> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://targets.gitbook.io/docs/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://targets.gitbook.io/docs/introduction/what_is_a_target.md).

# What is a "target"?

**The short answer:** it's a task.

**The technical answer:** At it's core, a target is just a JavaScript function which may return either null, a value, a [Promise](https://promisesaplus.com/), a [ReadableStream](https://nodejs.org/api/stream.html#stream_readable_streams) or a [pty](https://www.npmjs.com/package/node-pty) instance. Targets also supports a declarative syntax written as either JSON or YML which allows you to create workflows out of shell commands and/or network requests without writing a single line of code.


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