Local Execution of GitHub Workflows: Easy Guide

Have you ever wondered about testing GitHub workflows before pushing them into the repository and hoping they don't fail? Then you've come to the right place.

Act Before You Push

I use act to test GitHub workflows all the time, and I can't count how many times it has saved me.

To get started, install act using brew,

brew install act

It helps you do many things, including:

• Running your GitHub workflow in a specific container allows you to simulate the exact environment your workflow will run in, ensuring consistency and reducing the chances of unexpected failures.

  •     act -P ubuntu-latest=catthehacker/ubuntu:act-latest
    

• Run a specific workflow to test individual parts of your GitHub Actions, ensuring each component works as expected before integrating them into the main workflow.

  •     act -P ubuntu-latest=catthehacker/ubuntu:act-latest push
    

• Pass secrets if required, ensuring that sensitive information is securely handled during the workflow execution.

  •     act -P ubuntu-latest=catthehacker/ubuntu:act-latest -s GITHUB_TOKEN=f4bhuj2gb5trhigbihfgbti4h2 push
    

You can learn more about the act CLI from the repository below: