Regression: default directory for included taskfiles incorrect.

[wburningham]

Task v3.35.1 sets the directory of included taskfiles to the directory where the taskfile lives. In task v3.34.1 the directory had to explicitly be set with dir when including the taskfile.

If this is the intended behavior, I likely misunderstand what the real-world use of dir would be when including taskfiles.

A simple repro case:

---
version: 3

includes:
    sub_with_dir:
        taskfile: ./sub_with_dir
        dir: ./sub_with_dir
    sub_without_dir:
        taskfile: ./sub_without_dir

tasks:
  default:
    cmds:
      - cmd: echo "root        | ROOT_DIR =     '{{.ROOT_DIR}}'"
        silent: true
      - cmd: echo "root        | TASKFILE_DIR = '{{.TASKFILE_DIR}}'"
        silent: true
      - task: sub_with_dir
      - task: sub_without_dir

The taskfiles in the sub* directories print the same variables

With 3.34.1:

❯ go run github.com/go-task/task/v3/cmd/task@v3.34.1
root        | ROOT_DIR =     '/tmp.ylQuJeHdXa'
root        | TASKFILE_DIR = '/tmp.ylQuJeHdXa'
sub with    | ROOT_DIR =     '/tmp.ylQuJeHdXa'
sub with    | TASKFILE_DIR = '/tmp.ylQuJeHdXa/sub_with_dir'
sub without | ROOT_DIR =     '/tmp.ylQuJeHdXa'
sub without | TASKFILE_DIR = '/tmp.ylQuJeHdXa'

With 3.35.1:

❯ go run github.com/go-task/task/v3/cmd/task@v3.35.1
root        | ROOT_DIR =     '/tmp.ylQuJeHdXa'
root        | TASKFILE_DIR = '/tmp.ylQuJeHdXa'
sub with    | ROOT_DIR =     '/tmp.ylQuJeHdXa'
sub with    | TASKFILE_DIR = '/tmp.ylQuJeHdXa/sub_with_dir'
sub without | ROOT_DIR =     '/tmp.ylQuJeHdXa'
sub without | TASKFILE_DIR = '/tmp.ylQuJeHdXa/sub_without_dir'

Notice how the TASKFILE_DIR variable is different for the taskfile included from sub_with_dir and with dir set.

• Task version: 3.34.1 vs 3.35.1
• Operating system: macOS 14.2

[pd93]

@wburningham This was a bug fix and is intended behaviour. The TASKFILE_DIR variable is supposed to hold the value of the path to the Taskfile in which the current task is stored.

If this is the intended behavior, I likely misunderstand what the real-world use of dir would be when including taskfiles.

If you extend the cmds section in your example to include an echo of $PWD, it becomes somewhat clearer what dir actually does in an includes. For example:

...
    cmds:
      - cmd: echo "root        | ROOT_DIR =     '{{.ROOT_DIR}}'"
        silent: true
      - cmd: echo "root        | TASKFILE_DIR = '{{.TASKFILE_DIR}}'"
        silent: true
      - cmd: echo "root        | PWD =          '$PWD'"
        silent: true
...

obviously update the sub* Taskfiles too

Outputs:

root        | ROOT_DIR =     '/home/pete/dev/github.com/go-task/task/tmp/1579'
root        | TASKFILE_DIR = '/home/pete/dev/github.com/go-task/task/tmp/1579'
root        | PWD =          '/home/pete/dev/github.com/go-task/task'
sub with    | ROOT_DIR =     '/home/pete/dev/github.com/go-task/task/tmp/1579'
sub with    | TASKFILE_DIR = '/home/pete/dev/github.com/go-task/task/tmp/1579/sub_with_dir'
sub with    | PWD =          '/home/pete/dev/github.com/go-task/task/tmp/1579/sub_with_dir'
sub without | ROOT_DIR =     '/home/pete/dev/github.com/go-task/task/tmp/1579'
sub without | TASKFILE_DIR = '/home/pete/dev/github.com/go-task/task/tmp/1579/sub_without_dir'
sub without | PWD =          '/home/pete/dev/github.com/go-task/task/tmp/1579'

You can see that the execution directory changes to ./sub_with_dir when the dir is included, but stays the same as the root Taskfile when omitted.

[wburningham]

Got it. Thanks for explaining how setting dir affects {{.TASKFILE_DIR}} and $PWD. Cheers.