What We Built
The debrief-future monorepo now uses Task for all build operations. One Taskfile.yml replaced the 72-line Makefile and unified our Python (uv) and TypeScript (pnpm) tooling behind consistent commands.
The commands:
task install— installs Python and Node dependenciestask test— runs pytest and vitest across all packagestask build— compiles Python wheels and TypeScript bundlestask dev— starts Storybook watch modetask lint/task lint:fix— checks/fixes code style
All major commands automatically ensure dependencies are installed first via task dependencies. But here’s the key: Task uses checksum-based caching. When lockfiles haven’t changed, task install completes instantly. The dependency check adds zero overhead to repeated task test runs.
Screenshots
$ task test
task: [install] uv sync
task: [install] pnpm install
task: [test] uv run pytest
========================== 8 passed in 1.2s ==========================
task: [test] pnpm test
✓ 12 tests passed (4 suites)
$ task test
task: Task "install" is up to date
task: [test] uv run pytest
========================== 8 passed in 0.8s ==========================
task: [test] pnpm test
✓ 12 tests passed (4 suites)
Second run skipped installation (cache hit), saving 15+ seconds.
Lessons Learned
The deps feature is powerful. Every command that needs dependencies (test, build, dev, lint) declares deps: [install]. Task automatically runs prerequisites only when needed. This pattern eliminated duplicate “check if installed” logic from individual scripts.
Precondition checks matter. The _check-prereqs task validates that uv and pnpm are available before attempting installation. Clear error messages with installation instructions are better than cryptic command-not-found failures.
Cross-platform worked first try. Task is a Go binary, and our commands (uv, pnpm, pytest) already worked cross-platform. The Taskfile.yml syntax has no platform-specific assumptions.
What’s Next
CI integration. GitHub Actions will install Task and use the same commands developers run locally. No CI-specific scripts, no “it worked in CI” mysteries.
We’ll also consider a task check command to validate environment setup (correct Python/Node versions, required tools present) for new contributors.