Running integration tests in Github actions: issues with connecting with postgres - docker

Question

I have some integration tests that, in order to succesfully run, require a running postgres database, setup via docker-compose, and my go app running from main.go. Here is my docker-compose:
version: "3.9"
services:
postgres:
image: postgres:12.5
user: postgres
environment:
POSTGRES_USER: postgres
POSTGRES_PASSWORD: password
POSTGRES_DB: my-db
ports:
- "5432:5432"
volumes:
- data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
- ./initdb:/docker-entrypoint-initdb.d
networks:
default:
driver: bridge
volumes:
data:
driver: local
and my Github Actions are as follows:
jobs:
unit:
name: Test
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
services:
postgres:
image: postgres:12.5
env:
POSTGRES_USER: postgres
POSTGRES_PASSWORD: password
POSTGRES_DB: my-db
ports:
- 5432:5432
env:
GOMODCACHE: "${{ github.workspace }}/.go/mod/cache"
TEST_RACE: true
steps:
- name: Initiate Database
run: psql -f initdb/init.sql postgresql://postgres:password#localhost:5432/my-db
- name: Set up Cloud SDK
uses: google-github-actions/setup-gcloud#v0
- name: Authenticate with GCP
id: auth
uses: "google-github-actions/auth#v0"
with: credentials_json: ${{ secrets.GCP_ACTIONS_SECRET }}
- name: Configure Docker
run: |
gcloud auth configure-docker "europe- docker.pkg.dev,gcr.io,eu.gcr.io"
- name: Set up Docker BuildX
uses: docker/setup-buildx-action#v1
- name: Start App
run: |
VERSION=latest make images
docker run -d -p 3000:3000 -e POSTGRES_DB_URL='//postgres:password#localhost:5432/my-db?sslmode=disable' --name='app' image/app
- name: Tests
env:
POSTGRES_DB_URL: //postgres:password#localhost:5432/my-db?sslmode=disable
GOMODCACHE: ${{ github.workspace }}/.go/pkg/mod
run: |
make test-integration
docker stop app
My tests run just fine locally firing off the docker-compose with docker-compose up and running the app from main.go. However, in Github actions I am getting the following error:
failed to connect to `host=/tmp user=nonroot database=`: dial error (dial unix /tmp/.s.PGSQL.5432: connect: no such file or directory
What am I missing? Thanks

Answer 1

I think this code has more than one problem.
Problem one:
In your code I don't see you run docker-compose up, therefore I would assume that Postgres is not running.
Problem two:
is in this line: docker run -d -p 3000:3000 -e POSTGRES_DB_URL='//postgres:password#localhost:5432/my-app?sslmode=disable' --name='app' image/app
You point the host of Postgres to localhost, which on your local machine works. As there localhost is your local comuter. Though, as you use docker run you are not running this on your local machine, but in a docker container. There localhost is pointing to inside the conmtainer.
Posible solution for both
As you are already using docker-compose I suggest you to also add your test web server there.
Change your docker-compose file to:
version: "3.9"
services:
webapp:
build: image/app
environment:
POSTGRES_DB_URL='//postgres:password#postgres:5432/my-app?sslmode=disable'
ports:
- "3000:3000"
depends_on:
- "postgres"
postgres:
image: postgres:12.5
user: postgres
environment:
POSTGRES_USER: postgres
POSTGRES_PASSWORD: password
POSTGRES_DB: my-app
ports:
- "5432:5432"
volumes:
- data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
- ./initdb:/docker-entrypoint-initdb.d
networks:
default:
driver: bridge
volumes:
data:
driver: local
If you now run docker-compose up, both services will be available. And it should work. Though I am not a github-actions expert, so I might have missed something. At least like this, you can run your tests locally the same way as in CI, something that I always see as a big plus.

Answer 2

What you are missing is setting up the actual Postgres Client inside the Github Actions server (that is why there is no psql tool to be found).
Set it up as a step.
- name: Install PostgreSQL client
run: |
apt-get update
apt-get install --yes postgresql-client
Apart from that, if you run everything through docker-compose you will need to wait for postgres to be up and running (healthy & accepting connections).
Consider the following docker-compose:
version: '3.1'
services:
api:
build: .
depends_on:
- db
ports:
- 8080:8080
environment:
- RUN_UP_MIGRATION=true
- PSQL_CONN_STRING=postgres://gotstock_user:123#host.docker.internal:5432/gotstockapi?sslmode=disable
command: ./entry
db:
image: postgres:9.5-alpine
restart: always
environment:
- POSTGRES_USER=root
- POSTGRES_PASSWORD=password
ports:
- "5432:5432"
volumes:
- ./db:/docker-entrypoint-initdb.d/
There are a couple of things you need to notice. First of all, in the environment section of the api we have PSQL_CONN_STRING=postgres://gotstock_user:123#host.docker.internal:5432/gotstockapi?sslmode=disable which is the connection string to the db being passed as an env variable. Notice the host is host.docker.internal.
Besides that we have command: ./entry in the api section. The entry file contains the following #!/bin/ash script:
#!/bin/ash
NOT_READY=1
while [ $NOT_READY -gt 0 ] # <- loop that waits till postgres is ready to accept connections
do
pg_isready --dbname=gotstockapi --host=host.docker.internal --port=5432 --username=gotstock_user
NOT_READY=$?
sleep 1
done;
./gotstock-api # <- actually executes the build of the api
sleep 10
go test -v ./it # <- executes the integration-tests
And finally, in order for the psql client to work in the above script, the docker file of the api is looking like this:
# syntax=docker/dockerfile:1
FROM golang:1.19-alpine3.15
RUN apk add build-base
WORKDIR /app
COPY go.mod go.sum ./
RUN go mod download && go mod verify
COPY . .
RUN apk add postgresql-client
RUN go build -o gotstock-api
EXPOSE 8080
Notice RUN apk add postgresql-client which installs the client.
Happy hacking! =)