Terminology
Glossaryโ
- Woodpecker CI: The project name around Woodpecker.
- Woodpecker: An open-source tool that executes pipelines on your code.
- Server: The component of Woodpecker that handles webhooks from forges, orchestrates agents, and sends status back. It also serves the API and web UI for administration and configuration.
- Agent: A component of Woodpecker that executes pipelines (specifically one or more workflows) with a specific backend (e.g. Docker, Kubernetes, local). It connects to the server via GRPC.
- CLI: The Woodpecker command-line interface (CLI) is a terminal tool used to administer the server, to execute pipelines locally for debugging / testing purposes, and to perform tasks like linting pipelines.
- Pipeline: A sequence of workflows that are executed on the code. Pipelines are triggered by events.
- Workflow: A sequence of steps and services that are executed as part of a pipeline. Workflows are represented by YAML files. Each workflow has its own isolated workspace, and often additional resources like a shared network (docker).
- Steps: Individual commands, actions or tasks within a workflow.
- Code: Refers to the files tracked by the version control system used by the forge.
- Repos: Short for repositories, these are storage locations where code is stored.
- Forge: The hosting platform or service where the repositories are hosted.
- Workspace: A folder shared between all steps of a workflow containing the repository and all the generated data from previous steps.
- Event: Triggers the execution of a pipeline, such as a forge event like
push
, ormanual
triggered manually from the UI. - Commit: A defined state of the code, usually associated with a version control system like Git.
- Matrix: A configuration option that allows the execution of workflows for each value in the matrix.
- Service: A service is a step that is executed from the start of a workflow until its end. It can be accessed by name via the network from other steps within the same workflow.
- Plugins: Plugins are extensions that provide pre-defined actions or commands for a step in a workflow. They can be configured via settings.
- Container: A lightweight and isolated environment where commands are executed.
- YAML File: A file format used to define and configure workflows.
- Dependency: Workflows can depend on each other, and if possible, they are executed in parallel.
- Status: Status refers to the outcome of a step or workflow after it has been executed, determined by the internal command exit code. At the end of a workflow, its status is sent to the forge.
Termsโ
Sometimes there exist multiple terms that can be used for a thing, we try to define it here once and stick to it.
- environment variables
*_LINK
should be*_URL
, also in code, useURL()
instead ofLink
(Vote) - Pipelines were previously called builds
- Steps were previously called jobs