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Workspaces provide a way to share data between steps and to access external storage volumes. This example demonstrates optional workspaces.

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Example

apiVersion: tekton.dev/v1
kind: TaskRun
metadata:
  generateName: optional-workspaces-
spec:
  workspaces:
  - name: source-code
    emptyDir: {}
  taskSpec:
    workspaces:
    - name: source-code
      optional: true
    - name: extra-config
      optional: true
    steps:
    - name: check-workspaces
      image: mirror.gcr.io/alpine
      script: |
        if [ "$(workspaces.source-code.bound)" == "true" ]; then
          printf "Source code workspace was provided at %s!\n" "$(workspaces.source-code.path)"
        fi
        if [ "$(workspaces.extra-config.bound)" == "true" ]; then
          printf "Unexpected extra configuration mounted at %s\n" "$(workspaces.extra-config.path)"
          exit 1
        fi

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How It Works

1

Declare Workspaces in Task

The task declares two optional workspaces: source-code and extra-config. The optional: true flag means the task can run even if these workspaces aren’t provided.
2

Provide Workspaces in TaskRun

The TaskRun provides only the source-code workspace, backed by an emptyDir volume. The extra-config workspace is intentionally not provided.
3

Check Workspace Availability

The step uses $(workspaces.NAME.bound) to check if a workspace was provided. This allows the task to behave differently based on what’s available.
4

Access Workspace Path

When a workspace is bound, you can access its mount path using $(workspaces.NAME.path).

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Workspace Variables

Tekton provides several variables for each workspace:
  • $(workspaces.NAME.path) - The filesystem path where the workspace is mounted
  • $(workspaces.NAME.bound) - “true” if the workspace was provided, “false” otherwise
  • $(workspaces.NAME.volume) - The name of the volume backing the workspace

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Workspace Types

Workspaces can be backed by different volume types:
  • emptyDir: Temporary storage that exists only for the TaskRun
  • persistentVolumeClaim: Persistent storage that survives across runs
  • configMap: Read-only configuration data
  • secret: Read-only sensitive data

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Expected Output

Source code workspace was provided at /workspace/source-code!
The task succeeds because:
  1. The source-code workspace is provided and detected
  2. The extra-config workspace is not provided (as expected)

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Key Concepts

  • Workspaces: Named volumes that can be mounted into task steps
  • Optional Workspaces: Tasks can declare workspaces as optional using optional: true
  • Workspace Binding: The process of providing a volume for a workspace at runtime
  • Shared Storage: All steps in a task share the same workspace mounts

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Next Steps

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