Running tasks

##Running a task or macro

scotty run deploy
scotty run cloneRepository

Scotty shows each task as it runs, with a step counter, elapsed time, and the command that's currently executing:

If a task fails, Scotty shows the output and stops. You'll immediately see what went wrong:

##Pretend mode

Want to see what would happen without actually running anything? Use --pretend:

scotty run deploy --pretend

This shows the SSH commands Scotty would execute, without connecting to any server.

##Continue on failure

By default, Scotty stops at the first failed task. If you want it to keep going regardless:

scotty run deploy --continue

##Summary mode

If you don't need to see all the output and just want to know whether things passed:

scotty run deploy --summary

This hides task output and only shows results. Failed tasks always show their output, even in summary mode.

##Dynamic options

Declare every option you want to accept at the top of your Scotty.sh file with # @option. There are three forms:

# @option staging          # boolean flag: $STAGING='1' when --staging is passed, unset otherwise
# @option branch=main      # optional value with a default: $BRANCH='main' unless overridden
# @option tag=             # required value: scotty errors if --tag=... isn't passed

scotty run deploy --branch=develop --tag=v1.2 --staging

##Naming

An option named branch is exposed to your tasks as $BRANCH. The same rule applies to the CLI flag, the environment variable Scotty looks up, and the assignment written into the script preamble: each option has exactly one canonical bash name.

The transformation is:

• Dashes become underscores (release-name → release_name)
• The result is uppercased (release_name → RELEASE_NAME)

So # @option release-name=latest declares a CLI flag --release-name=..., an env var $RELEASE_NAME, and a script variable $RELEASE_NAME — all one and the same. Flags that aren't declared are rejected with The "--foo" option does not exist.

##Precedence

For value options, Scotty resolves each variable in this order:

1. CLI flag (--branch=develop or --release-name=v42)
2. Environment variable of the canonical bash name (BRANCH=develop scotty run deploy, RELEASE_NAME=v42 scotty run deploy)
3. Declared default (# @option branch=main)

Boolean flags only read from the CLI — $STAGING is unset unless --staging was passed on this invocation.

Note: @option declarations are currently supported in the Scotty.sh (bash) format. Blade-format files ignore @option and continue to forward any passed CLI flag as a Blade variable.

##Pause and resume

Sometimes you want to take a quick look at the server halfway through a deploy, or you just want to slow things down and watch each step more carefully. Press p at any point during execution. Scotty finishes the current task and then waits.

Press Enter to continue with the next task, or Ctrl+C if you want to stop entirely.

##Cancelling

You can press Ctrl+C at any time to cancel. Scotty restores the terminal and exits cleanly. Everything that was already output stays in your scrollback, so you can scroll up to see what happened.

##Listing tasks

To see all available tasks and macros in your file:

scotty tasks

##SSH into a server

You can quickly SSH into any server defined in your Scotty file:

scotty ssh
scotty ssh remote

If only one server is defined, Scotty connects to it directly. With multiple servers, you'll get a selection prompt.

##Creating a new file

scotty init

This prompts you to choose a format (bash or Blade) and a server host, then creates the file for you.