ci-cd

DevOps & Security

Guides understanding and working with Apache Beam's CI/CD system using GitHub Actions. Use when debugging CI failures, understanding test workflows, or modifying CI configuration.

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CI/CD in Apache Beam

Overview

Apache Beam uses GitHub Actions for CI/CD. Workflows are located in .github/workflows/.

Workflow Types

PreCommit Workflows

Run on PRs and merges
Validate code changes before merge
Naming: beam_PreCommit_*.yml

PostCommit Workflows

Run after merge and on schedule
More comprehensive testing
Naming: beam_PostCommit_*.yml

Scheduled Workflows

Run nightly on master
Check for external dependency impacts
Tag master with nightly-master

Key Workflows

PreCommit

Workflow	Description
`beam_PreCommit_Java.yml`	Java build and tests
`beam_PreCommit_Python.yml`	Python tests
`beam_PreCommit_Go.yml`	Go tests
`beam_PreCommit_RAT.yml`	License header checks
`beam_PreCommit_Spotless.yml`	Code formatting

PostCommit - Java

Workflow	Description
`beam_PostCommit_Java.yml`	Full Java test suite
`beam_PostCommit_Java_ValidatesRunner_*.yml`	Runner validation tests
`beam_PostCommit_Java_Examples_*.yml`	Example pipeline tests

PostCommit - Python

Workflow	Description
`beam_PostCommit_Python.yml`	Full Python test suite
`beam_PostCommit_Python_ValidatesRunner_*.yml`	Runner validation
`beam_PostCommit_Python_Examples_*.yml`	Examples

Load & Performance Tests

Workflow	Description
`beam_LoadTests_*.yml`	Load testing
`beam_PerformanceTests_*.yml`	I/O performance

Triggering Tests

Automatic

PRs trigger PreCommit tests
Merges trigger PostCommit tests

Triggering Specific Workflows

Use trigger files to run specific workflows.

Workflow Dispatch

Most workflows support manual triggering via GitHub UI.

Understanding Test Results

Finding Logs

Go to PR → Checks tab
Click on failed workflow
Expand failed job
View step logs

Common Failure Patterns

Flaky Tests

Random failures unrelated to change
Solution: Use trigger files to re-run the specific workflow.

Timeout

Increase timeout in workflow if justified
Or optimize test

Resource Exhaustion

GCP quota issues
Check project settings

GCP Credentials

Workflows requiring GCP access use these secrets:

GCP_PROJECT_ID - Project ID (e.g., apache-beam-testing)
GCP_REGION - Region (e.g., us-central1)
GCP_TESTING_BUCKET - Temp storage bucket
GCP_PYTHON_WHEELS_BUCKET - Python wheels bucket
GCP_SA_EMAIL - Service account email
GCP_SA_KEY - Base64-encoded service account key

Required IAM roles:

Storage Admin
Dataflow Admin
Artifact Registry Writer
BigQuery Data Editor
Service Account User

Self-hosted vs GitHub-hosted Runners

Self-hosted (majority of workflows)

Pre-configured with dependencies
GCP credentials pre-configured
Naming: beam_*.yml

GitHub-hosted

Used for cross-platform testing (Linux, macOS, Windows)
May need explicit credential setup

Workflow Structure

name: Workflow Name
on:
  push:
    branches: [master]
  pull_request:
    branches: [master]
  schedule:
    - cron: '0 0 * * *'
  workflow_dispatch:

jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: [self-hosted, ...]
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - name: Run Gradle
        run: ./gradlew :task:name

Local Debugging

Run Same Commands as CI

Check workflow file's run commands:

./gradlew :sdks:java:core:test
./gradlew :sdks:python:test

Common Issues

Clean gradle cache: rm -rf ~/.gradle .gradle
Remove build directory: rm -rf build
Check Java version matches CI

Snapshot Builds

Locations

Java SDK: https://repository.apache.org/content/groups/snapshots/org/apache/beam/
SDK Containers: https://gcr.io/apache-beam-testing/beam-sdk
Portable Runners: https://gcr.io/apache-beam-testing/beam_portability
Python SDK: gs://beam-python-nightly-snapshots

Release Workflows

Workflow	Purpose
`cut_release_branch.yml`	Create release branch
`build_release_candidate.yml`	Build RC
`finalize_release.yml`	Finalize release
`publish_github_release_notes.yml`	Publish notes

Other versions