Tekton 0.1: Kubernetes-Native CI/CD Pipelines Go Open Source

Introduction

On December 10, 2018, Google and the Knative community spun Tekton Pipelines 0.1 out of Knative Build, open-sourcing a Kubernetes-native framework for CI/CD. Tekton defines reusable CRDs for Tasks, Pipelines, and Triggers—allowing platform engineers to compose delivery workflows on any cluster.

Core Concepts

Tasks & Steps

• Tasks describe ordered Steps (containers) that execute inside ephemeral pods.
• Steps share a workspace volume, enabling artifact handoff without sidecars.
• TaskRuns provide detailed status for each execution attempt.

Pipelines & PipelineRuns

• Pipelines chain Tasks with resource dependencies (Git repos, images).
• PipelineRuns instantiate pipelines with parameters and bindings.
• Supports parallelism, conditional execution, and retries out of the box.

PipelineResources

• Standardizes Git, image, storage, and cluster resources with version tracking.
• Facilitates provenance for supply chain security audits.
• Integrates with Tekton Triggers to respond to GitHub webhooks.

Getting Started

1. Install Tekton CRDs and controllers:

   kubectl apply -f https://storage.googleapis.com/tekton-releases/pipeline/latest/release.yaml
   

2. Define a simple build-and-push pipeline:

   apiVersion: tekton.dev/v1alpha1
   kind: Task
   metadata:
     name: build-image
   spec:
     steps:
     - name: build
       image: gcr.io/kaniko-project/executor:latest
       args: ["--dockerfile=Dockerfile", "--destination=gcr.io/example/app:latest"]
   

3. Create Pipeline and PipelineRun objects referencing your Git and image resources.

4. Watch progress with tkn pipelinerun logs --follow.

Ecosystem Fit

• Complements FluxCD 1.6 GitOps by producing signed images committed back to Git.
• Runs comfortably on Minikube 0.30 for local pipeline development.
• Integrates with Knative 0.1 Eventing for webhook-triggered builds.

Roadmap

• Expect a migration to v1beta1 APIs with clearer contract stability.
• Tekton Triggers and Tekton Catalog will expand reusable Task libraries.
• Supply chain security sign-offs (TEP-0002) are underway for 2019.

Summary

Tekton 0.1 signals a leap forward for Kubernetes CI/CD. By codifying pipelines as CRDs, it invites reuse, automation, and integration across the cloud-native landscape.