.dev/v1, kind: StepAction, spec.params, spec.results, spec.image, spec.script, spec.env.

Security: parameter values must NOT appear directly in script. Use env: to pass parameter values to the script as environment variables.

Triggers

Triggers capture external events and process them to create pipeline resources.

Components:

• TriggerBinding: extracts fields from event payload as parameters
• TriggerTemplate: creates resources (e.g., PipelineRun) from parameters
• Trigger: combines TriggerBinding + TriggerTemplate + optional interceptors
• EventListener: HTTP endpoint that receives JSON payloads and dispatches to triggers

Interceptor types: Webhook, GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, CEL.

All trigger resources use apiVersion: triggers.tekton.dev/v1.

Key Features

• Serverless CI/CD running pipelines in isolated containers
• Designed for decentralized teams and microservice architectures
• Standard CI/CD definitions extensible and integrable with Kubernetes tools
• Image building with S2I, Buildah, Buildpacks, and Kaniko
• OpenShift Developer console integration for Tekton resource management

Workflow

1. Confirm the active OpenShift baseline in docs/PLATFORM_BASELINE.md.
2. Read references/official-doc-extraction.md.
3. Identify the relevant concept (Task, Pipeline, Trigger, etc.).
4. For GitOps manifests, verify all API versions and fields against the extraction before committing.
5. For live operations, use the repo environment guard.
6. Validate with references/source-capture.md boundaries.

Related Skills

• Use ocp-pipelines-install-config for installation and configuration.
• Use ocp-pipelines-cicd for creating CI/CD solutions with pipelines.
• Use ocp-pipelines-as-code for Pipelines as Code workflows.
• Use ocp-pipelines-security for pipeline security concerns.
• Use ocp-pipelines-observability for pipeline monitoring.
• Use ocp-cicd-builds for OpenShift Builds (BuildConfig, Shipwright).

References

• references/source-capture.md
• references/official-doc-extraction.md