Workflow Configure Unit Testing

In this guide, we’ll set up automated unit tests for our Solar System application using GitHub Actions. You’ll learn how to:

• Create and configure a workflow file
• Install Node.js dependencies
• Securely manage environment variables
• Trigger the workflow on feature branches

1. Create a Feature Branch

First, clone the repository and switch to a new feature branch to keep main stable:

git clone https://github.com/your-org/solar-system.git
cd solar-system
git checkout -b feature/unit-testing-workflow main

Open the project in your editor to get started.

2. Open in Visual Studio Code

You can launch VS Code locally or use the GitHub.dev web editor by appending .dev to the repo URL.

Make sure the GitHub Actions extension is installed for syntax highlighting and workflow previews.

3. Define the Workflow File

Create a new file at .github/workflows/solar-system.yml with the following contents:

name: Solar System Workflow

on:
  workflow_dispatch:
  push:
    branches:
      - main
      - 'feature/*'

jobs:
  unit-testing:
    name: Unit Testing
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    env:
      MONGO_URI: 'mongodb+srv://supercluster.d3jj.mongodb.net/superData'
      MONGO_USERNAME: ${{ vars.MONGO_USERNAME }}
      MONGO_PASSWORD: ${{ secrets.MONGO_PASSWORD }}
    steps:
      - name: Checkout Repository
        uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Setup Node.js Environment
        uses: actions/setup-node@v3
        with:
          node-version: 18
          cache: 'npm'

      - name: Install Dependencies
        run: npm install

      - name: Run Unit Tests
        run: npm test

This workflow:

• Triggers on manual dispatch and pushes to main or feature/*
• Runs on ubuntu-latest
• Checks out the code, sets up Node.js v18, installs dependencies, and runs npm test

4. Enable GitHub Actions Tab

If you cannot see the Actions tab:

1. Go to Settings > Actions > General
2. Select Allow all actions and reusable workflows
3. Click Save

Once enabled, the Actions tab will appear in your repository.

5. Commit and Push

Commit your new workflow and push to the feature branch:

git add .github/workflows/solar-system.yml
git commit -m "Add unit testing workflow"
git push origin feature/unit-testing-workflow

Pushing this branch automatically triggers the workflow run.

6. Inspect Workflow Run

Visit the Actions tab to monitor progress. If a unit test fails, you might see an error like:

MongooseError: The 'uri' parameter to 'openUri' must be a string, got "undefined"...

7. Provide Environment Variables

Our app.js connects to MongoDB using environment variables:

// app.js (excerpt)
mongoose.connect(process.env.MONGO_URI, {
  user: process.env.MONGO_USERNAME,
  pass: process.env.MONGO_PASSWORD,
  useNewUrlParser: true,
  useUnifiedTopology: true
});

At the workflow level (shown in Step 3), we reference:

Add these via Settings > Secrets and variables > Actions:

1. Name: MONGO_PASSWORD (Secret)
   Value: SuperPassword
   

2. Name: MONGO_USERNAME (Variable)
   Value: superuser
   

8. Re-run the Workflow

After adding secrets and variables, commit any remaining changes:

git add .github/workflows/solar-system.yml
git commit -m "Configure environment variables for MongoDB"
git push origin feature/unit-testing-workflow

Your workflow should now succeed, connecting to MongoDB and executing all tests.

Next Steps

Next, we’ll explore how to upload test artifacts so you can review detailed test reports after your runner completes.

Links and References

• GitHub Actions Documentation
• actions/setup-node
• Encrypted Secrets in GitHub Actions