# Running `just` commands

We have previously used [make](https://www.gnu.org/software/make/) for easily running some playbook commands (e.g. `make roles` which triggers [`ansible-galaxy`](https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/latest/cli/ansible-galaxy.html)). Our [`Makefile`](../Makefile) is still around, and you can still run these commands.

In addition, we have added support for running commands via [`just`](https://github.com/casey/just) — a more modern command-runner alternative to `make`. It can be used to invoke `ansible-playbook` commands with less typing.

The `just` utility executes shortcut commands (called as "recipes"), which invoke `ansible-playbook`, `ansible-galaxy` or [`agru`](https://github.com/etkecc/agru) (depending on what is available in your system). The targets of the recipes are defined in [`justfile`](../justfile). Most of the just recipes have no corresponding `Makefile` targets.

For some recipes such as `just update`, our `justfile` recommends installing [`agru`](https://github.com/etkecc/agru) (a faster alternative to `ansible-galaxy`) to speed up the process.

Here are some examples of shortcuts:

| Shortcut                                       | Result                                                                                                         |
|------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| `just roles`                                   | Install the necessary Ansible roles pinned in [`requirements.yml`](../requirements.yml)                        |
| `just update`                                  | Run `git pull` (to update the playbook) and install the Ansible roles                                          |
| `just install-all`                             | Run `ansible-playbook -i inventory/hosts setup.yml --tags=install-all,ensure-matrix-users-created,start`       |
| `just setup-all`                               | Run `ansible-playbook -i inventory/hosts setup.yml --tags=setup-all,ensure-matrix-users-created,start`         |
| `just install-all --ask-vault-pass`            | Run commands with additional arguments (`--ask-vault-pass` will be appended to the above installation command) |
| `just run-tags install-mautrix-slack,start`    | Run specific playbook tags (here `install-mautrix-slack` and `start`)                                          |
| `just install-service mautrix-slack`           | Run `just run-tags install-mautrix-slack,start` with even less typing                                          |
| `just start-all`                               | (Re-)starts all services                                                                                       |
| `just stop-group postgres`                     | Stop only the Postgres service                                                                                 |
| `just register-user alice secret-password yes` | Registers an `alice` user with the `secret-password` password and admin access (admin = `yes`)                 |

While [our documentation on prerequisites](prerequisites.md) lists `just` as one of the requirements for installation, using `just` is optional. If you find it difficult to install it, do not find it useful, or want to prefer raw `ansible-playbook` commands for some reason, feel free to run all commands manually. For example, you can run `ansible-galaxy` directly to install the Ansible roles: `rm -rf roles/galaxy; ansible-galaxy install -r requirements.yml -p roles/galaxy/ --force`.

## Difference between playbook tags and shortcuts

It is worth noting that `just` "recipes" are different from [playbook tags](playbook-tags.md). The recipes are shortcuts of commands defined in `justfile` and can be executed by the `just` program only, while the playbook tags are available for the raw `ansible-playbook` commands as well. Please be careful not to confuse them.

For example, these two commands are different:
- `just install-all`
- `ansible-playbook -i inventory/hosts setup.yml --tags=install-all`

The just recipe runs `ensure-matrix-users-created` and `start` tags after `install-all`, while the latter runs only `install-all` tag. The correct shortcut of the latter is `just run-tags install-all`.

Such kind of difference sometimes matters. For example, when you install a Matrix server into which you will import old data (see [here](installing.md#installing-a-server-into-which-youll-import-old-data)), you are not supposed to run `just install-all` or `just setup-all`, because these commands start services immediately after installing components which may prevent your from importing old data.
