Setup & Teardown

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Overview

Prerun scripts are commands executed on a TestDriver virtual machine (VM) before each test in a CI/CD pipeline. They are used to prepare the environment by provisioning the VM, installing dependencies, configuring settings, or building the application. This ensures a consistent and reproducible environment for every test execution.

By using prerun scripts, you can:

• Speed up test setup.
• Prevent test failures caused by inconsistent environments.
• Promote reproducible builds for reliable test results.

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Use cases

Prerun scripts are ideal for:

• Installing necessary dependencies (for example, browsers, libraries, or tools).
• Building your application or running setup scripts.
• Configuring the VM to match specific test requirements.
• Preparing staging environments or accessing private resources.

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Example: Installing Arc Browser

The following example demonstrates how to use a prerun script within the GitHub Actions workflow folder to download and install the Arc Browser on a Windows VM before running tests.

# Permissions and other setup here

jobs:
  test:
    name: "TestDriver"
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      # Use the TestDriver GitHub Action
      - uses: testdriverai/action@main
        with:
          prerun: |
            # Get the IPv6 address of the VM
            Get-NetIPAddress -AddressFamily IPv6
            # URL for the Arc browser installer
            $installerUrl = "https://releases.arc.net/windows/ArcInstaller.exe"
            # Location to save the installer
            $installerPath = "$env:USERPROFILE\Downloads\ArcInstaller.exe"
            # Download the Arc browser installer
            Write-Host "Downloading Arc browser installer..."
            Invoke-WebRequest -Uri $installerUrl -OutFile $installerPath
            # Check if the download was successful
            if (Test-Path $installerPath) {
                Write-Host "Download successful. Running the installer..."
                Start-Process -FilePath $installerPath -ArgumentList '/silent' -Wait
                Start-Sleep -Seconds 10
            } else {
                Write-Host "Failed to download the Arc browser installer."
            }

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Example workflow with advanced setup and teardown

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Workflow file

name: TestDriver with Setup and Teardown

on:
  push:
    branches:
      - main
  pull_request:
  workflow_dispatch:

jobs:
  test:
    name: "TestDriver with Setup and Teardown"
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      # Step 1: Check out the repository
      - name: Check out repository
        uses: actions/checkout@v2

      # Step 2: Setup - create a test user via API
      - name: Setup Test User
        id: setup-user
        run: |
          echo "Creating test user via API..."
          RESPONSE=$(curl -X POST -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '{"name": "Test User", "email": "[email protected]", "password": "password123"}' https://api.example.com/users)
          echo "USER_ID=$(echo $RESPONSE | jq -r '.id')" >> $GITHUB_ENV
          echo "USER_EMAIL=$(echo $RESPONSE | jq -r '.email')" >> $GITHUB_ENV
          echo "USER_PASSWORD=password123" >> $GITHUB_ENV
        env:
          API_KEY: ${{ secrets.API_KEY }}

      # Step 3: Run tests with TestDriver
      - name: Run Tests with TestDriver
        uses: testdriverai/action@main
        with:
          key: ${{ secrets.TD_API_KEY }}
          prompt: |
            1. Log in with the test user
            2. Perform actions on the dashboard
          prerun: |
            echo "Launching browser with test user credentials..."
            echo "Email: $USER_EMAIL"
            echo "Password: $USER_PASSWORD"
        env:
          USER_EMAIL: ${{ env.USER_EMAIL }}
          USER_PASSWORD: ${{ env.USER_PASSWORD }}
          GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
          FORCE_COLOR: "3"

      # Step 4: Teardown - delete the test user
      - name: Teardown Test User
        if: always()
        run: |
          echo "Deleting test user via API..."
          curl -X DELETE -H "Authorization: Bearer ${{ secrets.API_KEY }}" https://api.example.com/users/$USER_ID
          echo "Test user deleted."
        env:
          USER_ID: ${{ env.USER_ID }}
          API_KEY: ${{ secrets.API_KEY }}

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Workflow overview

1. Setup Tasks:

   • Use a dedicated action before the TestDriver action to prepare the environment (for example, create a test user via an API).
   • Pass the created user credentials to the TestDriver action using environment variables.

2. Run Tests:

   • Execute the tests using TestDriver, leveraging the setup data (for example, the test user).

3. Teardown Tasks:

   • Use a dedicated action after the TestDriver action to clean up (for example, delete the test user).
   • Ensure the teardown step runs no matter the result of the TestDriver action.

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Workflow steps explained

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Best practices for setup and teardown

1. Use APIs for Setup and Teardown:

   • Use APIs to create and delete test data dynamically, ensuring a clean environment for each test run.

2. Pass Data via Environment Variables:

   • Store setup data (for example, user credentials) in environment variables and pass them to the TestDriver action.

3. Ensure Teardown Always Runs:

   • Use if: always() to ensure teardown tasks are executed regardless of the test results.

4. Log Setup and Teardown Steps:

   • Add echo statements to log the progress of setup and teardown tasks for easier debugging.

5. Test Locally:

   • Verify setup and teardown scripts locally before integrating them into the workflow.

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Advanced configuration

If you need to perform more complex setup or teardown tasks, you can use the lifecycle folder in your repository. This folder can contain multiple files, each with a specific purpose.

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Example use cases

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1. User management

• Create a test user during setup.
• Delete the test user during teardown.

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2. Database operations

• Insert test data into a database during setup.
• Remove the test data during teardown.

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3. Mock services

• Start a mock API server during setup.
• Stop the mock server during teardown.

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Conclusion

By structuring your GitHub Actions workflow to handle setup before the TestDriver action and teardown after it, you can ensure a clean and reliable test environment for every run. This approach also ensures that teardown tasks are executed regardless of the test results, maintaining a consistent state for subsequent runs.