Continuous Integration for Pyicub

This document outlines the Continuous Integration (CI) strategy and setup for the pyicub project. It details the process by which automated tests are executed in a Dockerized simulation environment. Due to YARP’s limitations with GitHub Actions, this CI workflow is executed locally using Docker and Git hooks instead of GitHub Actions.

Goals of CI

The CI system is designed to:

  • Automatically run the full simulation stack for the iCub robot in a headless Docker environment.

  • Execute all Python-based integration tests using pytest.

  • Detect regressions early during development, before code is pushed to the remote repository.

  • Provide fast feedback to developers while preserving realistic robot middleware behavior (YARP).

  • Collect and archive test results for debugging and reproducibility.

Key Design Decisions

  • Avoid GitHub Actions: YARP relies on low-level networking and requires port-based communication that conflicts with GitHub Action’s restricted container networking (e.g., no --network host support).

  • Run Tests Locally: Instead, tests are executed locally in Docker via a pre-push Git hook.

  • Full Stack Testing: The CI setup emulates the real robot middleware environment with YARP, Gazebo, and yarprobotinterface, validating the full software stack.

Infrastructure Overview

  • Containerization: Docker Compose (using profiles and environment overrides)

  • Simulation Engine: Gazebo Classic in headless mode

  • Robot Middleware: YARP + yarprobotinterface + iKinGazeCtrl

  • Test Framework: Pytest (with optional coverage plugin)

  • Artifacts: Test result XML or HTML saved in docker/results/

Project Structure (CI-Relevant)

pyicub-training/
├── docker/
│   ├── compose.yaml          # Docker Compose config
│   ├── .env                  # COMPOSE_PROFILES and env variables
│   └── results/              # Test output (e.g., result.xml)
├── backend/
│   └── Dockerfile            # Image used by test container
├── icub-apps/                # Gazebo world and YARP configs
├── scripts/
│   └── runTests.sh           # CI test entry point
├── .git/hooks/
│   └── pre-push              # Git hook to trigger CI tests

runTests.sh — Test Execution Pipeline

This Bash script is the core of the CI logic. It is executed inside the pyicub-test container.

Responsibilities:

  • Launch yarpserver and yarprun

  • Start gzserver in headless mode with the iCub world

  • Start yarprobotinterface for hardware abstraction

  • Launch iKinGazeCtrl for head control

  • Run pytest to validate the Python interface

Robustness Features:

  • Tracks and manages PIDs for all launched components

  • Monitors readiness of the simulation environment

  • Handles timeouts and prints useful error messages

CI Success Criteria

CI is considered successful when:

  • All Docker containers build correctly.

  • The pytest suite executes without error.

  • Simulation starts cleanly and robot interface is responsive.

  • Test results are saved in /workspace/pyicub/.