Setting Up GitHub Actions for Testing#

This guide will walk you through setting up GitHub Actions for your FRC robotics programming team to automate code testing.

Overview#

GitHub Actions allows you to define workflows that run automated processes, such as testing your code, whenever certain events occur in your repository. By setting up a workflow file, you can ensure your team’s code is tested automatically with every push or pull request.

Example code from 2025#

name: Tests
on:

push: pull_request:

branches: [master]

jobs:
test:

timeout-minutes: 5 runs-on: ubuntu-latest steps:

  • uses: actions/checkout@v1 with:

    fetch-depth: 1

  • name: Set up Python 3.12 uses: actions/setup-python@v1 with:

    python-version: 3.12

  • name: Install dependencies run: |

    python -m pip install –upgrade pip python3 -m pip install robotpy==2025.2.1.0 python3 -m robotpy sync

  • name: Run robotpy Tests run: |

    python3 -m robotpy test

Explanation of Workflow#

Below is an explanation of each line in your current test YAML file:

name: Tests

Explanation: Sets the name of the workflow as “Tests.” This will appear in the Actions tab on GitHub.

on:

push: pull_request:

branches: [master]

Explanation: Specifies the events that trigger this workflow. It runs on every push and pull request to the master branch.

jobs:
test:

timeout-minutes: 5 runs-on: ubuntu-latest

Explanation: - jobs: Defines a job named test. - timeout-minutes: 5 Limits the job’s execution time to 5 minutes to prevent long-running tests. - runs-on: ubuntu-latest Specifies that the job will run on the latest Ubuntu runner provided by GitHub.

steps:

Explanation: - uses: actions/checkout@v1: Utilizes the checkout action to clone the repository into the runner. - with: Provides configuration options for the checkout action. - fetch-depth: 1: Specifies to fetch only the latest commit, reducing the amount of data transferred.

Explanation: - name: Set up Python 3.12: Names the step for clarity. - uses: actions/setup-python@v1: Utilizes the setup-python action to install and configure Python. - with: Provides options for this action. - python-version: 3.12: Specifies Python version 3.12 to be set up in the environment.

  • name: Install dependencies run: |

    python -m pip install –upgrade pip python3 -m pip install robotpy==2025.2.1.0 python3 -m robotpy sync

Explanation: - name: Install dependencies: Names the step for clarity. - run: Executes the following commands in the runner’s shell:

  • python -m pip install –upgrade pip: Updates pip to the latest version.

  • python3 -m pip install robotpy==2025.2.1.0: Installs a specific version of the robotpy library.

  • python3 -m robotpy sync: Synchronizes dependencies for the robotpy library.

    • name:Run robotpy Tests run: |

      python3 -m robotpy test

Explanation: - name:: The name is Run robotpy Tests which indicates this is where the robotpy code is tested. - run: python3 -m robotpy test: Runs the test suite for robotpy using Python 3.

Steps to Set Up GitHub Actions#

  1. Create a Workflow Directory

    In your repository, create a directory named .github/workflows if it doesn’t already exist.

    mkdir -p .github/workflows

  2. Create a Workflow File

    Inside the .github/workflows directory, create a YAML file. For example, test.yml.

    touch .github/workflows/test.yml

  3. Define the Workflow

    Open the test.yml file in your editor and define the workflow based on the explained YAML file above.

  4. Commit the Workflow File

    Add the workflow file to your repository and commit the changes:

    git add .github/workflows/test.yml
git commit -m "Add GitHub Actions workflow for testing"
git push origin main

  5. Verify the Workflow

    Push a change to your repository or open a pull request. Navigate to the Actions tab in your GitHub repository to see the workflow running. Ensure all tests pass successfully.

Troubleshooting#

  • Dependency Issues: Check your pyproject.toml file to ensure all necessary dependencies are listed.

  • Failed Tests: Review the output in the Actions tab to identify which tests failed and why.

  • Workflow Errors: Validate your YAML file using an online tool like YAML Lint.

Advanced Topics#

  • Matrix Testing: Run tests across multiple Python versions or environments by using a matrix strategy.

  • Cache Dependencies: Use caching to speed up subsequent runs.

    Example:

    - name: Cache pip
  uses: actions/cache@v3
  with:
    path: ~/.cache/pip
    key: ${{ runner.os }}-pip-${{ hashFiles('**/requirements.txt') }}
    restore-keys: |
      ${{ runner.os }}-pip

By following these steps, your FRC robotics programming team can ensure a smooth and automated process for testing code changes. This will help maintain code quality and streamline development workflows.