Detect and run tasks from various task runner config files
npm install task-runner-detectorA fast CLI tool that discovers and runs tasks from various config files in your project.
Scans your directory for task runner configs (package.json, Makefile, Cargo.toml, etc.) and presents an interactive picker to run them.
!demo
In monorepos and multi-package projects, running tasks becomes tedious. You need to remember package names, navigate between directories, and keep track of which scripts exist where.
task solves this by scanning your entire project and presenting every available task in a single, filterable view. No more cd apps/web && npm run dev or trying to remember if it was pnpm --filter @org/api run build or yarn workspace api build.
Just run task, type a few characters to filter, and hit enter.
``bashCargo
cargo install task-runner-detector
More installation options
Shell (macOS/Linux):
bash
curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -LsSf https://github.com/elob/task-runner-detector/releases/latest/download/task-runner-detector-installer.sh | sh
`PowerShell (Windows):
powershell
powershell -ExecutionPolicy ByPass -c "irm https://github.com/elob/task-runner-detector/releases/latest/download/task-runner-detector-installer.ps1 | iex"
`From source:
bash
git clone https://github.com/elob/task-runner-detector && cd task-runner-detector && cargo install --path .
`Usage
bash
Interactive mode - scan current directory, pick and run a task
taskScan a specific directory
task /path/to/projectJSON output for scripting
task --json # or -j
task --json /path/to/projectStreaming NDJSON output (outputs results as they're found)
task --json-stream # or -sFilter with fuzzy search (works with --json and --json-stream)
task -j -q "npm dev"
task -s -q "^cargo" # prefix matchInclude files/folders ignored by .gitignore
task --no-ignore # or -i
`$3
The interactive picker shows all discovered tasks organized by folder:
- Type to fuzzy-filter tasks by name, runner, or path (matched characters are highlighted)
- Use arrow keys to navigate
- Press Tab to edit the command before running
- Press Tab again to expand to the actual script content (e.g., expand
to tsc && esbuild...)
- Press Tab again to return to selection mode
- Press Enter to run the selected task
- Press Esc to go back (Expanded → Edit → Select → Exit)Readline keybindings in edit mode:
-
Ctrl+A / Ctrl+E - Jump to start/end
- Ctrl+W - Delete previous word
- Ctrl+U - Delete line
- Ctrl+K - Delete to endSupported Task Runners
| Runner | Config File | Tasks |
|--------|-------------|-------|
| npm/yarn/pnpm/bun |
package.json | Scripts from scripts field |
| Make | Makefile | Makefile targets |
| Cargo | Cargo.toml | Binary targets, [package.metadata.scripts] |
| Turbo | turbo.json | Pipeline tasks |
| Just | justfile | Just recipes |
| Deno | deno.json | Deno tasks |
| Poetry | pyproject.toml | Poetry scripts |
| PDM | pyproject.toml | PDM scripts |
| Flutter/Dart | pubspec.yaml | Custom scripts |
| Maven | pom.xml | Lifecycle phases, profiles |
| .NET | *.csproj | dotnet CLI commands, MSBuild targets |Library Usage
`rust
use task_runner_detector::scan;fn main() {
let runners = scan(".").unwrap();
for runner in runners {
println!("{} @ {}", runner.runner_type, runner.config_path.display());
for task in &runner.tasks {
println!(" {} -> {}", task.name, task.command);
}
}
}
``MIT