Where It Runs
A pipeline has two parts that can run in different places: the engine you launch, which runs the program from its entrypoint, and the steps it dispatches, which run in containers on runners. You choose both, and you can change them without rewriting the pipeline.
With api, the default, the engine asks Cadence.CI for a machine for each step, and Cadence.CI starts it in your cloud account, then stops it when the step ends. With compose, the steps start as containers on the same machine as the engine.
Choose Where Steps Run
| Steps run in | How | Good for | Plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Instances in your cloud account, with a supported provider | Default api location, cloud account connected in Clouds | Production pipelines: the right machine for each step, ARM or x86, at your provider’s rates | Access (free) and above |
| Containers on your machine | --work_location compose | Trying a pipeline, debugging a step | Access (free) and above |
| Containers in a GitHub or GitLab runner | Reusable workflow or CI/CD component with local distribution | Keeping the runners you already pay for | Access (free) and above |
With api, each step declares what it needs (cpu, memory, storage, arch) and gets the smallest instance that fits; see How Instance Selection Works. With compose, a step can only use what the host offers: its architecture and its memory.
Choose Where You Launch
| Launch from | How |
|---|---|
| Your machine | melodium run --api-report .melodium-ci/Compo.toml ... |
| GitHub Actions | Reusable workflows |
| GitLab CI | CI/CD components |
| Any machine or container that runs Mélodium | melodium run --api-report .melodium-ci/Compo.toml ... |
Wherever it is launched, a run appears in the dashboard when the command includes --api-report and the MELODIUM_API_TOKEN environment variable holds a run token.
Going Further
- Quickstart: run the CI/CD template on your cloud account.
- What Goes Through Cadence.CI: what Cadence.CI receives, and what stays on your side.
- Connect a Cloud.
- Distribute , in the Mélodium Language Book: how an engine hands work to another.