Core Actions

Kist includes several built-in actions that handle common file and directory operations. These core actions are always available without installing any plugins.

Overview

Action	Description
`directory_clean`	Remove contents of a directory
`directory_copy`	Copy a directory recursively
`directory_create`	Create a new directory
`file_copy`	Copy a file
`file_rename`	Rename or move a file
`template_render`	Render a template file
`version_write`	Write version information to a file

directory_clean

Removes all contents from a specified directory, optionally preserving certain files or directories.

Configuration

yaml

actions:
  - name: directory_clean
    path: dist
    preserve:
      - .gitkeep
      - README.md

Options

Option	Type	Required	Description
`path`	string	Yes	Directory path to clean
`preserve`	string[]	No	Files/directories to preserve

Examples

Clean build directory:

yaml

- name: directory_clean
  path: dist

Clean but preserve certain files:

yaml

- name: directory_clean
  path: build
  preserve:
    - .gitkeep
    - config.json

directory_copy

Recursively copies a directory and its contents to a new location.

Configuration

yaml

actions:
  - name: directory_copy
    source: src/assets
    destination: dist/assets

Options

Option	Type	Required	Description
`source`	string	Yes	Source directory path
`destination`	string	Yes	Destination directory path
`overwrite`	boolean	No	Overwrite existing files (default: true)
`filter`	string	No	Glob pattern to filter files

Examples

Copy assets directory:

yaml

- name: directory_copy
  source: src/assets
  destination: dist/assets

Copy with filter:

yaml

- name: directory_copy
  source: resources
  destination: dist/resources
  filter: "**/*.{png,jpg,svg}"

directory_create

Creates a new directory, including any necessary parent directories.

Configuration

yaml

actions:
  - name: directory_create
    path: dist/js/modules

Options

Option	Type	Required	Description
`path`	string	Yes	Directory path to create

Examples

Create single directory:

yaml

- name: directory_create
  path: output

Create nested directories:

yaml

- name: directory_create
  path: dist/assets/images/icons

file_copy

Copies a single file to a new location.

Configuration

yaml

actions:
  - name: file_copy
    source: config/default.json
    destination: dist/config.json

Options

Option	Type	Required	Description
`source`	string	Yes	Source file path
`destination`	string	Yes	Destination file path
`overwrite`	boolean	No	Overwrite if exists (default: true)

Examples

Copy configuration file:

yaml

- name: file_copy
  source: src/config.example.json
  destination: dist/config.json

Copy without overwriting:

yaml

- name: file_copy
  source: defaults/settings.json
  destination: user/settings.json
  overwrite: false

file_rename

Renames or moves a file to a new location.

Configuration

yaml

actions:
  - name: file_rename
    source: temp/output.tmp
    destination: dist/bundle.js

Options

Option	Type	Required	Description
`source`	string	Yes	Current file path
`destination`	string	Yes	New file path
`overwrite`	boolean	No	Overwrite if exists (default: false)

Examples

Simple rename:

yaml

- name: file_rename
  source: output.tmp
  destination: output.js

Move to different directory:

yaml

- name: file_rename
  source: build/app.js
  destination: dist/app.min.js
  overwrite: true

template_render

Renders a template file using variable substitution. Supports multiple template formats.

Configuration

yaml

actions:
  - name: template_render
    source: templates/index.html.tpl
    destination: dist/index.html
    variables:
      title: My Application
      version: 1.0.0

Options

Option	Type	Required	Description
`source`	string	Yes	Template file path
`destination`	string	Yes	Output file path
`variables`	object	No	Variables for substitution
`engine`	string	No	Template engine (default: auto-detect)

Template Syntax

Basic variable substitution:

html

<!-- Template: index.html.tpl -->
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
  <title>{{ title }}</title>
</head>
<body>
  <h1>Version {{ version }}</h1>
</body>
</html>

Examples

HTML template:

yaml

- name: template_render
  source: src/index.html.tpl
  destination: dist/index.html
  variables:
    title: My App
    description: A sample application
    version: "{{ project.version }}"

Configuration template:

yaml

- name: template_render
  source: config.json.tpl
  destination: dist/config.json
  variables:
    apiUrl: https://api.example.com
    debug: false

Using project variables:

yaml

project:
  name: my-project
  version: 2.0.0

actions:
  - name: template_render
    source: version.txt.tpl
    destination: dist/version.txt
    variables:
      name: "{{ project.name }}"
      version: "{{ project.version }}"
      buildDate: "{{ now | date('YYYY-MM-DD') }}"

version_write

Writes version information to a file in various formats.

Configuration

yaml

actions:
  - name: version_write
    destination: dist/version.json
    format: json

Options

Option	Type	Required	Description
`destination`	string	Yes	Output file path
`format`	string	No	Output format: `json`, `text`, `js` (default: `json`)
`version`	string	No	Version to write (default: project.version)
`include`	string[]	No	Additional fields to include

Output Formats

JSON (default):

json

{
  "version": "1.2.3",
  "buildTime": "2024-01-15T10:30:00Z"
}

Text:

1.2.3

JavaScript:

javascript

export const VERSION = '1.2.3';
export const BUILD_TIME = '2024-01-15T10:30:00Z';

Examples

JSON version file:

yaml

- name: version_write
  destination: dist/version.json
  format: json

Text version file:

yaml

- name: version_write
  destination: VERSION.txt
  format: text

JavaScript constants:

yaml

- name: version_write
  destination: src/version.ts
  format: js
  include:
    - buildTime
    - gitCommit

Custom version:

yaml

- name: version_write
  destination: dist/version.json
  version: "2.0.0-beta.1"
  format: json

Combining Core Actions

Core actions can be combined to create powerful build pipelines:

yaml

project:
  name: my-app
  version: 1.0.0

actions:
  # Clean output directory
  - name: directory_clean
    path: dist

  # Create directory structure
  - name: directory_create
    path: dist/assets

  # Copy static assets
  - name: directory_copy
    source: src/assets
    destination: dist/assets

  # Copy configuration
  - name: file_copy
    source: config/production.json
    destination: dist/config.json

  # Render HTML template
  - name: template_render
    source: src/index.html.tpl
    destination: dist/index.html
    variables:
      title: "{{ project.name }}"
      version: "{{ project.version }}"

  # Write version file
  - name: version_write
    destination: dist/version.json
    format: json

Next Steps

Learn about plugin actions for more advanced functionality
Configure action groups for organized workflows
See configuration inheritance for reusable configs

Core Actions ​

Overview ​

directory_clean ​

Configuration ​

Options ​

Examples ​

directory_copy ​

Configuration ​

Options ​

Examples ​

directory_create ​

Configuration ​

Options ​

Examples ​

file_copy ​

Configuration ​

Options ​

Examples ​

file_rename ​

Configuration ​

Options ​

Examples ​

template_render ​

Configuration ​

Options ​

Template Syntax ​

Examples ​

version_write ​

Configuration ​

Options ​

Output Formats ​

Examples ​

Combining Core Actions ​

Next Steps ​

Core Actions

Overview

directory_clean

Configuration

Options

Examples

directory_copy

Configuration

Options

Examples

directory_create

Configuration

Options

Examples

file_copy

Configuration

Options

Examples

file_rename

Configuration

Options

Examples

template_render

Configuration

Options

Template Syntax

Examples

version_write

Configuration

Options

Output Formats

Examples

Combining Core Actions

Next Steps