Run Validation in CI

This guide shows how to integrate TestLink validation into your CI/CD pipeline.

Basic CI Integration

Step 1: Add validation command

Add the validate command to your CI script:

./vendor/bin/testlink validate

The command returns:

• Exit code 0 - All links valid
• Exit code 1 - Validation errors found

Step 2: Configure strictness

For stricter validation:

./vendor/bin/testlink validate --strict

This fails on warnings as well as errors.

GitHub Actions

Basic workflow

# .github/workflows/tests.yml
name: Tests

on: [push, pull_request]

jobs:
  test:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest

    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Setup PHP
        uses: shivammathur/setup-php@v2
        with:
          php-version: '8.2'

      - name: Install dependencies
        run: composer install --no-interaction

      - name: Run tests
        run: ./vendor/bin/pest

      - name: Validate TestLink
        run: ./vendor/bin/testlink validate

With JSON output

      - name: Validate TestLink
        run: ./vendor/bin/testlink validate --json > testlink-report.json

      - name: Upload report
        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
        with:
          name: testlink-report
          path: testlink-report.json

Separate validation job

jobs:
  test:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - uses: shivammathur/setup-php@v2
        with:
          php-version: '8.2'
      - run: composer install
      - run: ./vendor/bin/pest

  testlink:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - uses: shivammathur/setup-php@v2
        with:
          php-version: '8.2'
      - run: composer install
      - run: ./vendor/bin/testlink validate --strict

GitLab CI

# .gitlab-ci.yml
stages:
  - test

test:
  stage: test
  image: php:8.2
  before_script:
    - composer install --no-interaction
  script:
    - ./vendor/bin/pest
    - ./vendor/bin/testlink validate

testlink:report:
  stage: test
  image: php:8.2
  before_script:
    - composer install --no-interaction
  script:
    - ./vendor/bin/testlink report --json > testlink-report.json
  artifacts:
    paths:
      - testlink-report.json
    expire_in: 1 week

CircleCI

# .circleci/config.yml
version: 2.1

jobs:
  test:
    docker:
      - image: cimg/php:8.2
    steps:
      - checkout
      - run: composer install
      - run: ./vendor/bin/pest
      - run: ./vendor/bin/testlink validate

workflows:
  test:
    jobs:
      - test

Pre-commit Hook

Using git hooks directly

Create .git/hooks/pre-commit:

#!/bin/bash

echo "Running TestLink validation..."
./vendor/bin/testlink validate

if [ $? -ne 0 ]; then
    echo "TestLink validation failed. Please fix the issues before committing."
    exit 1
fi

Make it executable:

chmod +x .git/hooks/pre-commit

Using Husky (for Node.js projects)

// package.json
{
  "husky": {
    "hooks": {
      "pre-commit": "./vendor/bin/testlink validate"
    }
  }
}

Using CaptainHook (PHP)

// captainhook.json
{
  "pre-commit": {
    "actions": [
      {
        "action": "./vendor/bin/testlink validate"
      }
    ]
  }
}

Scheduled Validation

Run comprehensive reports on a schedule:

GitHub Actions (weekly)

name: Weekly TestLink Report

on:
  schedule:
    - cron: '0 0 * * 0' # Every Sunday at midnight

jobs:
  report:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - uses: shivammathur/setup-php@v2
        with:
          php-version: '8.2'
      - run: composer install
      - run: ./vendor/bin/testlink report --json > report.json
      - run: ./vendor/bin/testlink validate --json > validate.json
      - uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
        with:
          name: testlink-reports
          path: |
            report.json
            validate.json

Combining with Other Tools

With PHPStan

      - name: Static Analysis
        run: |
          ./vendor/bin/phpstan analyse
          ./vendor/bin/testlink validate

With Pest coverage

      - name: Tests with Coverage
        run: ./vendor/bin/pest --coverage --min=80

      - name: TestLink Validation
        run: ./vendor/bin/testlink validate

Handling Failures

Allow warnings, fail on errors

# Exits 0 for warnings, 1 for errors
./vendor/bin/testlink validate

Fail on any issue

# Exits 1 for warnings AND errors
./vendor/bin/testlink validate --strict

Continue on failure (for non-blocking checks)

      - name: TestLink Validation
        run: ./vendor/bin/testlink validate
        continue-on-error: true

Best Practices

1. Run on every PR - Catch broken links early
2. Use strict mode in CI - Be more lenient locally
3. Generate reports - Archive for trend analysis
4. Block merges on failure - Require validation to pass
5. Add to PR checks - Make status visible to reviewers