Gen (Generate Workflow Files)

Interface: IGen
Package: Invex.Atom.Workflows

The Gen target generates CI/CD configuration files from your workflow definitions.

What It Does

1. Resolves each WorkflowDefinition in your build's Workflows property.
2. Analyses the target dependency graph, artifact dependencies, and variable dependencies.
3. Maps targets into jobs and creates a platform-neutral WorkflowModel.
4. Invokes each registered IWorkflowWriter (one per platform type) to render and write the YAML files.

Generated File Locations

Platform	Output Directory
GitHub Actions	.github/workflows/
Azure DevOps	.devops/workflows/

Usage

dotnet run --project _atom Gen
# or, with the atom global tool
atom Gen

Requirements

Your build must:

1. Inherit from WorkflowBuildDefinition (or implement IWorkflowBuildDefinition).
2. Override the Workflows property with at least one definition.
3. Inherit a platform module interface (IGithubWorkflows, IDevopsWorkflows, or both) so the corresponding workflow writer is registered.

Automatic Generation & Outdated File Detection

You usually don't need to run Gen explicitly during local development: when the build runs in interactive (non-headless) mode, the WorkflowLifecycleHook regenerates workflow files automatically before any targets execute.

When the build runs in headless mode (the --headless flag, typical in CI), files are not regenerated. Instead, if the files on disk are out of date with the current definitions, the build fails early with a WorkflowOutdatedException, prompting you to run the Gen target locally and commit the regenerated files.