Has Anyone Successfully Used a Task Runner Like Grunt in a Tridion CMS?

Yes, there have been instances where teams successfully utilized task runners like Grunt within a Tridion Content Management System (CMS). My involvement in such a project during my previous team demonstrates the potential and feasibility of incorporating task runners into a Tridion environment.

Using Tridion with Task Runners: A Past Experience

We were part of a team that integrated static publishing in Tridion with Razor Mediator for Tridion. At that time, we also used Stylus, a CSS preprocessor, in our Tridion repository. We aimed to have Tridion compile and publish CSS, which required a creative approach to scripting.
We developed a Razor Mediator template that enabled us to access the .NET API. This template then enabled us to interact with Grunt tasks, automating the CSS compilation process within Tridion. By doing so, we streamlined the workflow and ensured that the compiled CSS could be directly published.

DXA Digital Experience Accelerator: An Out-of-the-Box Solution

If you're considering implementing task runners in a Tridion CMS, the DXA Digital Experience Accelerator (DXA) can be an invaluable resource. DXA is a pre-built solution designed for Tridion, which provides an "out-of-the-box" implementation for creating websites.
DXA includes an MVC application in either .NET or Java, component templates, and a front-end stack. Most notably, DXA comes with a Template Building Block (TBB) in the content management repository that can execute Grunt tasks.

Execution of Grunt Tasks with DXA

The TBB in DXA is specifically designed to run Grunt tasks within the Tridion CMS environment. This integration enables the seamless execution of build processes directly from within Tridion, managing tasks such as minification, concatenation, and obfuscation of assets.

Caution on Running Grunt/Gulp Tasks in Tridion

While the integration of Grunt and Gulp tasks in Tridion is possible, it's important to exercise caution. Tridion is built on the .NET framework, and .NET has its own rich set of libraries for tasks like minification, concatenation, and obfuscation. In many cases, these .NET solutions may offer similar functionality to what you'd achieve with Grunt or Gulp.
Robust Plugin Framework
Tridion's plugin framework has grown significantly over the years, making it easier to extend its functionality. It's advisable to leverage this framework to integrate the necessary features directly into Tridion, rather than relying on external task runners.

Conclusion

The successful integration of task runners like Grunt in a Tridion CMS environment is possible, albeit with some considerations. By leveraging the DXA Digital Experience Accelerator, you can achieve this integration more smoothly. However, it's crucial to evaluate the available .NET libraries and the robust plugin framework provided by Tridion before making a decision to use an external task runner.