What is this?
act lets you run your GitHub Actions workflows locally instead of pushing to GitHub every time to test a .github/workflows change.
act lets you run your GitHub Actions workflows locally instead of pushing to GitHub every time to test a .github/workflows change.Is it a CLI tool or something else?It is a command-line tool (written in Go) that also has an unofficial VS Code extension for running it from the editor.
It is a command-line tool (written in Go) that also has an unofficial VS Code extension for running it from the editor.How do I get it running?Install the act binary, then run it inside a repo that has a .github/workflows folder; it reads your workflow files and runs them.
Install the act binary, then run it inside a repo that has a .github/workflows folder; it reads your workflow files and runs them.Do I need Docker installed first?Yes, act uses the Docker API to pull or build the images defined in your workflow files and to run each action as a container.
Yes, act uses the Docker API to pull or build the images defined in your workflow files and to run each action as a container.Does it perfectly replicate GitHub's real runner environment?Not stated explicitly beyond that act configures environment variables and filesystem to match GitHub's, but it runs actions in local Docker containers rather than GitHub's actual hosted runners, so edge cases can differ.
Not stated explicitly beyond that act configures environment variables and filesystem to match GitHub's, but it runs actions in local Docker containers rather than GitHub's actual hosted runners, so edge cases can differ.Who is this useful for?Developers who want fast feedback on workflow changes without committing/pushing each time, or who want to reuse GitHub Actions definitions as a local task runner instead of a Makefile.
Developers who want fast feedback on workflow changes without committing/pushing each time, or who want to reuse GitHub Actions definitions as a local task runner instead of a Makefile.Can act replace my Makefile entirely?Yes, the author suggests using the GitHub Actions already defined in .github/workflows/ as your local task runner instead of maintaining a separate Makefile.
Yes, the author suggests using the GitHub Actions already defined in .github/workflows/ as your local task runner instead of maintaining a separate Makefile.What are similar projects?cli, gitleaks, temporal, App-Store-Connect-CLI, gitea, kind, gh-aw, autoresearch
cli, gitleaks, temporal, App-Store-Connect-CLI, gitea, kind, gh-aw, autoresearchWhich topics is it in?github-actions, workflow-automation, ci, golang, testing, command-line, devops, go, terminal, automation, docker, self-hosted
github-actions, workflow-automation, ci, golang, testing, command-line, devops, go, terminal, automation, docker, self-hosted