Implementing Continuous Integration with GitHub Actions for Python Apps

Continuous Integration (CI) is a software development practice that involves automatically building, testing, and deploying code changes. GitHub Actions provides a powerful platform for implementing CI workflows. In this guide, we’ll demonstrate how to set up CI for a FastAPI application using GitHub Actions.  

Creating a GitHub Actions Workflow

Create a .github/workflows/ci.yml file in your project’s root directory.

Define the workflow:

YAML

name: CI

on:
push:
branches: [main]

jobs:
build:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest

steps:
  - uses: actions/checkout@v3
  - name: Set up Python environment
    uses: actions/setup-python@v4
    with:
      python-version: '3.10'
  - name: Install dependencies
    run: |
      python -m pip install --upgrade pip
      pip install -r requirements.txt
  - name: Run tests
    run: pytest

Explanation:

• The name field specifies the workflow’s name.
• The on field defines when the workflow should trigger (e.g., on push to the main branch).
• The jobs section defines the steps to be executed.
• The uses action is used to run pre-defined actions from the GitHub Marketplace.
• The run step executes custom commands.

Additional Considerations

• Linting: Consider adding a step to lint your code using tools like flake8 or black.
• Code Formatting: Use tools like black to enforce consistent code formatting.
• Deployment: If you’re deploying your application to a platform like Heroku or Render, you can add steps to automate the deployment process.
• Environment Variables: Store sensitive information like API keys or database credentials as secrets in your GitHub repository.
• Caching: Use caching to speed up the build process by caching dependencies.

By setting up CI with GitHub Actions, you can automate the testing and deployment process for your FastAPI application, ensuring that your code is always in a working state.