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Common workflows and mistakes to avoid.

Run Python Script with Local Files

Install Dependencies and Save

Mistake: Forgetting disposable=false means changes are discarded.

Parallel Execution

Mistake: Using wait=false for single operations adds unnecessary complexity.

Build and Extract Artifact

Rollback After Failure


Common Mistakes

Re-syncing unchanged files

Wrong: Calling rsync before every run Right: Sync once, reuse directory_state_id for all runs. Re-sync only when files change.

Importing without checking

Wrong: import_image immediately Right: list_images first to check if image exists

Chaining commands in one string

Wrong:
Right: Run each step separately with disposable=false. Enables rollback if later steps fail.

Using tags for one-off images

Wrong: Creating tags for temporary experiments Right: Use UUIDs directly. Tags are for frequently-reused images.

Not excluding build artifacts

Wrong: rsync without exclusions Right: Always exclude __pycache__, .git, .venv, node_modules, target, dist

Ignoring filesystem_changed

When filesystem_changed: false, result_image equals input image - no new snapshot was created.