Run command options

The flyte run command provides the following options:

flyte run [OPTIONS] <PATH>|deployed-task <TASK_NAME>

Option Short Type Default Description
--project -p text from config Project to run tasks in
--domain -d text from config Domain to run tasks in
--local flag false Run the task locally
--copy-style choice `loaded_modules all
--root-dir path current dir Override source root directory
--raw-data-path text Override the output location for offloaded data types.
--service-account text Kubernetes service account.
--name text Name of the run.
--follow -f flag false Wait and watch logs for the parent action.
--image text Image to be used in the run (format: name=uri).
--no-sync-local-sys-paths flag false Disable synchronization of local sys.path entries.
--run-project text from config Execute deployed task in this project (deployed-task only).
--run-domain text from config Execute deployed task in this domain (deployed-task only).

--project, --domain

flyte run --domain <DOMAIN> --project <PROJECT> <PATH>|deployed-task <TASK_NAME>

You can specify --project and --domain which will override any defaults defined in your config.yaml:

flyte run my_example.py my_task

Specify a target project and domain:

flyte run --project my-project --domain development my_example.py my_task

--run-project, --run-domain

flyte run --run-project <PROJECT> --run-domain <DOMAIN> deployed-task <TASK_REF>

When using the deployed-task subcommand, --run-project and --run-domain specify the project-domain pair in which to execute the task. This lets you run a deployed task in a different project or domain than the one configured in your config.yaml:

flyte run --run-project prod-project --run-domain production deployed-task my_env.my_task

If not provided, these default to the task.project and task.domain values in your configuration file. These options only apply to the deployed-task subcommand and are ignored for file-based runs.

--local

flyte run --local <PATH> <TASK_NAME>

The --local option runs tasks locally instead of submitting them to the remote Flyte backend:

flyte run --local my_example.py my_task --input "test_data"

Compare with remote execution:

flyte run my_example.py my_task --input "test_data"

When to use local execution

  • Development and testing: Quick iteration without deployment overhead
  • Debugging: Full access to local debugging tools and environment
  • Resource constraints: When remote resources are unavailable or expensive
  • Data locality: When working with large local datasets

--copy-style

flyte run --copy-style [loaded_modules|all|none] <PATH> <TASK_NAME>

The --copy-style option controls code bundling for remote execution. This applies to the ephemeral preparation step of the flyte run command and works similarly to flyte deploy:

Smart bundling (default) — includes only imported project modules:

flyte run --copy-style loaded_modules my_example.py my_task

Include all project files:

flyte run --copy-style all my_example.py my_task

No code bundling (task must be pre-deployed):

flyte run --copy-style none deployed-task my_deployed_task

Copy style options

  • loaded_modules (default): Bundles only imported Python modules from your project
  • all: Includes all files in the project directory
  • none: No bundling; requires permanently deployed tasks

--root-dir

flyte run --root-dir <DIRECTORY> <PATH> <TASK_NAME>

Override the source directory for code bundling and import resolution:

Run from a monorepo root with a specific root directory:

flyte run --root-dir ./services/ml ./services/ml/my_example.py my_task

Handle cross-directory imports:

flyte run --root-dir .. my_example.py my_workflow

This applies to the ephemeral preparation step of the flyte run command. It works identically to the flyte deploy command’s --root-dir option.

--raw-data-path

flyte run --raw-data-path <PATH> <SOURCE> <TASK_NAME>

Override the default output location for offloaded data types (large objects, DataFrames, etc.):

Use a custom S3 location for large outputs:

flyte run --raw-data-path s3://my-bucket/custom-path/ my_example.py process_large_data

Use a local directory for development:

flyte run --local --raw-data-path ./output/ my_example.py my_task

Use cases

  • Custom storage locations: Direct outputs to specific S3 buckets or paths
  • Cost optimization: Use cheaper storage tiers for temporary data
  • Access control: Ensure outputs go to locations with appropriate permissions
  • Local development: Store large outputs locally when testing

--service-account

flyte run --service-account <ACCOUNT_NAME> <PATH> <TASK_NAME>

Specify a Kubernetes service account for task execution:

flyte run --service-account ml-service-account my_example.py train_model
flyte run --service-account data-reader-sa my_example.py load_data

Use cases

  • Cloud resource access: Service accounts with permissions for S3, GCS, etc.
  • Security isolation: Different service accounts for different workload types
  • Compliance requirements: Enforcing specific identity and access policies

--name

flyte run --name <EXECUTION_NAME> <PATH> <TASK_NAME>

Provide a custom name for the execution run:

flyte run --name "daily-training-run-2024-12-02" my_example.py train_model
flyte run --name "experiment-lr-0.01-batch-32" my_example.py hyperparameter_sweep

Benefits of custom names

  • Easy identification: Find specific runs in the Flyte console
  • Experiment tracking: Include key parameters or dates in names
  • Automation: Programmatically generate meaningful names for scheduled runs

--follow

flyte run --follow <PATH> <TASK_NAME>

Wait and watch logs for the execution in real-time:

flyte run --follow my_example.py long_running_task

Combine with other options:

flyte run --follow --name "training-session" my_example.py train_model

Behavior

  • Log streaming: Real-time output from task execution
  • Blocking execution: Command waits until task completes
  • Exit codes: Returns appropriate exit code based on task success/failure

--image

flyte run --image <IMAGE_MAPPING> <PATH> <TASK_NAME>

Override container images during ephemeral preparation, same as the equivalent flyte deploy option:

Override a specific named image:

flyte run --image gpu=ghcr.io/org/gpu:v2.1 my_example.py gpu_task

Override the default image:

flyte run --image ghcr.io/org/custom:latest my_example.py my_task

Multiple image overrides:

flyte run \
  --image base=ghcr.io/org/base:v1.0 \
  --image gpu=ghcr.io/org/gpu:v2.0 \
  my_example.py multi_env_workflow

Image mapping formats

  • Named mapping: name=uri overrides images created with Image.from_ref_name("name")
  • Default mapping: uri overrides the default “auto” image
  • Multiple mappings: Use multiple --image flags for different image references

--no-sync-local-sys-paths

flyte run --no-sync-local-sys-paths <PATH> <TASK_NAME>

Disable synchronization of local sys.path entries to the remote execution environment during ephemeral preparation. Identical to the flyte deploy command’s --no-sync-local-sys-paths option:

flyte run --no-sync-local-sys-paths my_example.py my_task

This advanced option works identically to the deploy command equivalent, useful for:

  • Container isolation: Prevent local development paths from affecting remote execution
  • Custom environments: When containers have pre-configured Python paths
  • Security: Avoiding exposure of local directory structures

Task argument passing

A task’s inputs are passed after the task name. On the CLI every input is a named option, --<input_name>, followed by a value when the type requires one, where <input_name> is the exact parameter name in the task’s function signature:

flyte run my_file.py my_task --name "World" --count 5 --verbose

The equivalent SDK call passes the same inputs as keyword arguments:

result = flyte.run(my_task, name="World", count=5, verbose=True)

A few rules apply to every input:

  • The option name matches the parameter name exactly, including underscores. A parameter event_time is passed as --event_time (not --event-time).
  • Quote any value that contains spaces, for example --name "Ada Lovelace".
  • An input with a default is optional; an input with no default is required.

Passing inputs by type

Flyte parses each value according to the parameter’s Python type. The type-specific syntax is summarized below and detailed in the following sections.

Python type CLI syntax Example
str Plain text (quote if it contains spaces) --name "Ada"
int Integer literal --count 5
float Decimal literal --rate 0.01
bool A flag (see Boolean inputs) --verbose
datetime.datetime / datetime.date ISO 8601, now, today, or a relative expression --start 2024-01-15
datetime.timedelta ISO 8601 duration or a human-readable duration --timeout PT2H30M
enum.Enum The member name (case-sensitive) --color RED
list / dict A JSON literal (or a path to a .json/.yaml file) --nums '[1, 2, 3]'
dataclass / Pydantic model / TypedDict / NamedTuple A JSON literal (or a path to a .json/.yaml file) --config '{"lr": 0.01}'
flyte.io.File / flyte.io.Dir A local path or a remote URI --data ./input.csv
flyte.io.DataFrame A path to a .parquet or .csv file (local or remote) --df ./data.parquet

The now/today, relative-datetime, human-duration, and JSON-string forms are CLI conveniences. When you call flyte.run() programmatically, pass the corresponding native Python objects instead (a datetime.datetime, a datetime.timedelta, a dataclass instance, and so on).

Boolean inputs

A bool input is a flag, not a value-taking option — do not write --debug true.

  • If the parameter defaults to False (or has no default), pass the bare flag to set it True, and omit it to leave it False:

    flyte run my_file.py my_task --verbose      # verbose=True
    flyte run my_file.py my_task                # verbose=False
  • If the parameter defaults to True, Flyte also registers a --no- form so you can turn it off:

    flyte run my_file.py my_task --no-cache     # cache=False

Datetime and duration inputs

A datetime.datetime (or datetime.date) input accepts an ISO 8601 timestamp, the keywords now or today, or a relative expression of the form <base> <+|-> <ISO 8601 duration> (the spaces around the sign are required, so quote the value):

flyte run my_file.py my_task --start 2024-01-15
flyte run my_file.py my_task --start "2024-01-15T13:30:00"
flyte run my_file.py my_task --start now
flyte run my_file.py my_task --start "now - P1D"        # 24 hours ago
flyte run my_file.py my_task --start "today + P1DT2H"   # tomorrow, 02:00

A datetime.timedelta input accepts an ISO 8601 duration or a human-readable duration (<minutes>:<seconds>, or a value with a unit such as days, hours, minutes, seconds):

flyte run my_file.py my_task --timeout P1DT2H30M    # 1 day, 2 hours, 30 minutes
flyte run my_file.py my_task --timeout "10 days"
flyte run my_file.py my_task --timeout "1 minute"
flyte run my_file.py my_task --timeout 1:24         # 1 minute, 24 seconds

Enum inputs

For an enum.Enum input, pass the name of the member (case-sensitive), not its value:

# my_file.py
import enum

class Color(enum.Enum):
    RED = "red"
    GREEN = "green"
flyte run my_file.py my_task --color RED

List, dict, dataclass, and other structured inputs

Collections (list, dict) and structured types (dataclasses, Pydantic models, TypedDict, NamedTuple) are passed as a JSON literal:

flyte run my_file.py my_task --nums '[1, 2, 3]'
flyte run my_file.py my_task --mapping '{"a": 1, "b": 2}'
flyte run my_file.py my_task --config '{"lr": 0.01, "epochs": 5}'

For anything larger than a one-liner, pass a path to a .json or .yaml file instead — Flyte reads and parses the file:

flyte run my_file.py my_task --config ./config.yaml

File, directory, and dataframe inputs

A flyte.io.File, flyte.io.Dir, or flyte.io.DataFrame input accepts either a local path or a remote URI. A local path is uploaded to the run’s data store before execution; a remote URI (for example s3://… or gs://…) is used as-is. Under --local, the local path is used directly without uploading:

flyte run my_file.py my_task --data ./input.csv
flyte run my_file.py my_task --data s3://my-bucket/input.csv
flyte run my_file.py my_task --df ./data.parquet

Optional inputs

An Optional[...] input (or any input with a default) is not required — omit the option to leave it at its default:

flyte run my_file.py my_task --count 5      # `name` omitted, uses its default

Positional arguments

The CLI has no positional form for task inputs. flyte run always passes inputs as named options (--<input_name>), as shown above — there is no flyte run my_file.py my_task "World" 5 form.

Positional arguments apply only when you invoke a task programmatically. flyte.run(), and a direct (native) call to one task from inside another, accept positional arguments and map them to the task’s parameters in signature order:

# Positional and keyword forms are equivalent here:
flyte.run(greet, "Good morning!")
flyte.run(greet, message="Good morning!")

Two caveats apply:

  • Deployed tasks are keyword-only. A task retrieved with flyte.remote.Task.get() (or run via the deployed-task CLI subcommand) does not accept positional arguments — pass its inputs by keyword (or, on the CLI, as --<input_name> options).
  • Don’t provide the same input both positionally and by keyword.

SDK options

The core flyte run functionality is also available programmatically through the flyte.run() function. For SDK-level configuration of all run parameters (storage, caching, identity, logging, and more), see Run context.