how could i start gulp tasks programmatically?

[zzzgit]

We can invoke gulp use gulp-cli, we can invoke it via an IDE plugin.

However, can I invoke it programmatically? like:

gulp.start()
or
gulp.run()

[phated]

Tasks are just functions. If you do this:

const task = parallel(foo, bar);
console.log(task);

You'll see it is a function. You can just call it!

const task = parallel(foo, bar);
task()

These are referred to as "private tasks" in https://gulpjs.com/docs/en/getting-started/creating-tasks

A private task looks and acts like any other task, but an end-user can't ever execute it independently. To register a task publicly, export it from your gulpfile.