Apify CI Integration
Overview
Automate Apify Actor builds, tests, and deployments using GitHub Actions. Covers test-on-PR, deploy-on-merge, integration testing with live Apify API, and Actor build verification.
Prerequisites
- GitHub repository with Actions enabled
- Apify API token stored as GitHub secret
- Actor code in the repository
Instructions
Step 1: Configure GitHub Secrets
# Store Apify token for CI
gh secret set APIFY_TOKEN --body "apify_api_YOUR_CI_TOKEN"
# Optional: separate tokens for test vs production
gh secret set APIFY_TOKEN_TEST --body "apify_api_test_token"
gh secret set APIFY_TOKEN_PROD --body "apify_api_prod_token"
Step 2: Create Test Workflow
Create .github/workflows/apify-test.yml:
name: Apify Tests
on:
pull_request:
branches: [main]
push:
branches: [main]
jobs:
unit-tests:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v4
- uses: actions/setup-node@v4
with:
node-version: '20'
cache: 'npm'
- run: npm ci
- run: npm run build
- run: npm test -- --coverage
integration-tests:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
if: github.event_name == 'push' # Only on merge to main
env:
APIFY_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.APIFY_TOKEN_TEST }}
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v4
- uses: actions/setup-node@v4
with:
node-version: '20'
cache: 'npm'
- run: npm ci
- name: Verify Apify connection
run: |
curl -sf -H "Authorization: Bearer $APIFY_TOKEN" \
https://api.apify.com/v2/users/me | jq '.data.username'
- name: Run integration tests
run: npm run test:integration
timeout-minutes: 10
Step 3: Create Deploy Workflow
Create .github/workflows/apify-deploy.yml:
name: Deploy Actor
on:
push:
branches: [main]
paths:
- 'src/**'
- 'package.json'
- 'package-lock.json'
- '.actor/**'
workflow_dispatch: # Manual trigger
jobs:
deploy:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
env:
APIFY_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.APIFY_TOKEN_PROD }}
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v4
- uses: actions/setup-node@v4
with:
node-version: '20'
cache: 'npm'
- run: npm ci
- run: npm run build
- run: npm test
- name: Install Apify CLI
run: npm install -g apify-cli
- name: Login to Apify
run: apify login --token $APIFY_TOKEN
- name: Push Actor to Apify
run: apify push
- name: Verify deployment
run: |
# Get latest build status
ACTOR_ID=$(jq -r '.name' .actor/actor.json)
echo "Deployed Actor: $ACTOR_ID"
# Run a smoke test with minimal input
apify actors call $ACTOR_ID \
--input='{"startUrls":[{"url":"https://example.com"}],"maxItems":1}' \
--timeout=120
- name: Notify on failure
if: failure()
run: |
echo "::error::Actor deployment failed! Check build logs."
Step 4: Write Integration Tests
// tests/integration/apify.test.ts
import { describe, it, expect, beforeAll } from 'vitest';
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';
const SKIP_INTEGRATION = !process.env.APIFY_TOKEN;
describe.skipIf(SKIP_INTEGRATION)('Apify Integration', () => {
let client: ApifyClient;
beforeAll(() => {
client = new ApifyClient({ token: process.env.APIFY_TOKEN });
});
it('should authenticate successfully', async () => {
const user = await client.user().get();
expect(user.username).toBeTruthy();
});
it('should run a test Actor', async () => {
const run = await client.actor('apify/website-content-crawler').call(
{
startUrls: [{ url: 'https://example.com' }],
maxCrawlPages: 1,
},
{ timeout: 120, memory: 256 },
);
expect(run.status).toBe('SUCCEEDED');
expect(run.defaultDatasetId).toBeTruthy();
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
expect(items.length).toBeGreaterThan(0);
}, 180_000); // 3 minute timeout for this test
it('should create and delete a named dataset', async () => {
const name = `ci-test-${Date.now()}`;
const dataset = await client.datasets().getOrCreate(name);
expect(dataset.id).toBeTruthy();
await client.dataset(dataset.id).pushItems([
{ test: true, timestamp: new Date().toISOString() },
]);
const { items } = await client.dataset(dataset.id).listItems();
expect(items).toHaveLength(1);
// Cleanup
await client.dataset(dataset.id).delete();
});
});
Step 5: Actor Build Verification in CI
# .github/workflows/verify-build.yml
name: Verify Actor Build
on:
pull_request:
paths: ['src/**', '.actor/**', 'Dockerfile']
jobs:
docker-build:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v4
- name: Build Actor Docker image
run: |
docker build -t actor-test -f .actor/Dockerfile .
- name: Verify entry point
run: |
# Check that the built image can at least start
docker run --rm actor-test node -e "
const { Actor } = require('apify');
console.log('Actor module loaded successfully');
"
CI Configuration for apify-client Apps
For applications that call Actors (not Actor development):
# .github/workflows/test.yml
name: Test Apify Integration
on: [push, pull_request]
jobs:
test:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v4
- uses: actions/setup-node@v4
with:
node-version: '20'
cache: 'npm'
- run: npm ci
- run: npm test
env:
# Unit tests should mock apify-client
# Only set token for integration test job
APIFY_TOKEN: ''
integration:
needs: test
if: github.ref == 'refs/heads/main'
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v4
- uses: actions/setup-node@v4
with:
node-version: '20'
cache: 'npm'
- run: npm ci
- run: npm run test:integration
env:
APIFY_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.APIFY_TOKEN }}
Branch Protection Rules
# Require CI to pass before merging
gh api repos/{owner}/{repo}/branches/main/protection -X PUT \
--input - <<EOF
{
"required_status_checks": {
"strict": true,
"contexts": ["unit-tests", "docker-build"]
},
"enforce_admins": true,
"required_pull_request_reviews": null
}
EOF
Error Handling
| Issue | Cause | Solution |
|-------|-------|----------|
| APIFY_TOKEN not set | Secret not configured | gh secret set APIFY_TOKEN |
| Integration test timeout | Slow Actor run | Increase timeout, use smaller input |
| Docker build fails in CI | Local-only deps | Commit package-lock.json |
| apify push fails | Not logged in | Add apify login --token step |
| Flaky integration tests | External service issues | Add retries, use test.retry(2) |
Resources
Next Steps
For deployment patterns, see apify-deploy-integration.