Self-hosted Automation for Git, Webhooks, and more // Kestra #3

This video shows how I built a Kestra automation that turns a Notion "Published" entry into a Hugo markdown post, downloads the thumbnail, and creates a GitLab merge request so my static site (Cloudflare Workers) can publish the new video — all without manual edits to the site. I walk through the webhook trigger, parsing Notion data in Kestra, the Python template script, thumbnail download, and the Docker-based merge-request workflow with glab.

Important Kestra tips

• Store parsed webhook fields in OutputValues to pass structured variables between tasks.

• Use the WorkingDirectoy task to keep a single temporary folder across tasks so the cloned repo and generated files are available for subsequent steps.

• Use the Files (namespace files) tab in Kestra Web UI to bundle scripts and other files with your flow; access them via includes.

Task runner choices

• Process Runner: runs shell/python directly on the Kestra host (faster; relies on host packages). Good for simple scripts when required tools are already installed.

• Docker Task Runner: run in a container (isolated, reproducible). I use Docker for the glab CLI step because it simplifies dependencies and authentication.