Enhancing rake tasks

Problem

I have a rake task, and I want to make it do something before and after it’s done.

task :a_task do
  puts "task"
end

task :setup_task do
  puts "setup"
end

task :run_after do
  puts "after"
end

What are my options?

Solution

For pre-req tasks, this is what is often done:

task :a_task => [:setup_task] do
  puts "task"
end

task :setup_task do
  puts "setup"
end

> rake a_task
setup
task

However, this requires modifying the existing task. This might not even be an option for rake tasks from 3rd party gems. We can do better: Enhance the task!

task :a_task do
  puts "task"
end

task :setup_task do
  puts "setup"
end

Rake::Task[:a_task].enhance [:setup_task]

> rake a_task
setup
task

To run a task (or any code for that matter) after a rake task:

task :a_task do
  puts "task"
end

task :run_after do
  puts "after"
end

Rake::Task["a_task"].enhance do
  Rake::Task["run_after"].invoke
end

> rake a_task
task
after

Source: http://www.dan-manges.com/blog/modifying-rake-tasks

Written on April 11, 2016 by clemenspark