ci: run Positron API tests on ubuntu-latest - #43
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ntluong95 merged 1 commit intoAug 21, 2026
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@posit-dev/positron-test-electron 0.0.3 adds Windows and Linux support (0.0.2 was macOS-only), so the suite no longer needs a macOS runner. Linux runners are cheaper and faster to schedule. Positron is an Electron app, so on Linux it needs a display server: the test command now runs under xvfb-run. Also pin posit-dev/setup-positron to the v1 tag instead of tracking main, so upstream changes to the action can't break CI unannounced, and scope the Positron download cache key to runner.os, since the archive layout differs per platform.
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What
Moves the
Positron API Testsworkflow frommacos-latesttoubuntu-latest.Why
When these tests landed in #41, the test runner
(
@posit-dev/positron-test-electron)could only download macOS builds of Positron, so the job had to run on a macOS
runner. Version
0.0.3adds Windows and Linux support, and Positron nowpublishes the Linux archives it needs — so the macOS constraint is gone.
Linux is the cheapest runner tier GitHub offers — a tenth of the minute
multiplier of macOS — and the runners are more plentiful, so jobs start sooner.
This repo is public, so standard runners are free either way; the win is faster
starts, a shorter job, and not holding a scarce macOS runner for work that
doesn't need one.
Changes
.github/workflows/positron-api-tests.yamlruns-on: macos-latest→ubuntu-latest(and drop the now-stale"macOS only" comment).
xvfb-run -a. Positron is an Electron app, andon Linux it needs a display server — without this it fails with
Missing X server or $DISPLAY.posit-dev/setup-positronto thev1tag instead of trackingmain,so future changes to that action can't break this repo's CI unannounced.
runner.osin the Positron download cache key. The archive layoutdiffers per platform, so a cache saved by one OS shouldn't count as a hit
for another. (Happy to drop this one if you'd rather keep the diff to the
runner switch.)
package.json/package-lock.json— bump@posit-dev/positron-test-electron^0.0.2→^0.0.3(the version thatadded Linux support).
scripts/run-positron-tests.mjs,src/test/positron/README.md— refresh the"macOS only" notes, which are no longer true, and document the
xvfb-runrequirement for running the suite locally on Linux.
No test code changed.
Verification
Green on
ubuntu-latestin my fork: https://github.com/jonvanausdeln/positron-julia/actions/runs/32173307802All 4 tests pass in a real Positron (stable
2026.08.1-2) on Linux — theextension activates and a Julia runtime surfaces via
getRegisteredRuntimes/getPreferredRuntime, the same assertions that were passing on macOS. The jobtook 1m23s, versus about 2 minutes for the recent
macos-latestruns onmain.