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CI Lane Integration Guide
This guide explains how to integrate the standardized test lane filtering into CI workflows.
Overview
StellaOps uses a lane-based test categorization system with six standardized lanes:
- Unit: Fast, isolated, deterministic tests (PR-gating)
- Contract: API contract stability tests (PR-gating)
- Integration: Service and storage tests with Testcontainers (PR-gating)
- Security: AuthZ, input validation, negative tests (PR-gating)
- Performance: Benchmarks and regression thresholds (optional/scheduled)
- Live: External API smoke tests (opt-in only, never PR-gating)
Using Lane Filters in CI
Using the Test Runner Script
The recommended approach is to use scripts/test-lane.sh:
- name: Run Unit lane tests
run: |
chmod +x scripts/test-lane.sh
./scripts/test-lane.sh Unit \
--logger "trx;LogFileName=unit-tests.trx" \
--results-directory ./test-results \
--verbosity normal
Direct dotnet test Filtering
Alternatively, use dotnet test with lane filters directly:
- name: Run Integration lane tests
run: |
dotnet test \
--filter "Lane=Integration" \
--configuration Release \
--logger "trx;LogFileName=integration-tests.trx" \
--results-directory ./test-results
Lane-Based Workflow Pattern
Full Workflow Example
See .gitea/workflows/test-lanes.yml for a complete reference implementation.
Key features:
- Separate jobs per lane for parallel execution
- PR-gating lanes run on all PRs (Unit, Contract, Integration, Security)
- Optional lanes run on schedule or manual trigger (Performance, Live)
- Test results summary aggregates all lane results
Job Structure
unit-tests:
name: Unit Tests
runs-on: ubuntu-22.04
timeout-minutes: 15
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v4
- name: Setup .NET
uses: actions/setup-dotnet@v4
with:
dotnet-version: '10.0.100'
- name: Build
run: dotnet build src/<Module>/StellaOps.<Module>.sln --configuration Release
- name: Run Unit lane
run: ./scripts/test-lane.sh Unit --results-directory ./test-results
- name: Upload results
uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
with:
name: unit-test-results
path: ./test-results
Lane Execution Guidelines
Unit Lane
- Timeout: 10-15 minutes
- Dependencies: None (no I/O, no network, no databases)
- PR gating: ✅ Required
- Characteristics: Deterministic, fast, offline
Contract Lane
- Timeout: 5-10 minutes
- Dependencies: None (schema validation only)
- PR gating: ✅ Required
- Characteristics: OpenAPI/schema validation, no external calls
Integration Lane
- Timeout: 20-30 minutes
- Dependencies: Testcontainers (Postgres, Valkey)
- PR gating: ✅ Required
- Characteristics: End-to-end service flows, database tests
Security Lane
- Timeout: 15-20 minutes
- Dependencies: Testcontainers (if needed for auth tests)
- PR gating: ✅ Required
- Characteristics: RBAC, injection prevention, negative tests
Performance Lane
- Timeout: 30-45 minutes
- Dependencies: Baseline data, historical metrics
- PR gating: ❌ Optional (scheduled/manual)
- Characteristics: Benchmarks, regression thresholds
Live Lane
- Timeout: 15-20 minutes
- Dependencies: External APIs, upstream services
- PR gating: ❌ Never (opt-in only)
- Characteristics: Smoke tests, connector validation
Migration from Per-Project to Lane-Based
Before (Per-Project)
- name: Run Concelier tests
run: dotnet test src/Concelier/StellaOps.Concelier.sln
- name: Run Authority tests
run: dotnet test src/Authority/StellaOps.Authority.sln
- name: Run Scanner tests
run: dotnet test src/Scanner/StellaOps.Scanner.sln
After (Lane-Based)
- name: Run Unit lane
run: ./scripts/test-lane.sh Unit
- name: Run Integration lane
run: ./scripts/test-lane.sh Integration
- name: Run Security lane
run: ./scripts/test-lane.sh Security
Benefits:
- Run all unit tests across all modules in parallel
- Clear separation of concerns by test type
- Faster feedback (fast tests run first)
- Better resource utilization (no Testcontainers for Unit tests)
Best Practices
1. Parallel Execution
Run PR-gating lanes in parallel for faster feedback:
jobs:
unit-tests:
# ...
integration-tests:
# ...
security-tests:
# ...
2. Conditional Execution
Use workflow inputs for optional lanes:
on:
workflow_dispatch:
inputs:
run_performance:
type: boolean
default: false
jobs:
performance-tests:
if: github.event.inputs.run_performance == 'true'
# ...
3. Test Result Aggregation
Create a summary job that depends on all lane jobs:
test-summary:
needs: [unit-tests, contract-tests, integration-tests, security-tests]
if: always()
steps:
- name: Download all results
uses: actions/download-artifact@v4
- name: Generate summary
run: ./scripts/ci/aggregate-test-results.sh
4. Timeout Configuration
Set appropriate timeouts per lane:
unit-tests:
timeout-minutes: 15 # Fast
integration-tests:
timeout-minutes: 30 # Testcontainers startup
performance-tests:
timeout-minutes: 45 # Benchmark execution
5. Environment Isolation
Use Testcontainers for Integration lane, not GitHub Actions services:
integration-tests:
steps:
- name: Run Integration tests
env:
POSTGRES_TEST_IMAGE: postgres:16-alpine
run: ./scripts/test-lane.sh Integration
Testcontainers provides:
- Per-test isolation
- Automatic cleanup
- Consistent behavior across environments
Troubleshooting
Tests Not Found
Problem: dotnet test --filter "Lane=Unit" finds no tests
Solution: Ensure tests have lane attributes:
[Fact]
[UnitTest] // This attribute is required
public void MyTest() { }
Wrong Lane Assignment
Problem: Integration test running in Unit lane
Solution: Check test attributes:
// Bad: No database in Unit lane
[Fact]
[UnitTest]
public async Task DatabaseTest() { /* uses Postgres */ }
// Good: Use Integration lane for database tests
[Fact]
[IntegrationTest]
public async Task DatabaseTest() { /* uses Testcontainers */ }
Testcontainers Timeout
Problem: Integration tests timeout waiting for containers
Solution: Increase job timeout and ensure Docker is available:
integration-tests:
timeout-minutes: 30 # Increased from 15
steps:
- name: Verify Docker
run: docker info
Live Tests in PR
Problem: Live lane tests failing in PRs
Solution: Never run Live tests in PRs:
live-tests:
if: github.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch' && github.event.inputs.run_live == 'true'
# Never runs automatically on PR
Integration with Existing Workflows
Adding Lane-Based Testing to build-test-deploy.yml
Replace per-module test execution with lane-based execution:
# Old approach
- name: Run Concelier tests
run: dotnet test src/Concelier/StellaOps.Concelier.sln
# New approach (recommended)
- name: Run all Unit tests
run: ./scripts/test-lane.sh Unit
- name: Run all Integration tests
run: ./scripts/test-lane.sh Integration
Gradual Migration Strategy
- Phase 1: Add lane attributes to existing tests
- Phase 2: Add lane-based jobs alongside existing per-project jobs
- Phase 3: Monitor lane-based jobs for stability
- Phase 4: Remove per-project jobs once lane-based jobs proven stable
Related Documentation
- Test Lane Filters:
docs/technical/testing/ci-lane-filters.md - Testing Strategy:
docs/technical/testing/testing-strategy-models.md - Test Catalog:
docs/technical/testing/TEST_CATALOG.yml - TestKit README:
src/__Libraries/StellaOps.TestKit/README.md - Example Workflow:
.gitea/workflows/test-lanes.yml