How to Test and Run GitHub Actions Locally

The article delves into how "act," a tool that employs Docker containers, allows developers to run GitHub Actions locally, circumventing the need for continuous commits to the remote repository during workflow testing. This approach significantly reduces the time and clutter involved in refining GitHub Actions workflows. "Act" offers various options, such as running specific jobs, dry runs, and passing secrets, to facilitate local testing of workflows. However, it has limitations, including incomplete replication of the GitHub Actions environment, limited support for operating systems beyond Linux, and challenges with external services and workflow dependencies. While "act" provides a viable local testing solution, using Earthly is suggested as an alternative for consistent and reliable builds, thanks to its containerization approach.