--- title: CI Pipeline summary: "CI job graph, scope gates, and local command equivalents" read_when: - You need to understand why a CI job did or did not run - You are debugging failing GitHub Actions checks --- # CI Pipeline The CI runs on every push to `main` and every pull request. It uses smart scoping to skip expensive jobs when only unrelated areas changed. ## Job Overview | Job | Purpose | When it runs | | -------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------- | | `preflight` | Detect docs-only changes, changed scopes, changed extensions, and build the CI manifest | Always on non-draft pushes and PRs | | `security-scm-fast` | Private key detection and workflow audit via `zizmor` | Always on non-draft pushes and PRs | | `security-dependency-audit` | Dependency-free production lockfile audit against npm advisories | Always on non-draft pushes and PRs | | `security-fast` | Required aggregate for the fast security jobs | Always on non-draft pushes and PRs | | `build-artifacts` | Build `dist/` and the Control UI once, upload reusable artifacts for downstream jobs | Node-relevant changes | | `checks-fast-core` | Fast Linux correctness lanes such as bundled/plugin-contract/protocol checks | Node-relevant changes | | `checks-fast-contracts-channels` | Sharded channel contract checks with a stable aggregate check result | Node-relevant changes | | `checks-node-extensions` | Full bundled-plugin test shards across the extension suite | Node-relevant changes | | `checks-node-core-test` | Core Node test shards, excluding channel, bundled, contract, and extension lanes | Node-relevant changes | | `extension-fast` | Focused tests for only the changed bundled plugins | When extension changes are detected | | `check` | Sharded main local gate equivalent: prod types, lint, guards, test types, and strict smoke | Node-relevant changes | | `check-additional` | Architecture, boundary, extension-surface guards, package-boundary, and gateway-watch shards | Node-relevant changes | | `build-smoke` | Built-CLI smoke tests and startup-memory smoke | Node-relevant changes | | `checks` | Remaining Linux Node lanes: channel tests and push-only Node 22 compatibility | Node-relevant changes | | `check-docs` | Docs formatting, lint, and broken-link checks | Docs changed | | `skills-python` | Ruff + pytest for Python-backed skills | Python-skill-relevant changes | | `checks-windows` | Windows-specific test lanes | Windows-relevant changes | | `macos-node` | macOS TypeScript test lane using the shared built artifacts | macOS-relevant changes | | `macos-swift` | Swift lint, build, and tests for the macOS app | macOS-relevant changes | | `android` | Android build and test matrix | Android-relevant changes | ## Fail-Fast Order Jobs are ordered so cheap checks fail before expensive ones run: 1. `preflight` decides which lanes exist at all. The `docs-scope` and `changed-scope` logic are steps inside this job, not standalone jobs. 2. `security-scm-fast`, `security-dependency-audit`, `security-fast`, `check`, `check-additional`, `check-docs`, and `skills-python` fail quickly without waiting on the heavier artifact and platform matrix jobs. 3. `build-artifacts` overlaps with the fast Linux lanes so downstream consumers can start as soon as the shared build is ready. 4. Heavier platform and runtime lanes fan out after that: `checks-fast-core`, `checks-fast-contracts-channels`, `checks-node-extensions`, `checks-node-core-test`, `extension-fast`, `checks`, `checks-windows`, `macos-node`, `macos-swift`, and `android`. Scope logic lives in `scripts/ci-changed-scope.mjs` and is covered by unit tests in `src/scripts/ci-changed-scope.test.ts`. CI workflow edits validate the Node CI graph plus workflow linting, but do not force Windows, Android, or macOS native builds by themselves; those platform lanes stay scoped to platform source changes. The separate `install-smoke` workflow reuses the same scope script through its own `preflight` job. It computes `run_install_smoke` from the narrower changed-smoke signal, so Docker/install smoke only runs for install, packaging, and container-relevant changes. Local changed-lane logic lives in `scripts/changed-lanes.mjs` and is executed by `scripts/check-changed.mjs`. That local gate is stricter about architecture boundaries than the broad CI platform scope: core production changes run core prod typecheck plus core tests, core test-only changes run only core test typecheck/tests, extension production changes run extension prod typecheck plus extension tests, and extension test-only changes run only extension test typecheck/tests. Public Plugin SDK or plugin-contract changes expand to extension validation because extensions depend on those core contracts. Release metadata-only version bumps run targeted version/config/root-dependency checks. Unknown root/config changes fail safe to all lanes. On pushes, the `checks` matrix adds the push-only `compat-node22` lane. On pull requests, that lane is skipped and the matrix stays focused on the normal test/channel lanes. The slowest Node test families are split or balanced so each job stays small: channel contracts split registry and core coverage into eight weighted shards each, auto-reply reply tests split by prefix group, and agentic gateway/plugin configs are spread across the existing source-only agentic Node jobs instead of waiting on built artifacts. `check-additional` keeps package-boundary compile/canary work together and separates it from runtime topology gateway/architecture work; the boundary guard shard runs its small independent guards concurrently inside one job, and the gateway watch regression uses the minimal `gatewayWatch` build profile instead of rebuilding the full CI artifact sidecar set. GitHub may mark superseded jobs as `cancelled` when a newer push lands on the same PR or `main` ref. Treat that as CI noise unless the newest run for the same ref is also failing. Aggregate shard checks use `!cancelled() && always()` so they still report normal shard failures but do not queue after the whole workflow has already been superseded. The CI concurrency key is versioned (`CI-v2-*`) so a GitHub-side zombie in an old queue group cannot indefinitely block newer main runs. ## Runners | Runner | Jobs | | -------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | `ubuntu-24.04` | `preflight`, fast security jobs and aggregates (`security-scm-fast`, `security-dependency-audit`, `security-fast`), fast protocol/contract/bundled checks, sharded channel contract checks, `check` shards except lint, `check-additional` shards and aggregates, docs checks, Python skills, workflow-sanity, labeler, auto-response; install-smoke preflight also uses GitHub-hosted Ubuntu so the Blacksmith matrix can queue earlier | | `blacksmith-8vcpu-ubuntu-2404` | `build-artifacts`, build-smoke, Linux Node test shards, bundled plugin test shards, remaining built-artifact consumers, `android` | | `blacksmith-16vcpu-ubuntu-2404` | `check-lint`, which remains CPU-sensitive enough that 8 vCPU cost more than it saved | | `blacksmith-16vcpu-windows-2025` | `checks-windows` | | `blacksmith-6vcpu-macos-latest` | `macos-node` on `openclaw/openclaw`; forks fall back to `macos-latest` | | `blacksmith-12vcpu-macos-latest` | `macos-swift` on `openclaw/openclaw`; forks fall back to `macos-latest` | ## Local Equivalents ```bash pnpm changed:lanes # inspect the local changed-lane classifier for origin/main...HEAD pnpm check:changed # smart local gate: changed typecheck/lint/tests by boundary lane pnpm check # fast local gate: production tsgo + sharded lint + parallel fast guards pnpm check:test-types pnpm check:timed # same gate with per-stage timings pnpm build:strict-smoke pnpm check:architecture pnpm test:gateway:watch-regression pnpm test # vitest tests pnpm test:channels pnpm test:contracts:channels pnpm check:docs # docs format + lint + broken links pnpm build # build dist when CI artifact/build-smoke lanes matter ```