Local-First and Portable CI

#1

Post by synparb » Thu, May 28, 2026, 2:34 PM UTC

Re: Local-First and Portable CI

#2

Post by samuell » Thu, May 28, 2026, 4:46 PM UTC

Optimizing for local-first checking is 100% the way to go, and should be used much more widely I think.

I have done a similar thing using simple makefiles though, collecting more complex chains of tasks into a "meta rule" in Make and just calling that from whatever CI config we're using.

Re: Local-First and Portable CI

#3

Post by MeltedVoltage » Thu, May 28, 2026, 7:58 PM UTC

samuell wrote: post #2

Optimizing for local-first checking is 100% the way to go, and should be used much more widely I think. I have done a similar thing using simple makefiles though, collecting more complex chains of tasks into a "meta rule" in Make and just calling that from whatever CI config we're using.

I have also slowly transitioned into something similar - using justfiles instead of make. I have `just prerequisites`, `just lint`, `just build` in all of my projects. pixie's lockfile might be the most interesting part.

Re: Local-First and Portable CI

#4

Post by cyberclimb » Thu, May 28, 2026, 9:21 PM UTC

Is there any way to cache the dependency installation step on github actions for example?

I supposed you could cache whatever directory it installs to? Would be great to see an example

Re: Local-First and Portable CI

#5

Post by jiehong » Thu, May 28, 2026, 9:27 PM UTC

Dagger seems more fit, but more complex for sure.

Re: Local-First and Portable CI

#6

Post by nigels-com » Thu, May 28, 2026, 10:34 PM UTC

MeltedVoltage wrote: post #3

samuell wrote: post #2

Optimizing for local-first checking is 100% the way to go, and should be used much more widely I think. I have done a similar thing using simple makefiles though, collecting more complex chains of tasks into a "meta rule" in Make and just calling that from whatever CI config we're using.

I have also slowly transitioned into something similar - using justfiles instead of make. I have `just prerequisites`, `just lint`, `just build` in all of my projects. pixie's lockfile might be the most interesting part.

Went all in on just in a previous role. All the Jenksfile shrunk to manageable complexity, except the not just ones.

Re: Local-First and Portable CI

#7

Post by mgrandl » Fri, May 29, 2026, 4:52 AM UTC

samuell wrote: post #2

Optimizing for local-first checking is 100% the way to go, and should be used much more widely I think. I have done a similar thing using simple makefiles though, collecting more complex chains of tasks into a "meta rule" in Make and just calling that from whatever CI config we're using.

Same but using mise. It is so nice to define all runtime/build time dependencies for both dev and production builds in one place and then have a task runner that builds everything for you!

Re: Local-First and Portable CI

#8

Post by mgrandl » Fri, May 29, 2026, 5:03 AM UTC

MeltedVoltage wrote: post #3

samuell wrote: post #2

Optimizing for local-first checking is 100% the way to go, and should be used much more widely I think. I have done a similar thing using simple makefiles though, collecting more complex chains of tasks into a "meta rule" in Make and just calling that from whatever CI config we're using.

I have also slowly transitioned into something similar - using justfiles instead of make. I have `just prerequisites`, `just lint`, `just build` in all of my projects. pixie's lockfile might be the most interesting part.

Look into mise. It’s basically just, but it also installs runtimes/build deps for you. It also has lockfiles.

Re: Local-First and Portable CI

#9

Post by droelf » Fri, Jun 05, 2026, 11:23 AM UTC

cyberclimb wrote: post #4

Is there any way to cache the dependency installation step on github actions for example? I supposed you could cache whatever directory it installs to? Would be great to see an example

Yes, that is built into `setup-pixi` github action, indeed!