> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/tektoncd/pipeline/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# API Overview

> Tekton Pipelines API reference documentation

## Introduction

Tekton Pipelines provides a Kubernetes-style API for declaring CI/CD pipelines. This API reference documents the structure and fields of all Tekton resources.

## API Versions

### v1 (Stable)

The following resources are stable and production-ready:

* [Task](/api/v1/task) - A collection of steps that execute sequentially
* [TaskRun](/api/v1/taskrun) - An instantiation of a Task execution
* [Pipeline](/api/v1/pipeline) - A collection of Tasks arranged in a specific order
* [PipelineRun](/api/v1/pipelinerun) - An instantiation of a Pipeline execution
* [StepAction](/api/v1/stepaction) - Reusable step components (v1beta1)

### Beta Resources

The following resources are in beta:

* [CustomRun](/api/beta/customrun) - Execution of custom tasks
* [ResolutionRequest](/api/beta/resolutionrequest) - Request for remote resource resolution
* [VerificationPolicy](/api/beta/verificationpolicy) - Policy for verifying resource signatures

## Common Types

Tekton uses several common types across resources:

* [Parameters](/api/types/params) - Input parameters for Tasks and Pipelines
* [Results](/api/types/results) - Output values from Tasks and Pipelines
* [Workspaces](/api/types/workspaces) - Shared filesystem volumes
* [When Expressions](/api/types/when-expressions) - Conditional execution guards

## API Conventions

Tekton follows Kubernetes API conventions:

* All resources have `apiVersion`, `kind`, and `metadata` fields
* Resources use `spec` for desired state and `status` for observed state
* Field names use camelCase
* Duration fields accept Go duration strings (e.g., "1h30m")

## Variable Substitution

Tekton supports variable substitution using the `$(variable)` syntax:

* Parameters: `$(params.name)`
* Results: `$(tasks.taskName.results.resultName)`
* Workspaces: `$(workspaces.name.path)`
* Context variables: `$(context.pipelineRun.name)`

## Resource References

Tasks and Pipelines can be referenced in two ways:

1. **Direct reference** - Using `name` to reference a resource in the same namespace
2. **Remote resolution** - Using `resolver` and `params` to fetch resources from remote locations

## Status and Conditions

All runtime resources (TaskRun, PipelineRun, CustomRun) use Kubernetes Conditions to report status:

* `type: Succeeded` - Indicates completion status
* `status: True` - Successful completion
* `status: False` - Failed completion
* `status: Unknown` - Still running

## Authentication

Tasks and Pipelines can specify a `serviceAccountName` to control:

* Access to Kubernetes resources
* Credentials for pulling container images
* Secrets mounted into execution environments