act

act is an open source command line tool that runs GitHub Actions workflows on your own computer. It reads the workflow files in your repository and runs each job in a Docker container.

act reads the .github/workflows folder, works out which jobs to run and in what order, and then starts containers for each job. It tries to match the environment variables and file layout that GitHub provides, so results look close to what you would see on GitHub. You can use it to test workflow changes before you push, or to use your workflows as a task runner for local work.

• Runs jobs from .github/workflows
• Uses Docker to run each job
• Matches GitHub's environment variables and file layout
• Lets you choose the runner images to use
• Has a Visual Studio Code extension for running workflows

Developers and DevOps engineers who want faster feedback on workflow changes without committing and pushing each time.

act is free and released under the MIT licence. It needs Docker or another compatible container engine running on your machine. Some GitHub features are not supported, so check the support matrix in the documentation before you rely on a workflow that uses them.