Task: List Tasks with task --list

task --list prints every task that has a desc field, with its description.

Task uses an explicit desc field for documentation. --list shows documented tasks; --list-all shows everything, including internal helpers.

What it does

task --list (or -l) prints the name and desc of each task that has a desc set, which is how you publish a public task interface. task --list-all (or -a) also lists tasks without a desc. task --summary <name> prints the long summary field for a single task. Tasks marked internal: true are hidden from both lists.

Common usage

Taskfile.yml

# Taskfile.yml
version: '3'

tasks:
  build:
    desc: Compile the binaries
    cmds: [go build ./...]

  _gen:
    internal: true
    cmds: [go generate ./...]

# show documented tasks
# task --list
# show everything including undocumented
# task --list-all

Syntax

Flag / key	What it does
--list, -l	List tasks that have a desc
--list-all, -a	List all tasks, documented or not
--summary <task>	Print the long summary for one task
desc: <text>	One-line description shown by --list
internal: true	Hide the task from listings and direct calls

In CI

Run task --list in a debug job to record the documented task surface of the checked-out Taskfile. Mark setup-only helpers with internal: true so they stay out of the public list and cannot be called directly by mistake.

Common errors in CI

"task: No Taskfile found" means no Taskfile.yml in the tree; fix the working directory or pass --taskfile. If --list shows nothing, no task has a desc field; add descriptions or use --list-all. Calling an internal task directly fails with "task: Task _gen is internal".