Is there a reason why custom task runners are being dropped in v21?

[terrymun]

Many of us depend on custom task runners: is there a reason why it will no longer be supported in v21?

For example, we are using S3 cache to store our nx distributed cache via nx-aws-cache, as the Nx Cloud enterprise plan is exorbitantly expensive and offers features that we do not need. All we want is a place to store our distributed cache.

By removing support for custom runners, we will be forced to opt into a paid plan on either Nx Cloud or Nx Powerpack. This kind of vendor-locking is counterproductive.

[el-davo]

Agree on this. We use our own on prem cache to. Unfortunately if tasksRunnerOptions is removed we will have to look at other options other than NX. Turborepo is looking pretty good right now. NX will have to update this documentation to make it clear that on prem caching is now behind a paywall - https://nx.dev/concepts/turbo-and-nx.

Why would you think it is acceptable to make us pay for storage that we provide and administer ourselves and at such extortionate pricing?

I think this will prove to be a very bad move in the long run

[itspers]

I think they clearly see success of Vercel. Problem is that in general Nrwl was aimed for big corporations and this $249/month is reasonable price for them. Their seniour-lead-staft-CTO-release-production-managers will explain on another meeting that they really need that awesome feature with cloud running agents to distribute that 10.000 tests they wrote because book said - and everybody will be happy.

[itspers]

Same for me - i dont need all this Agents and Cloud logging at all. I even dont need CI, my github runs are just building apps and updating them on server. And this builds just fine on included github minutes. All i need is to cache results, so it will not re-build them again for dev and live. And even on this simple usecase i received notification that im reaching some limit on their cloud which i even dont open...

For last years NX has zero useful features for me, only constant problems after each update, instead bombarding with this cloud crap promotions.

And now only option is to disable this cloud connection at all when i will reach limit and lose caching. It would be definitelly strange to pay extra 26$ per month to have custom caching, when whole github with all this runners costs $4 per user...

No, we’re not placing existing features behind a paywall. Nx Powerpack introduces new features on top of Nx (more about that below).

https://nx.dev/blog/introducing-nx-powerpack

[terrymun]

I find that this particular statement in their article is misleading and disingenuous:

No, we’re not placing existing features behind a paywall. Nx Powerpack introduces new features on top of Nx (more about that below).

• Disabling custom task runners will mean we cannot use existing task runners to store our Nx distributed cache in a storage solution of our choice
• We will be forced to use Nx powerpack, which is a paid feature (by seat)

If the Nx team is dedicated towards OSS, that will mean allowing custom task runners to co-exist with Nx powerpack, but this does not seem to be the case.

[terrymun]

Linking to a similar discussion here, which also lists other use cases of Nx custom task runner that will be broken post v21: #28360

[el-davo]

Also linking this for anyone using this plugin - robinpellegrims/pellegrims#281

[murilo-arruda]

I fully agree with the comments above. Removing support for custom task runners is a decision that effectively puts a paywall on a feature many of us rely on to keep our workflows efficient and cost-effective. We’re not asking for extra features or full access to Nx Cloud— all we want is the ability to use a distributed cache solution that we manage and maintain ourselves.

This change puts Nx in a position of vendor lock-in, forcing organizations to subscribe to paid plans for something as basic as cache storage. It undermines the flexibility that many chose Nx for in the first place and alienates smaller teams and companies that simply don’t need all the extra functionality offered by Nx Powerpack or Nx Cloud Enterprise.

If the intention is to make Nx more accessible and keep the OSS community active, support for custom runners should continue to coexist with the new paid options. I hope the Nx team considers the impact this will have on the community and reconsiders this decision before the v21 release.

[vilkatis]

This is a very unexpected and disingenuous move if custom task runners are being removed completely

It basically forces everyone to use one of their two products, when open source solutions were already in place to provide a solution for the teams that don't need or can afford the full functionality of NX Cloud