I have a build that I could structure as a large number of tasks (not file-based) with the following pattern: task :a do do stuff with <the target for :a> with <the params for :a> end task :b do do stuff for <the target for :b> with <the params for :b> end I don't think rules are the right tool here for me. Would it make sense for rake tasks to optionally take parameters: task :a do |x, y, z| do stuff with x y z end And would it make sense for rake to pick up x, y, z (and :a) from command line parameters ? If the dependency mechanism :a => [:b] had some way to know which of :a's xyz params, if any, to pass on to :b, would this task-flow network with parameters be useful more broadly? Thanks!