#Running several scripts

Three shapes cover almost everything: a chain that stops at the first failure, a set that runs side by side, and a prerequisite in front of a single script.

#A chain that stops at the first failure

The CI shape. Members run one at a time, in order, and the first failure ends the run with its own exit code.

export default defineConfig({
  scripts: {
    build: { command: 'tsc --build' },
    test: { command: 'vitest run --reporter=dot' },
    lint: { command: 'biome check .' },

    ci: {
      serial: ['build', 'test', 'lint'],
      description: 'Build, then test, then lint',
    },
  },
});

$ rune run ci
compiled 14 packages in 3.2 s
41 failed, 2 passed
$ echo $?
1

Only one process runs at a time, so each member has the terminal to itself, its output is not prefixed, and interactive tools behave normally. lint never started, and the group exited with the code test produced.

#A set that runs side by side

The dev-server shape. Output is prefixed with the member that wrote it, in a colour that stays the same for the whole run.

export default defineConfig({
  scripts: {
    'dev:api': { command: 'tsx watch src/main.ts' },
    'dev:web': { command: 'vite' },

    dev: {
      parallel: ['dev:api', 'dev:web'],
      description: 'Serve the API and the web app',
    },
  },
});

$ rune run dev
[dev:api] listening on http://localhost:4000
[dev:web] vite v6.0.1  ready in 412 ms
[dev:web] ➜ Local:   http://localhost:5173/
[dev:api] Error: ECONNREFUSED 127.0.0.1:5432

One member failing stops the others by default, taking their whole process trees with them, so a broken API does not leave a web server running against nothing. The group exits with the code of the member that failed first. continueOnError: true lets them all finish.

#A prerequisite in front of one script

When the ordering belongs to a single script rather than to a new name, use dependsOn. It runs the listed scripts serially first, and a failure stops the run.

test: {
  command: 'vitest run',
  dependsOn: ['codegen'],
}

There is no pre and post naming convention. A script that needs something first says so.

#Choosing between them

Groups nest. A parallel group can list a serial group as a member, which is how a build sequence runs alongside a watcher.

#Next

Flaky and slow scripts adds retries and time limits to the members. The full field list for both group kinds is in Groups.