Note: GitHub-hosted runners are not currently supported on GitHub Enterprise Server. You can see more information about planned future support on the GitHub public roadmap.
Introduction
This guide shows you how to build, test, and publish a Python package.
GitHub-hosted runners have a tools cache with pre-installed software, which includes Python and PyPy. You don't have to install anything! For a full list of up-to-date software and the pre-installed versions of Python and PyPy, see "About GitHub-hosted runners".
Prerequisites
You should be familiar with YAML and the syntax for GitHub Actions. For more information, see "Learn GitHub Actions."
We recommend that you have a basic understanding of Python, PyPy, and pip. For more information, see:
Using self-hosted runners on GitHub Enterprise Server
When using setup actions (such as actions/setup-LANGUAGE) on GitHub Enterprise Server with self-hosted runners, you might need to set up the tools cache on runners that do not have internet access. For more information, see "Setting up the tool cache on self-hosted runners without internet access."
Using the Python starter workflow
GitHub provides a Python starter workflow that should work for most Python projects. This guide includes examples that you can use to customize the starter workflow. For more information, see the Python starter workflow.
To get started quickly, add the starter workflow to the .github/workflows directory of your repository.
name: Python package
on: [push]
jobs:
build:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
strategy:
matrix:
python-version: ["3.7", "3.8", "3.9", "3.10", "3.11"]
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v3
- name: Set up Python ${{ matrix.python-version }}
uses: actions/setup-python@v4
with:
python-version: ${{ matrix.python-version }}
- name: Install dependencies
run: |
python -m pip install --upgrade pip
pip install ruff pytest
if [ -f requirements.txt ]; then pip install -r requirements.txt; fi
- name: Lint with ruff
run: |
# stop the build if there are Python syntax errors or undefined names
ruff --format=github --select=E9,F63,F7,F82 --target-version=py37 .
# default set of ruff rules with GitHub Annotations
ruff --format=github --target-version=py37 .
- name: Test with pytest
run: |
pytest
name: Python package
on: [push]
jobs:
build:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
strategy:
matrix:
python-version: ["3.7", "3.8", "3.9", "3.10", "3.11"]
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v3
- name: Set up Python ${{ matrix.python-version }}
uses: actions/setup-python@v4
with:
python-version: ${{ matrix.python-version }}
- name: Install dependencies
run: |
python -m pip install --upgrade pip
pip install ruff pytest
if [ -f requirements.txt ]; then pip install -r requirements.txt; fi
- name: Lint with ruff
run: |
# stop the build if there are Python syntax errors or undefined names
ruff --format=github --select=E9,F63,F7,F82 --target-version=py37 .
# default set of ruff rules with GitHub Annotations
ruff --format=github --target-version=py37 .
- name: Test with pytest
run: |
pytest
Specifying a Python version
To use a pre-installed version of Python or PyPy on a GitHub-hosted runner, use the setup-python action. This action finds a specific version of Python or PyPy from the tools cache on each runner and adds the necessary binaries to PATH, which persists for the rest of the job. If a specific version of Python is not pre-installed in the tools cache, the setup-python action will download and set up the appropriate version from the python-versions repository.
Using the setup-python action is the recommended way of using Python with GitHub Actions because it ensures consistent behavior across different runners and different versions of Python. If you are using a self-hosted runner, you must install Python and add it to PATH. For more information, see the setup-python action.
The table below describes the locations for the tools cache in each GitHub-hosted runner.
| Ubuntu | Mac | Windows | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tool Cache Directory | /opt/hostedtoolcache/* | /Users/runner/hostedtoolcache/* | C:\hostedtoolcache\windows\* |
| Python Tool Cache | /opt/hostedtoolcache/Python/* | /Users/runner/hostedtoolcache/Python/* | C:\hostedtoolcache\windows\Python\* |
| PyPy Tool Cache | /opt/hostedtoolcache/PyPy/* | /Users/runner/hostedtoolcache/PyPy/* | C:\hostedtoolcache\windows\PyPy\* |
If you are using a self-hosted runner, you can configure the runner to use the setup-python action to manage your dependencies. For more information, see using setup-python with a self-hosted runner in the setup-python README.
GitHub supports semantic versioning syntax. For more information, see "Using semantic versioning" and the "Semantic versioning specification."
Using multiple Python versions
name: Python package
on: [push]
jobs:
build:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
strategy:
# You can use PyPy versions in python-version.
# For example, pypy2.7 and pypy3.9
matrix:
python-version: ["2.7", "3.7", "3.8", "3.9", "3.10", "3.11"]
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v3
- name: Set up Python ${{ matrix.python-version }}
uses: actions/setup-python@v4
with:
python-version: ${{ matrix.python-version }}
# You can test your matrix by printing the current Python version
- name: Display Python version
run: python -c "import sys; print(sys.version)"
name: Python package
on: [push]
jobs:
build:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
strategy:
# You can use PyPy versions in python-version.
# For example, pypy2.7 and pypy3.9
matrix:
python-version: ["2.7", "3.7", "3.8", "3.9", "3.10", "3.11"]
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v3
- name: Set up Python ${{ matrix.python-version }}
uses: actions/setup-python@v4
with:
python-version: ${{ matrix.python-version }}
# You can test your matrix by printing the current Python version
- name: Display Python version
run: python -c "import sys; print(sys.version)"
Using a specific Python version
You can configure a specific version of Python. For example, 3.10. Alternatively, you can use semantic version syntax to get the latest minor release. This example uses the latest minor release of Python 3.
name: Python package
on: [push]
jobs:
build:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v3
- name: Set up Python 3.x
uses: actions/setup-python@v4
with:
# Semantic version range syntax or exact version of a Python version
python-version: '3.x'
# Optional - x64 or x86 architecture, defaults to x64
architecture: 'x64'
# You can test your matrix by printing the current Python version
- name: Display Python version
run: python -c "import sys; print(sys.version)"
name: Python package
on: [push]
jobs:
build:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v3
- name: Set up Python 3.x
uses: actions/setup-python@v4
with:
# Semantic version range syntax or exact version of a Python version
python-version: '3.x'
# Optional - x64 or x86 architecture, defaults to x64
architecture: 'x64'
# You can test your matrix by printing the current Python version
- name: Display Python version
run: python -c "import sys; print(sys.version)"
Excluding a version
If you specify a version of Python that is not available, setup-python fails with an error such as: ##[error]Version 3.6 with arch x64 not found. The error message includes the available versions.
You can also use the exclude keyword in your workflow if there is a configuration of Python that you do not wish to run. For more information, see "Workflow syntax for GitHub Actions."
name: Python package
on: [push]
jobs:
build:
runs-on: ${{ matrix.os }}
strategy:
matrix:
os: [ubuntu-latest, macos-latest, windows-latest]
python-version: ["3.7", "3.8", "3.9", "3.10", "3.11", pypy2.7, pypy3.9]
exclude:
- os: macos-latest
python-version: "3.7"
- os: windows-latest
python-version: "3.7"
name: Python package
on: [push]
jobs:
build:
runs-on: ${{ matrix.os }}
strategy:
matrix:
os: [ubuntu-latest, macos-latest, windows-latest]
python-version: ["3.7", "3.8", "3.9", "3.10", "3.11", pypy2.7, pypy3.9]
exclude:
- os: macos-latest
python-version: "3.7"
- os: windows-latest
python-version: "3.7"
Using the default Python version
We recommend using setup-python to configure the version of Python used in your workflows because it helps make your dependencies explicit. If you don't use setup-python, the default version of Python set in PATH is used in any shell when you call python. The default version of Python varies between GitHub-hosted runners, which may cause unexpected changes or use an older version than expected.
| GitHub-hosted runner | Description |
|---|---|
| Ubuntu | Ubuntu runners have multiple versions of system Python installed under /usr/bin/python and /usr/bin/python3. The Python versions that come packaged with Ubuntu are in addition to the versions that GitHub installs in the tools cache. |
| Windows | Excluding the versions of Python that are in the tools cache, Windows does not ship with an equivalent version of system Python. To maintain consistent behavior with other runners and to allow Python to be used out-of-the-box without the setup-python action, GitHub adds a few versions from the tools cache to PATH. |
| macOS | The macOS runners have more than one version of system Python installed, in addition to the versions that are part of the tools cache. The system Python versions are located in the /usr/local/Cellar/python/* directory. |
Installing dependencies
GitHub-hosted runners have the pip package manager installed. You can use pip to install dependencies from the PyPI package registry before building and testing your code. For example, the YAML below installs or upgrades the pip package installer and the setuptools and wheel packages.
You can also cache dependencies to speed up your workflow. For more information, see "Caching dependencies to speed up workflows."
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v3
- name: Set up Python
uses: actions/setup-python@v4
with:
python-version: '3.x'
- name: Install dependencies
run: python -m pip install --upgrade pip setuptools wheel
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v3
- name: Set up Python
uses: actions/setup-python@v4
with:
python-version: '3.x'
- name: Install dependencies
run: python -m pip install --upgrade pip setuptools wheel
Requirements file
After you update pip, a typical next step is to install dependencies from requirements.txt. For more information, see pip.
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v3
- name: Set up Python
uses: actions/setup-python@v4
with:
python-version: '3.x'
- name: Install dependencies
run: |
python -m pip install --upgrade pip
pip install -r requirements.txt
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v3
- name: Set up Python
uses: actions/setup-python@v4
with:
python-version: '3.x'
- name: Install dependencies
run: |
python -m pip install --upgrade pip
pip install -r requirements.txt
Caching Dependencies
You can cache and restore the dependencies using the setup-python action.
The following example caches dependencies for pip.
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v3
- uses: actions/setup-python@v4
with:
python-version: '3.11'
cache: 'pip'
- run: pip install -r requirements.txt
- run: pip test
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v3
- uses: actions/setup-python@v4
with:
python-version: '3.11'
cache: 'pip'
- run: pip install -r requirements.txt
- run: pip test
By default, the setup-python action searches for the dependency file (requirements.txt for pip, Pipfile.lock for pipenv or poetry.lock for poetry) in the whole repository. For more information, see "Caching packages dependencies" in the setup-python README.
If you have a custom requirement or need finer controls for caching, you can use the cache action. Pip caches dependencies in different locations, depending on the operating system of the runner. The path you'll need to cache may differ from the Ubuntu example above, depending on the operating system you use. For more information, see Python caching examples in the cache action repository.
Testing your code
You can use the same commands that you use locally to build and test your code.
Testing with pytest and pytest-cov
This example installs or upgrades pytest and pytest-cov. Tests are then run and output in JUnit format while code coverage results are output in Cobertura. For more information, see JUnit and Cobertura.
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v3
- name: Set up Python
uses: actions/setup-python@v4
with:
python-version: '3.x'
- name: Install dependencies
run: |
python -m pip install --upgrade pip
pip install -r requirements.txt
- name: Test with pytest
run: |
pip install pytest pytest-cov
pytest tests.py --doctest-modules --junitxml=junit/test-results.xml --cov=com --cov-report=xml --cov-report=html
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v3
- name: Set up Python
uses: actions/setup-python@v4
with:
python-version: '3.x'
- name: Install dependencies
run: |
python -m pip install --upgrade pip
pip install -r requirements.txt
- name: Test with pytest
run: |
pip install pytest pytest-cov
pytest tests.py --doctest-modules --junitxml=junit/test-results.xml --cov=com --cov-report=xml --cov-report=html
Using Ruff to lint code
The following example installs or upgrades ruff and uses it to lint all files. For more information, see Ruff.
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v3
- name: Set up Python
uses: actions/setup-python@v4
with:
python-version: '3.x'
- name: Install dependencies
run: |
python -m pip install --upgrade pip
pip install -r requirements.txt
- name: Lint with Ruff
run: |
pip install ruff
ruff --format=github --target-version=py37 .
continue-on-error: true
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v3
- name: Set up Python
uses: actions/setup-python@v4
with:
python-version: '3.x'
- name: Install dependencies
run: |
python -m pip install --upgrade pip
pip install -r requirements.txt
- name: Lint with Ruff
run: |
pip install ruff
ruff --format=github --target-version=py37 .
continue-on-error: true
The linting step has continue-on-error: true set. This will keep the workflow from failing if the linting step doesn't succeed. Once you've addressed all of the linting errors, you can remove this option so the workflow will catch new issues.
Running tests with tox
With GitHub Actions, you can run tests with tox and spread the work across multiple jobs. You'll need to invoke tox using the -e py option to choose the version of Python in your PATH, rather than specifying a specific version. For more information, see tox.
name: Python package
on: [push]
jobs:
build:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
strategy:
matrix:
python: ["3.9", "3.10", "3.11"]
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v3
- name: Setup Python
uses: actions/setup-python@v4
with:
python-version: ${{ matrix.python }}
- name: Install tox and any other packages
run: pip install tox
- name: Run tox
# Run tox using the version of Python in `PATH`
run: tox -e py
name: Python package
on: [push]
jobs:
build:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
strategy:
matrix:
python: ["3.9", "3.10", "3.11"]
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v3
- name: Setup Python
uses: actions/setup-python@v4
with:
python-version: ${{ matrix.python }}
- name: Install tox and any other packages
run: pip install tox
- name: Run tox
# Run tox using the version of Python in `PATH`
run: tox -e py
Packaging workflow data as artifacts
You can upload artifacts to view after a workflow completes. For example, you may need to save log files, core dumps, test results, or screenshots. For more information, see "Storing workflow data as artifacts."
The following example demonstrates how you can use the upload-artifact action to archive test results from running pytest. For more information, see the upload-artifact action.
name: Python package
on: [push]
jobs:
build:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
strategy:
matrix:
python-version: ["3.7", "3.8", "3.9", "3.10", "3.11"]
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v3
- name: Setup Python # Set Python version
uses: actions/setup-python@v4
with:
python-version: ${{ matrix.python-version }}
# Install pip and pytest
- name: Install dependencies
run: |
python -m pip install --upgrade pip
pip install pytest
- name: Test with pytest
run: pytest tests.py --doctest-modules --junitxml=junit/test-results-${{ matrix.python-version }}.xml
- name: Upload pytest test results
uses: actions/upload-artifact@v3
with:
name: pytest-results-${{ matrix.python-version }}
path: junit/test-results-${{ matrix.python-version }}.xml
# Use always() to always run this step to publish test results when there are test failures
if: ${{ always() }}
name: Python package
on: [push]
jobs:
build:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
strategy:
matrix:
python-version: ["3.7", "3.8", "3.9", "3.10", "3.11"]
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v3
- name: Setup Python # Set Python version
uses: actions/setup-python@v4
with:
python-version: ${{ matrix.python-version }}
# Install pip and pytest
- name: Install dependencies
run: |
python -m pip install --upgrade pip
pip install pytest
- name: Test with pytest
run: pytest tests.py --doctest-modules --junitxml=junit/test-results-${{ matrix.python-version }}.xml
- name: Upload pytest test results
uses: actions/upload-artifact@v3
with:
name: pytest-results-${{ matrix.python-version }}
path: junit/test-results-${{ matrix.python-version }}.xml
# Use always() to always run this step to publish test results when there are test failures
if: ${{ always() }}
Publishing to package registries
You can configure your workflow to publish your Python package to a package registry once your CI tests pass. This section demonstrates how you can use GitHub Actions to upload your package to PyPI each time you publish a release.
For this example, you will need to create two PyPI API tokens. You can use secrets to store the access tokens or credentials needed to publish your package. For more information, see "Encrypted secrets."
# This workflow uses actions that are not certified by GitHub.
# They are provided by a third-party and are governed by
# separate terms of service, privacy policy, and support
# documentation.
# GitHub recommends pinning actions to a commit SHA.
# To get a newer version, you will need to update the SHA.
# You can also reference a tag or branch, but the action may change without warning.
name: Upload Python Package
on:
release:
types: [published]
jobs:
deploy:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v3
- name: Set up Python
uses: actions/setup-python@v4
with:
python-version: '3.x'
- name: Install dependencies
run: |
python -m pip install --upgrade pip
pip install build
- name: Build package
run: python -m build
- name: Publish package
uses: pypa/gh-action-pypi-publish@27b31702a0e7fc50959f5ad993c78deac1bdfc29
with:
user: __token__
password: ${{ secrets.PYPI_API_TOKEN }}
# This workflow uses actions that are not certified by GitHub.
# They are provided by a third-party and are governed by
# separate terms of service, privacy policy, and support
# documentation.
# GitHub recommends pinning actions to a commit SHA.
# To get a newer version, you will need to update the SHA.
# You can also reference a tag or branch, but the action may change without warning.
name: Upload Python Package
on:
release:
types: [published]
jobs:
deploy:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v3
- name: Set up Python
uses: actions/setup-python@v4
with:
python-version: '3.x'
- name: Install dependencies
run: |
python -m pip install --upgrade pip
pip install build
- name: Build package
run: python -m build
- name: Publish package
uses: pypa/gh-action-pypi-publish@27b31702a0e7fc50959f5ad993c78deac1bdfc29
with:
user: __token__
password: ${{ secrets.PYPI_API_TOKEN }}
For more information about the starter workflow, see python-publish.