Automation and CI/CD
Use this when: you are wiring Launch Kit into a CI/CD pipeline, an automation framework, or an AI agent that needs structured output and exit-code-driven retry logic.
Launch Kit is designed for both interactive use and automated pipelines. Every subcommand supports a JSON output mode, well-defined exit codes, and a programmatic capability discovery endpoint.
Use --output json for machine-readable output. In JSON mode, structured data goes to stdout and human-readable logs go to stderr:
l8k generate --user-config ./cluster-config.yaml \
--fabric ethernet --deployment-type sriov --multirail \
--save-deployment-files ./deployments \
--output json --yes 2>/dev/null | jq .
--yes/-y— auto-confirm all prompts (implied by--output json)--quiet/-q— suppress informational output
Code | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 0 | Success. |
| 1 | General error. |
| 2 | Validation error (invalid flags or configuration). |
| 3 | Cluster error (API unreachable, discovery failed). |
| 4 | Deployment error (apply failed). |
| 5 | Partial success (discovery completed but deployment failed). |
In JSON mode, errors include structured fields (code, category, transient, suggestion) to help automation decide whether to retry or fix input. transient: true indicates a temporary condition (e.g., API unreachable) where retry is appropriate; transient: false indicates a permanent failure (e.g., invalid flag) requiring input changes.
AI agents and automation tools can programmatically discover Launch Kit’s capabilities:
l8k schema
Outputs a JSON description of available commands, phases, fabrics, deployment types, flags, exit codes, and output formats. Tools that need to know what l8k can do (without parsing --help text) use this endpoint.
AI Skills — driving
l8kfrom Claude Code, Cursor, Codex CLI, or any agentCLI Reference — complete flag reference
Troubleshooting — diagnosing failed pipelines