seristack

Run shell workflows via CLI, HTTP, or MCP integrations.

Seristack is a lightweight automation engine designed to bridge the gap between local task execution and remote triggers. Define your stacks in YAML, manage dependencies, and expose your automation via a built-in HTTP server.

Features

Run multiple command stacks from a single config
Repeat stacks with serial or concurrent execution
Define dependencies between stacks
Variable substitution using templates
Share output between stacks
Expose stacks as HTTP endpoints
Run as an MCP server for IDE integrations
Works with Bash, sh, and PowerShell

Installation

Mac and Linux (Homebrew)

brew install TechXploreLabs/tap/seristack

Linux (Release Archive)

STEP 1

Download the latest release from GitHub:

# Download from https://github.com/TechXploreLabs/seristack/releases
# Look for: seristack_VERSION_linux_ARCH.tar.gz

STEP 2

Extract the archive:

tar -xzf seristack_VERSION_linux_ARCH.tar.gz

STEP 3

Move to your PATH and set permissions:

sudo mv seristack /usr/local/bin/
sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/seristack

STEP 4

Verify installation:

seristack --help

Windows (Release Archive)

STEP 1

Download the latest release from GitHub:

# Download from https://github.com/TechXploreLabs/seristack/releases
# Look for: seristack_VERSION_windows_ARCH.zip

STEP 2

Extract the zip file (Right click → Extract all, or use 7-Zip)

STEP 3

Move seristack.exe to a folder in your %PATH% (e.g., C:\Windows or a custom tools folder)

STEP 4

Verify installation in PowerShell:

seristack --help

Configuration

Sample YAML Configuration

# description about seristack
# config.yaml

stacks:
  - name: stack1                # name of the stack (REQUIRED)
    workDir: ./                 # working directory to execute the cmds. default is "./"
    description: Used for printing  
                  welcome message               # used for adding the stack as tool in mcp server, if descrption is empty then 
                                                # it won't be added
    method: GET                 # Http methods needs to be added for http server
    urlPath: /show              # Optional, If not provided stack name will be added as path, ex /stack1 
    continueOnError: false      # if cmds has error, true will not stop execution, false will stop. default is false
    count: 3                    # count = 0 will not run cmds, count = 3 runs entire cmds three times. default is 0
    executionMode: PARALLEL     # if count = 3 and executionMode is PARALLEL, then all three iterations of list 
                                # cmds execute parallellely . Valid options are, [PARALLEL/STAGE/PIPELINE/SEQUENTIAL]. 
                                # STAGE = execute all iterations conncurrently, list of cmds execeuted serially
                                # PIPELINE = execute all iterations serially, list of cmds executed concurrently
                                # SEQUENTIAL = execute all iterations and theirs cmds serially. default is PARALLEL
    
    vars:                       # vars take key=value pair of variables. default is empty
      samplekey: samplevalue
    shell: bash                 # shell takes sh as default for linux, darwin and powershell for windows
    shellArg: -c                # shellArg takes -c as default for linux, darwin and -Command for windows
    dependsOn: []               # dependsOn takes list of stacks to start after them. default is []
    cmds:                       # cmds takes list of shell commands (linux, powershell)
      - |
        export samplekey={{.Vars.samplekey}}    # to use vars for substitution
        echo $samplekey
        echo "count={{.Count.index}}"         # index of count iterations
        echo "Hey i'm seristack!"

  - name: stack2
    workDir: ./
    continueOnError: false
    count: 3
    executionMode: SEQUENTIAL
    vars:                       # vars take key=value pair of variables. default is empty
      env: Dev
    dependsOn: [stack1]          # runs after stack1 completes
    cmds:
      - |
        # Command 1: Produces metadata
        echo "{\"index\": {{.Count.index}}, \"step\": \"metadata\", \"status\": \"ok\"}"
      - |
        # Command 2: Produces metric data
        echo "{\"index\": {{.Count.index}}, \"step\": \"metrics\", \"value\": $((RANDOM % 100))}"  
    output: |  # for aggregating outputs from the cmds
      echo "--- Aggregation Summary ---"
      # We use 'grep' to find JSON lines and 'jq' to format them into an array
      echo '{{.Self.result}}' | grep "^{\"" | jq -s '{
        total_records: length,
        environment: "{{.Vars.env}}",
        results: .
      }'
  - name: stack3
    workDir: ./
    count: 1
    vars:
      invite: hello engineers
    cmds:
      - |
        echo "Current date and time:"
        echo `date`

Running Stacks

1. Trigger entire stacks

Run all stacks defined in the config file (default: config.yaml)

seristack trigger -c config.yaml
# or simply:
seristack trigger

2. Run a specific stack

Execute only a particular stack by name

seristack trigger -c config.yaml -s stack3

3. Start HTTP server

Initialize the HTTP server with defined endpoints (Ctrl+C to stop)

seristack run -c config.yaml

4. Launch MCP server

Expose stacks to IDEs and MCP-enabled clients (Ctrl+C to stop)

seristack mcp -t streamableHTTP