CI workflows

Rabun Git can run shell commands on the server when someone pushes a branch, pushes a tag, or opens/updates a merge request.

Rabun Git can run shell commands on the server when someone pushes a branch, pushes a tag, or opens/updates a merge request. This is not GitHub Actions: there is no uses:, no matrix, and no containers.

Treat the runner as trusted single-tenant: it runs as the same user as rabun-git serve, with sh -c, in a temporary worktree of the commit.

Add a workflow file

In the git project (the copy you clone and commit), create:

.rabun/workflows/ci.yml

Commit it and push (or merge via a request) like any other file. The forge reads workflows at the commit that triggered the event.

Example:

name: ci
on:
  push:
    branches: [master]
  tag:
  request:
jobs:
  test:
    steps:
      - run: cargo test --locked

Supported fields:

FieldMeaning
nameLabel for humans
on.push.branchesRun on those branch names; omit the list to match every branch
on.tagRun on tag pushes (key present and not false)
on.requestRun when a merge request is opened or updated
jobs.<id>.steps[].runCommand passed to sh -c
envExtra environment for every step (optional)
timeout_minutesPer workflow or per job (default 30)

Jobs run one after another in file order. A failing run fails the workflow.

When it runs

  • push — git push updates refs/heads/… and the branch matches on.push.branches
  • tag — git push of refs/tags/… and on.tag is enabled
  • request — merge request created or updated and on.request is enabled

There is no pull_request YAML from GitHub; use request.

Inspect runs

Need read on the repo.

rabun-git run list ada/website
rabun-git run show ada/website RUN_ID
rabun-git run logs ada/website RUN_ID

Or over SSH:

ssh -p 2222 git@git.example.com run list ada/website
ssh -p 2222 git@git.example.com run logs ada/website RUN_ID

On disk: $RABUN_GIT_ROOT/runs/<owner>/<name>/<run-id>/ with status.yaml (queued / running / passed / failed) and log.txt. Logs are not stored in git (size and secrets).

A minimal “did it run?” workflow

Useful while you are learning:

name: ping
on:
  push:
    branches: [master]
jobs:
  ping:
    steps:
      - run: echo ok && git rev-parse HEAD

Push to master (as an admin) or merge a request targeting master, then run list.

What not to expect

  • uses: actions/checkout@v4 and other GitHub Actions — unsupported
  • Services, containers, and reusable workflows — unsupported
  • Untrusted forks — this runner is for your server and your keys

Next: Command reference.