Parallel Testing (Sharding)

Boost test suite efficiency with Argos Parallel Testing: Automate and streamline concurrent test executions across multiple environments effortlessly.

Playwright

Argos seamlessly integrates with Playwright, offering out-of-the-box support for Playwright tests sharding. This means zero configuration hassle for you. For more details, refer to the Argos Playwright SDK.

If you use an advanced orchestration system like the excellent one from Currents, use argos finalize.

Other SDKs

For environments beyond Playwright, Argos facilitates sharding through two key environment variables, simplifying the setup:

• ARGOS_PARALLEL: Activate the parallel mode.
• ARGOS_PARALLEL_TOTAL: Specifies the number of parallel nodes. It's crucial to ensure equal calls to Argos upload across these nodes.
• ARGOS_PARALLEL_INDEX: Specifies the index of the current parallel node.
• ARGOS_PARALLEL_NONCE: A unique identifier for each build. In most CI environments, Argos will automatically generate this for you.

note

Alternatively, use --parallel, --parallel-nonce, --parallel-total and --parallel-index flags with the CLI or parallel: { nonce: string, total: number, index: number } within SDK options.

Modes

There is two parallel modes available:

• If ARGOS_PARALLEL_TOTAL is set to a number, Argos will wait for this number of upload before finalizing the build.
• If ARGOS_PARALLEL_TOTAL is set to -1, Argos will wait for a argos finalize call to finalize the build.

Implementing in GitHub Actions

With a known number of shards

Below is a practical example showcasing how to configure Argos sharding within a GitHub Actions workflow.

.github/workflows/ci.yml

jobs:
  e2e-tests:
    timeout-minutes: 60
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    strategy:
      fail-fast: false
      matrix:
        shardIndex: [1, 2, 3, 4]
        shardTotal: [4]
    steps:
      # ---
      # Here you setup your repo and run your E2E tests
      # ---
      - name: Upload screenshots to Argos
        env:
          ARGOS_PARALLEL: true
          ARGOS_PARALLEL_TOTAL: ${{ matrix.shardTotal }}
          ARGOS_PARALLEL_INDEX: ${{ matrix.shardIndex }}
          # ARGOS_PARALLEL_NONCE is automatically detected

        run: npm exec -- argos upload ./screenshots

With a finalize call

Below is a practical example showcasing how to configure Argos sharding within a GitHub Actions workflow.

.github/workflows/ci.yml

jobs:
  e2e-tests:
    timeout-minutes: 60
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    strategy:
      fail-fast: false
      matrix:
        shardIndex: [1, 2, 3, 4]
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - uses: actions/setup-node@v4
      - run: npm ci
      # ---
      # Here you setup your repo and run your E2E tests
      # ---
      - name: Upload screenshots to Argos
        env:
          ARGOS_PARALLEL: true
          ARGOS_PARALLEL_TOTAL: -1
          ARGOS_PARALLEL_INDEX: ${{ matrix.shardIndex }}
          # ARGOS_PARALLEL_NONCE is automatically detected

        run: npm exec -- argos upload ./screenshots

  finalize:
    timeout-minutes: 60
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    # Finalize the build even if some shards have failed
    if: ${{ always() }}
    needs: ["e2e-tests"]
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - uses: actions/setup-node@v4
      - run: npm ci
      - name: Finalize argos build
        env:
          # ARGOS_PARALLEL_NONCE is automatically detected

        run: npm exec -- argos finalize