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Testing Github Actions Locally

The Github Actions workflows can be tested locally using nektos/act which allows you to test Github Actions locally, without pushing changes to the remote.

Prerequisites

  1. Install the act tool, docs.
  2. Install the Github CLI (gh) for authentication: linux, macos.

  3. Authenticate with the Github CLI:

    gh auth login

Testing Workflows

Testing a Workflow that uses a Matrix Strategy

bash act -j build --workflows .github/workflows/tox_verify.yaml -s GITHUB_TOKEN=$(gh auth token) --matrix python:3.10

Testing Release Builds

Release builds require the ref input to be specified. To test a release build locally:

  1. Create a JSON file specifying the input data required for a release build (the release tag), e.g, event.json:

    json { "ref": "refs/tags/stable@v4.2.0" }

  2. Run act and specify the workflow file, the Github token, and the event file:

    bash act -j build --workflows .github/workflows/fixtures_feature.yaml -s GITHUB_TOKEN=$(gh auth token) -e event.json