Command Step

A command step runs one or more shell commands on one or more agents.

On this page:

Command Step Attributes
Retry Attributes
Automatic Retry Attributes
Manual Retry Attributes
Soft Fail Attributes
Examples

Each command step can run either a shell command like npm test, or an executable file or script like build.sh.

A command step can be defined in your pipeline settings, or in your pipeline.yml file.

pipeline.yml

steps:
  - command: "tests.sh"

When running multiple commands, either defined in a single line (npm install && tests.sh) or defined in a list, any failure will prevent subsequent commands from running, and will mark the command step as failed.

Command Step Attributes

Required attributes:

command The shell command/s to run during this step. This can be a single line of commands, or a list of commands that must all pass. Also available as the alias commands.
Example: "build.sh"
Example:
- "npm install"
- "tests.sh"

pipeline.yml

steps:
  - command: "npm install && tests.sh"

pipeline.yml

steps:
  - commands:
    - "npm install && npm test"
    - "moretests.sh"
    - "build.sh"

Optional attributes:

`agents`	A map of agent tag keys to values to target specific agents for this step. Example: `npm: "true"`
`allow_dependency_failure`	Whether to continue to run this step if any of the steps named in the `depends_on` attribute fail. Default: `false`
`artifact_paths`	The glob path or paths of artifacts to upload from this step. This can be a single line of paths separated by semicolons, or a list. Example: `"logs/*/;coverage/*/"` Example: `- "logs/*/"` `- "coverage/*/"`
`branches`	The branch pattern defining which branches will include this step in their builds. Example: `"master stable/*"`
`concurrency`	The maximum number of jobs created from this step that are allowed to run at the same time. If you use this attribute, you must also define a label for it with the `concurrency_group` attribute. Example: `3`
`concurrency_group`	A unique name for the concurrency group that you are creating with the `concurrency` attribute. Example: `"my-app/deploy"`
`depends_on`	A list of step keys that this step depends on. This step will only run after the named steps have completed. See managing step dependencies for more information. Example: `"test-suite"`
`env`	A map of environment variables for this step. Example: `RAILS_ENV: "test"`
`if`	A boolean expression that omits the step when false. See Using conditionals for supported expressions. Example: `build.message != "skip me"`
`key`	A unique string to identify the step. The value is available in the `BUILDKITE_STEP_KEY` environment variable. Keys can not have the same pattern as a UUID (`xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx`). Example: `"linter"` Alias: `identifier`
`label`	The label that will be displayed in the pipeline visualisation in Buildkite. Supports emoji. Example: `":hammer: Tests"`
`parallelism`	The number of parallel jobs that will be created based on this step. Example: `3`
`plugins`	An array of plugins for this step. Example: `- docker-compose#v1.0.0: run: app`
`retry`	The conditions for retrying this step. Available types: `automatic`, `manual`
`skip`	Whether to skip this step or not. Passing a string provides a reason for skipping this command. Passing an empty string is equivalent to `false`. Note: Skipped steps will be hidden in the pipeline view by default, but can be made visible by toggling the 'Skipped jobs' icon. Example: `true` Example: `false` Example: `"My reason"`
`soft_fail`	Allow specified non-zero exit statuses not to fail the build. Note that a timeout always causes a build to fail. Can be either an array of allowed soft failure exit statuses or `true` to make all exit statuses soft-fail. Example: `true` Example: `- exit_status: 1`
`timeout_in_minutes`	The number of minutes a job created from this step is allowed to run. If the job does not finish within this limit, it will be automatically canceled and the build will fail. Example: `60`

Retry Attributes

At least one of the following attributes is required:

`automatic`	Whether to allow a job to retry automatically. This field accepts a boolean value, individual retry conditions, or a list of multiple different retry conditions. If set to `true`, the retry conditions are set to the default value. Default value: `exit_status: ""` `limit: 2` Example:* `true`
`manual`	Whether to allow a job to be retried manually. This field accepts a boolean value, or a single retry condition. Default value: `true` Example: `false`

pipeline.yml

steps:
  - label: "Tests"
    command: "tests.sh"
    retry:
      automatic: true

  - wait

  - label: "Deploy"
    command: "deploy.sh"
    retry:
      manual: false

Automatic Retry Attributes

Optional Attributes

`exit_status`	The exit status number that will cause this job to retry. Example: `""` Example:* `2`
`limit`	The number of times this job can be retried. The maximum value this can be set to is 10. Example: `3`

-1 Exit Status

A job will fail with an exit status of -1 if communication with the agent has been lost (e.g. the agent has been forcefully terminated, or the agent machine was shut down without allowing the agent to disconnect). See the section on Exit Codes for information on other exit codes.

pipeline.yml

steps:
  - label: "Tests"
    command: "tests.sh"
    retry:
      automatic:
        - exit_status: -1  # Agent was lost
          limit: 2
        - exit_status: 255 # Forced agent shutdown
          limit: 2

Manual Retry Attributes

Optional Attributes

`allowed`	A boolean value that defines whether or not this job can be retried manually. Default value: `true` Example: `false`
`permit_on_passed`	A boolean value that defines whether or not this job can be retried after it has passed. Example: `false`
`reason`	A string that will be displayed in a tooltip on the Retry button in Buildkite. This will only be displayed if the `allowed` attribute is set to false. Example: `"No retries allowed on deploy steps"`

pipeline.yml

steps:
  - label: "Tests"
    command: "tests.sh"
    retry:
      manual:
        permit_on_passed: true

  - wait

  - label: "Deploy"
    command: "deploy.sh"
    retry:
      manual:
        allowed: false
        reason: "Sorry, you can't retry a deployment"

Soft Fail Attributes

Optional Attributes

exit_status Allow specified non-zero exit statuses not to fail the build. Note that a timeout always causes a build to fail.
Example: "*"
Example: 1

pipeline.yml

steps:
  - label: "Everyone struggles sometimes"
    command: "tests.sh"
    soft_fail:
      - exit_status: 1

Examples

pipeline.yml

steps:
  - label: ":hammer: Tests"
    commands:
      - "npm install"
      - "npm run tests"
    branches: "master"
    env:
      NODE_ENV: "test"
    agents:
      npm: "true"
      queue: "tests"
    artifact_paths:
      - "logs/**/*"
      - "coverage/**/*"
    parallelism: 5
    timeout_in_minutes: 3
    retry:
      automatic:
        - exit_status: -1
          limit: 2
        - exit_status: 143
          limit: 2
        - exit_status: 255
          limit: 2

  - label: "Visual diff"
    commands:
      - "npm install"
      - "npm run visual-diff"
    retry:
      automatic:
        limit: 3

  - label: "Skipped job"
    command: "broken.sh"
    skip: "Currently broken and needs to be fixed"

  - wait

  - label: ":shipit: Deploy"
    command: "deploy.sh"
    branches: "master"
    concurrency: 1
    concurrency_group: "my-app/deploy"
    retry:
      manual:
        allowed: false
        reason: "Sorry, you can't retry a deployment"

  - wait

  - label: "Smoke test"
    command: "smoke-test.sh"
    soft_fail:
      - exit_status: 1