path: root/docs/ref/tasks.txt

=====
Tasks
=====

.. module:: django.tasks
   :synopsis: Django's built-in background Task system.

The Task framework provides the contract and plumbing for background work, not
the engine that runs it. The Tasks API defines how work is described, queued,
and tracked, but leaves actual execution to external infrastructure.

Task definition
===============

The ``task`` decorator
----------------------

.. function:: task(*, priority=0, queue_name="default", backend="default", takes_context=False, **kwargs)

    The ``@task`` decorator defines a :class:`Task` instance. All keyword
    arguments are passed directly to the backend's ``task_class`` (which
    defaults to :class:`Task`).

    The following standard arguments are supported:

    * ``priority``: Sets the :attr:`~Task.priority` of the ``Task``. Defaults
      to 0.
    * ``queue_name``: Sets the :attr:`~Task.queue_name` of the ``Task``.
      Defaults to ``"default"``.
    * ``backend``: Sets the :attr:`~Task.backend` of the ``Task``. Defaults to
      ``"default"``.
    * ``takes_context``: Controls whether the ``Task`` function accepts a
      :class:`TaskContext`. Defaults to ``False``. See :ref:`Task context
      <task-context>` for details.

    Custom Task backends may define a custom ``task_class`` that accepts
    additional arguments. These can be passed through the ``@task`` decorator::

        @task(foo=5, bar=600)
        def my_task():
            pass

    .. versionchanged:: 6.1

        Support for passing arbitrary ``**kwargs`` to the ``@task`` decorator
        is added.

    If the defined ``Task`` is not valid according to the backend,
    :exc:`~django.tasks.exceptions.InvalidTask` is raised.

    See :ref:`defining tasks <defining-tasks>` for usage examples.

``Task``
--------

.. class:: Task

    Represents a Task to be run in the background. Tasks should be defined
    using the :func:`task` decorator.

    Attributes of ``Task`` cannot be modified. See :ref:`modifying Tasks
    <modifying-tasks>` for details.

    .. attribute:: Task.priority

        The priority of the ``Task``. Priorities must be between -100 and 100,
        where larger numbers are higher priority, and will be run sooner.

        The backend must have :attr:`.supports_priority` set to ``True`` to use
        this feature.

    .. attribute:: Task.backend

        The alias of the backend the ``Task`` should be enqueued to. This must
        match a backend defined in :setting:`BACKEND <TASKS-BACKEND>`.

    .. attribute:: Task.queue_name

        The name of the queue the ``Task`` will be enqueued on to. Defaults to
        ``"default"``. This must match a queue defined in
        :setting:`QUEUES <TASKS-QUEUES>`, unless
        :setting:`QUEUES <TASKS-QUEUES>` is set to ``[]``.

    .. attribute:: Task.run_after

        The earliest time the ``Task`` will be executed. This can be a
        :class:`timedelta <datetime.timedelta>`, which is used relative to the
        current time, a timezone-aware :class:`datetime <datetime.datetime>`,
        or ``None`` if not constrained. Defaults to ``None``.

        This attribute can be set using :meth:`~Task.using`.

        The backend must have :attr:`.supports_defer` set to ``True`` to use
        this feature. Otherwise,
        :exc:`~django.tasks.exceptions.InvalidTask` is raised.

    .. attribute:: Task.name

        The name of the function decorated with :func:`task`. This name is not
        necessarily unique.

    .. method:: Task.using(*, priority=None, backend=None, queue_name=None, run_after=None)

        Creates a new ``Task`` with modified defaults. The existing ``Task`` is
        left unchanged.

        ``using`` allows modifying the following attributes:

        * :attr:`priority <Task.priority>`
        * :attr:`backend <Task.backend>`
        * :attr:`queue_name <Task.queue_name>`
        * :attr:`run_after <Task.run_after>`

        See :ref:`modifying Tasks <modifying-tasks>` for usage examples.

    .. method:: Task.enqueue(*args, **kwargs)

        Enqueues the ``Task`` to the ``Task`` backend for later execution.

        Arguments are passed to the ``Task``'s function after a round-trip
        through a :func:`json.dumps`/:func:`json.loads` cycle. Hence, all
        arguments must be JSON-serializable and preserve their type after the
        round-trip.

        If the ``Task`` is not valid according to the backend,
        :exc:`~django.tasks.exceptions.InvalidTask` is raised.

        See :ref:`enqueueing Tasks <enqueueing-tasks>` for usage examples.

    .. method:: Task.aenqueue(*args, **kwargs)

        The ``async`` variant of :meth:`enqueue <Task.enqueue>`.

    .. method:: Task.get_result(result_id)

        Retrieves a result by its id.

        If the result does not exist, :exc:`TaskResultDoesNotExist
        <django.tasks.exceptions.TaskResultDoesNotExist>` is raised. If the
        result is not the same type as the current Task,
        :exc:`TaskResultMismatch <django.tasks.exceptions.TaskResultMismatch>`
        is raised. If the backend does not support ``get_result()``,
        :exc:`NotImplementedError` is raised.

    .. method:: Task.aget_result(*args, **kwargs)

        The ``async`` variant of :meth:`get_result <Task.get_result>`.

Task context
============

.. class:: TaskContext

    Contains context for the running :class:`Task`. Context only passed to a
    ``Task`` if it was defined with ``takes_context=True``.

    Attributes of ``TaskContext`` cannot be modified.

    .. attribute:: TaskContext.task_result

        The :class:`TaskResult` currently being run.

    .. attribute:: TaskContext.attempt

        The number of the current execution attempts for this Task, starting at
        1.

Task results
============

.. class:: TaskResultStatus

    An Enum representing the status of a :class:`TaskResult`.

    .. attribute:: TaskResultStatus.READY

        The :class:`Task` has just been enqueued, or is ready to be executed
        again.

    .. attribute:: TaskResultStatus.RUNNING

        The :class:`Task` is currently being executed.

    .. attribute:: TaskResultStatus.FAILED

        The :class:`Task` raised an exception during execution, or was unable
        to start.

    .. attribute:: TaskResultStatus.SUCCESSFUL

        The :class:`Task` has finished executing successfully.

.. class:: TaskResult

    The ``TaskResult`` stores the information about a specific execution of a
    :class:`Task`.

    Attributes of ``TaskResult`` cannot be modified.

    .. attribute:: TaskResult.task

        The :class:`Task` the result was enqueued for.

    .. attribute:: TaskResult.id

        A unique identifier for the result, which can be passed to
        :meth:`Task.get_result`.

        The format of the id will depend on the backend being used. Task result
        ids are always strings less than 64 characters.

        See :ref:`Task results <task-results>` for more details.

    .. attribute:: TaskResult.status

        The :class:`status <TaskResultStatus>` of the result.

    .. attribute:: TaskResult.enqueued_at

        The time when the ``Task`` was enqueued.

    .. attribute:: TaskResult.started_at

        The time when the ``Task`` began execution, on its first attempt.

    .. attribute:: TaskResult.last_attempted_at

        The time when the most recent ``Task`` run began execution.

    .. attribute:: TaskResult.finished_at

        The time when the ``Task`` finished execution, whether it failed or
        succeeded.

    .. attribute:: TaskResult.backend

        The backend the result is from.

    .. attribute:: TaskResult.errors

        A list of :class:`TaskError` instances for the errors raised as part of
        each execution of the Task.

    .. attribute:: TaskResult.return_value

        The return value from the ``Task`` function.

        If the ``Task`` did not finish successfully, :exc:`ValueError` is
        raised.

        See :ref:`return values <task-return-values>` for usage examples.

    .. method:: TaskResult.refresh

        Refresh the result's attributes from the queue store.

    .. method:: TaskResult.arefresh

        The ``async`` variant of :meth:`TaskResult.refresh`.

    .. attribute:: TaskResult.is_finished

        Whether the ``Task`` has finished (successfully or not).

    .. attribute:: TaskResult.attempts

        The number of times the Task has been run.

        If the task is currently running, it does not count as an attempt.

    .. attribute:: TaskResult.worker_ids

        The ids of the workers which have executed the Task.


Task errors
-----------

.. class:: TaskError

    Contains information about the error raised during the execution of a
    ``Task``.

    .. attribute:: TaskError.traceback

        The traceback (as a string) from the raised exception when the ``Task``
        failed.

    .. attribute:: TaskError.exception_class

        The exception class raised when executing the ``Task``.

Backends
========

Backends handle how Tasks are stored and executed. All backends share a common
interface defined by ``BaseTaskBackend``, which specifies the core methods for
enqueueing Tasks and retrieving results.

Base backend
------------

.. module:: django.tasks.backends.base

.. class:: BaseTaskBackend

    ``BaseTaskBackend`` is the parent class for all Task backends.

    .. attribute:: BaseTaskBackend.task_class

        The :class:`~django.tasks.Task` subclass to use when creating tasks
        with the :func:`~django.tasks.task` decorator. Defaults to
        :class:`~django.tasks.Task`. Custom backends can override this to use
        a custom ``Task`` subclass with additional attributes.

    .. attribute:: BaseTaskBackend.options

        A dictionary of extra parameters for the Task backend. These are
        provided using the :setting:`OPTIONS <TASKS-OPTIONS>` setting.

    .. method:: BaseTaskBackend.enqueue(task, args, kwargs)

        Task backends which subclass ``BaseTaskBackend`` should implement this
        method as a minimum.

        When implemented, ``enqueue()`` enqueues the ``task``, a :class:`.Task`
        instance, for later execution. ``args`` are the positional arguments
        and ``kwargs`` are the keyword arguments to be passed to the ``task``.
        Returns a :class:`~django.tasks.TaskResult`.

    .. method:: BaseTaskBackend.aenqueue(task, args, kwargs)

        The ``async`` variant of :meth:`BaseTaskBackend.enqueue`.

    .. method:: BaseTaskBackend.get_result(result_id)

        Retrieve a result by its id. If the result does not exist,
        :exc:`TaskResultDoesNotExist
        <django.tasks.exceptions.TaskResultDoesNotExist>` is raised.

        If the backend does not support ``get_result()``,
        :exc:`NotImplementedError` is raised.

    .. method:: BaseTaskBackend.aget_result(result_id)

        The ``async`` variant of :meth:`BaseTaskBackend.get_result`.

    .. method:: BaseTaskBackend.validate_task(task)

        Validates whether the provided ``Task`` is able to be enqueued using
        the backend. If the Task is not valid,
        :exc:`InvalidTask <django.tasks.exceptions.InvalidTask>`
        is raised.

Feature flags
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Some backends may not support all features Django provides. It's possible to
identify the supported functionality of a backend, and potentially change
behavior accordingly.

.. attribute:: BaseTaskBackend.supports_defer

    Whether the backend supports enqueueing Tasks to be executed after a
    specific time using the :attr:`~django.tasks.Task.run_after` attribute.

.. attribute:: BaseTaskBackend.supports_async_task

    Whether the backend supports enqueueing async functions (coroutines).

.. attribute:: BaseTaskBackend.supports_get_result

    Whether the backend supports retrieving ``Task`` results from another
    thread after they have been enqueued.

.. attribute:: BaseTaskBackend.supports_priority

    Whether the backend supports executing Tasks as ordered by their
    :attr:`~django.tasks.Task.priority`.

The below table notes which of the :ref:`built-in backends
<task-available-backends>` support which features:

============================ ======================= ===========================
Feature                      :class:`.DummyBackend`  :class:`.ImmediateBackend`
============================ ======================= ===========================
:attr:`.supports_defer`      Yes                     No
:attr:`.supports_async_task` Yes                     Yes
:attr:`.supports_get_result` No                      No [#fnimmediateresult]_
:attr:`.supports_priority`   Yes [#fndummypriority]_ Yes [#fnimmediatepriority]_
============================ ======================= ===========================

.. _task-available-backends:

Available backends
------------------

Django includes only development and testing backends. These support local
execution and inspection, for production ready backends refer to
:ref:`configuring-a-task-backend`.

Immediate backend
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

.. module:: django.tasks.backends.immediate

.. class:: ImmediateBackend

    The :ref:`immediate backend <immediate-task-backend>` executes Tasks
    immediately, rather than in the background.

Dummy backend
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

.. module:: django.tasks.backends.dummy

.. class:: DummyBackend

    The :ref:`dummy backend <dummy-task-backend>` does not execute enqueued
    Tasks. Instead, it stores task results for later inspection.

    .. attribute:: DummyBackend.results

        A list of results for the enqueued Tasks, in the order they were
        enqueued.

    .. method:: DummyBackend.clear

        Clears the list of stored results.

Exceptions
==========

.. module:: django.tasks.exceptions

.. exception:: InvalidTask

    Raised when the :class:`.Task` attempting to be enqueued
    is invalid.

.. exception:: InvalidTaskBackend

    Raised when the requested :class:`.BaseTaskBackend` is invalid.

.. exception:: TaskResultDoesNotExist

    Raised by :meth:`~django.tasks.backends.base.BaseTaskBackend.get_result`
    when the provided ``result_id`` does not exist.

.. exception:: TaskResultMismatch

    Raised by :meth:`~django.tasks.Task.get_result` when the provided
    ``result_id`` is for a different Task than the current Task.

.. rubric:: Footnotes
.. [#fnimmediateresult] The :class:`.ImmediateBackend` doesn't officially
    support ``get_result()``, despite implementing the API, since the result
    cannot be retrieved from a different thread.
.. [#fndummypriority] The :class:`.DummyBackend` has ``supports_priority=True``
    so that it can be used as a drop-in replacement in tests. Since this
    backend never executes Tasks, the ``priority`` value has no effect.
.. [#fnimmediatepriority] The :class:`.ImmediateBackend` has
    ``supports_priority=True`` so that it can be used as a drop-in replacement
    in tests. Because Tasks run as soon as they are scheduled, the ``priority``
    value has no effect.