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

# Step types

> Catalog of Ravion pipeline step types, including module actions, CI steps, approvals, parallel groups, and other control-flow primitives.

A step is the smallest unit of work in a pipeline. Every action step shares a common shape — `id`, optional `name`, `timeout`, and `if` condition — and adds fields specific to its `type`. Wrap steps in `parallel` or `group` blocks to control how they run. See [Pipelines overview](/pipelines/overview).

Steps fall into three categories:

* **Module steps** act on a module instance through its build or deploy manager: `build`, `deploy`, `rollback`.
* **CI steps** run on provisioned compute that you configure with an `infrastructure` block: `build:image`, `build:static`, `custom`, `terraform:plan`, `terraform:apply`.
* **Control-flow steps** shape the run itself: `approval`, `sleep`, `trigger:pipeline`.

For every field, default, and nested type, see the [pipeline configuration schema](/pipelines/config-reference).

## Module steps

### build

Triggers a build for a module instance using the module's own build configuration. Reference the module instance by unique ID (`mi_…`), `environmentGivenId.moduleGivenId`, or `projectGivenId.environmentGivenId.moduleGivenId`. Pass build parameters through `input`; outputs such as `image_digest` are available to later steps.

```yaml theme={null}
- id: build_web_app
  name: Build web-app
  type: build
  module_instance: << pipeline.variant.id >>.web-app
  input:
    branch: << pipeline.input.branch >>
    ref: << pipeline.input.commit >>
```

See [BuildStep schema](/pipelines/config-reference#buildstep).

### deploy

Triggers a deployment for a module instance using the module's deploy configuration. Commonly consumes a preceding build's output to pin the exact artifact. Concurrency is managed by the deploy manager lock, not the pipeline scheduler.

```yaml theme={null}
- id: deploy_web_app
  name: Deploy web-app
  type: deploy
  module_instance: << pipeline.variant.id >>.web-app
  input:
    image_ref: << steps.build_web_app.output.image_digest >>
```

See [DeployStep schema](/pipelines/config-reference#deploystep).

### rollback

Reverts a module instance to a specific previous deployment by `deployment_id`. Use it in a `rollback` block to recover automatically when a pipeline fails.

```yaml theme={null}
- id: rollback_web_app
  name: Roll back web-app
  type: rollback
  module_instance: << pipeline.variant.id >>.web-app
  deployment_id: << steps.deploy_web_app.output.previous_deployment_id >>
```

See [RollbackStep schema](/pipelines/config-reference#rollbackstep).

## CI steps

CI steps run on compute you provision through an `infrastructure` block, which selects an execution environment or an AWS account, region, instance type, and size. See [StepInfrastructure](/pipelines/config-reference#stepinfrastructure).

<Note>
  The `nixpacks` builder is deprecated for pipeline CI steps. Use `railpack` for automatic framework detection.
</Note>

### build:image

Builds a Docker image from a git source and pushes it to one or more ECR destinations. Build with a `dockerfile` or let `railpack` auto-detect the language and framework.

```yaml theme={null}
- id: build_image
  name: Build image
  type: build:image
  source:
    type: git
    repo: https://github.com/my-org/my-repo
    branch: main
  builder:
    type: dockerfile
  destinations:
    - id: ecr
      type: ecr
      repository_arn: arn:aws:ecr:us-east-1:123456789012:repository/my-app
      tags:
        - << pipeline.input.commit >>
  infrastructure:
    type: ec2
    instance_size: medium
```

See [BuildImageCiStep schema](/pipelines/config-reference#buildimagecistep).

### build:static

Builds static assets from a git source and uploads them to one or more S3 destinations. Build with a `dockerfile` or `railpack`.

```yaml theme={null}
- id: build_site
  name: Build site
  type: build:static
  source:
    type: git
    repo: https://github.com/my-org/my-repo
    branch: main
  builder:
    type: railpack
  destinations:
    - id: s3
      type: s3
      bucket: my-static-bucket
      region: us-east-1
  infrastructure:
    type: ec2
    instance_size: small
```

See [BuildStaticCiStep schema](/pipelines/config-reference#buildstaticcistep).

### custom

Runs arbitrary shell commands on provisioned compute — tests, linters, migrations, or any scripted task. Optionally check out a git `source`, install tools with `setup` actions, and pass `environment_variables`.

```yaml theme={null}
- id: run_tests
  name: Run tests
  type: custom
  source:
    type: git
    repo: https://github.com/my-org/my-repo
    branch: main
  commands:
    - npm ci
    - npm test
  infrastructure:
    type: ec2
    instance_size: medium
```

See [CustomCommandCiStep schema](/pipelines/config-reference#customcommandcistep).

### terraform:plan

Generates a Terraform or OpenTofu plan and uploads the plan file to S3 for a later apply. Set `plan_type` to `destroy` to plan a teardown. Supply input variables with `terraform_variables` or `terraform_variable_files`.

```yaml theme={null}
- id: tf_plan
  name: Plan
  type: terraform:plan
  tool: opentofu
  version: 1.7.0
  infrastructure:
    type: ec2
    instance_size: small
```

See [TerraformPlanCiStep schema](/pipelines/config-reference#terraformplancistep).

### terraform:apply

Applies a plan file produced by a preceding `terraform:plan` step. Reference the plan with `plan_file_uri`, typically from the plan step's output.

```yaml theme={null}
- id: tf_apply
  name: Apply
  type: terraform:apply
  tool: opentofu
  version: 1.7.0
  plan_file_uri: << steps.tf_plan.output.plan_file_uri >>
  infrastructure:
    type: ec2
    instance_size: small
```

See [TerraformApplyCiStep schema](/pipelines/config-reference#terraformapplycistep).

## Control-flow steps

### approval

Pauses the pipeline until a user approves through the dashboard or REST API. Use it to gate production deployments behind a manual review.

```yaml theme={null}
- id: approve_deploy
  name: Approve deploy
  type: approval
```

See [ApprovalStep schema](/pipelines/config-reference#approvalstep).

### sleep

Pauses execution for a fixed `duration_ms`. Useful for spacing out steps or for testing and debugging pipeline behavior.

```yaml theme={null}
- id: wait
  name: Wait 30s
  type: sleep
  duration_ms: 30000
```

See [SleepStep schema](/pipelines/config-reference#sleepstep).

### trigger:pipeline

Starts another pipeline run and passes `inputs` to it. Optionally pin a `pipeline_version_id` or override behavior per variant with `run`.

```yaml theme={null}
- id: trigger_deploy
  name: Trigger deploy pipeline
  type: trigger:pipeline
  pipeline_id: pipeline_123
  description: Deploy after build
  inputs:
    commit: << pipeline.input.commit >>
```

See [TriggerPipelineStep schema](/pipelines/config-reference#triggerpipelinestep).