Run CI/CD Pipeline Locally

Skill: Run GitHub Actions CI/​CD pipeline Locally

Use this skill to test CI workflows locally before pushing to GitHub. Preferred path: run the native cargo xtask commands (fast, no Docker). Use Docker + act only when you need to validate workflow YAML or Linux-specific behavior.

Workflow parity requirement ✅

Keep an xtask mirror for every workflow file under .github/​workflows/. If a workflow changes (or a new one is added), update or add an xtask so local runs stay fast and consistent. Use Docker + act only for workflow/​YAML-specific checks or Linux-only behavior.

Preferred: Native xtask (fast, no Docker)

These commands mirror CI checks without container overhead and are the recommended way to validate locally.

# Pre-push validation (lint + tests)
cargo xtask ci-check

# Template validation (mirrors template-validation.yml)
cargo xtask validate-template

# Optional targeted runs
cargo xtask lint
cargo xtask test

Prerequisites

• Rust toolchain (stable, with clippy + rustfmt)
• Node.js + npm (for UI checks)

Docker-based (only when needed)

Use Docker + act when validating GitHub Actions workflow changes, Linux-specific behavior, or job orchestration.

⚠️ Agent Handoff: If you don't have terminal execution tools available, delegate to an agent who does (Coder or Tester) to run the Docker/​act commands below.

Prerequisites (Docker path)

• Docker Desktop must be installed and running
• act must be installed: brew install act
• Wavecraft custom CI image (recommended): See the “Building the Custom Image” section below

Quick Start for Wavecraft (Docker)

Wavecraft provides a custom Docker image with all dependencies pre-installed:

# Build the custom image (one-time setup)
docker build --platform linux/​amd64 -t wavecraft-ci:latest .github/​skills/​run-ci-pipeline-locally/

# Run a specific job
act -j check-engine -W .github/​workflows/​ci.yml \
    --container-architecture linux/​amd64 \
    -P ubuntu-latest=wavecraft-ci:latest \
    --pull=false \
    --artifact-server-path ./​tmp/​act-artifacts

Available CI Jobs

Run Full Pipeline Locally (Docker)

# Run entire CI workflow
act -W .github/​workflows/​ci.yml \
    --container-architecture linux/​amd64 \
    -P ubuntu-latest=wavecraft-ci:latest \
    --pull=false \
    --artifact-server-path ./​tmp/​act-artifacts

Building the Custom Image

The custom image includes:

• Ubuntu 22.04
• Node.js 20.x
• Rust stable with rustfmt + clippy
• GTK, WebKit, X11 development libraries

# Build for linux/​amd64 (required for Apple Silicon Macs)
docker build --platform linux/​amd64 -t wavecraft-ci:latest \
    .github/​skills/​run-ci-pipeline-locally/

# Verify the image
docker images | grep wavecraft-ci

Note: Build takes ~5-10 minutes on first run.

Commands Reference (Docker)

Important: Do not combine act commands with head or tail — follow the logs directly.

List Available Jobs

act -l

Run Specific Workflow

act -W .github/​workflows/​ci.yml

Run Specific Job

act -j <job-name>

Run on Specific Event

act push
act pull_request

Dry Run (Preview Without Executing)

act -n

Pass Secrets

# Use GitHub CLI token
act -s GITHUB_TOKEN="$(gh auth token)"

# Use secrets file (.secrets with KEY=value format)
act --secret-file .secrets

Key Flags for Wavecraft

Limitations (Docker)

Artifact Upload/​Download

By default, actions/​upload-artifact and actions/​download-artifact fail locally because they require GitHub's artifact server. Use the --artifact-server-path flag to enable a local artifact server:

act ... --artifact-server-path /​tmp/​act-artifacts

Artifacts will be stored in the specified directory and can be downloaded by subsequent jobs.

Caching Differences

• act doesn't share cache with GitHub Actions
• First local run compiles everything from scratch
• Subsequent runs with --reuse can be faster

Network Dependencies

Some steps require network access:

• cargo downloads crates
• npm downloads packages
• Git repos are cloned

Debugging Failed Runs

# Verbose output
act -v

# Very verbose output
act -vv

# Keep containers running after failure for inspection
act --reuse

# Interactive shell in the container
docker exec -it <container-id> bash

Common Issues

Updating the Custom Image

If CI dependencies change (new apt packages, Rust version, etc.):

1. Edit the Dockerfile at .github/​skills/​run-ci-pipeline-locally/​Dockerfile
2. Rebuild: docker build --platform linux/​amd64 -t wavecraft-ci:latest .github/​skills/​run-ci-pipeline-locally/
3. Test: act -j check-engine ... --pull=false