App tests on GitHub's runners
Three workflows build the apps from a branch's own code and test them, only when asked: ios-sim (the iOS app in a simulator on a macOS runner), desktop-linux (the desktop app on a Linux runner) and android-emu (the Android app in an emulator on a Linux runner). Each runs a scripted smoke test and, on request, a Claude session that follows a test plan, and a test backend (relay, directory, names server, peers). Details: iOS, desktop, Android.
Starting a run
Pushes start nothing: a run is started by hand, on any branch, with inputs that are off by default and combine.
| Input | iOS | Desktop | Android |
|---|---|---|---|
| no input | scripted test | scripted test | scripted test |
claude |
scripted test, then Claude | scripted test, then Claude | scripted test, then Claude |
backend |
also the test backend | also the test backend | also the test backend |
release |
— | also the latest release's onboarding, to tell a branch's failure from the runner's | also the latest release's onboarding, to tell a branch's failure from the runner's |
In the Actions tab: ios-sim, desktop-linux or android-emu → Run workflow, choose the branch and tick the inputs. With the GitHub CLI, each input is a field:
gh workflow run ios-sim.yml --ref <branch>
gh workflow run ios-sim.yml --ref <branch> -f claude=true
gh workflow run desktop-linux.yml --ref <branch> -f claude=true -f backend=true -f release=true
gh workflow run android-emu.yml --ref <branch> -f claude=true
A newer run of a workflow on the same branch cancels the older one.
How long a run takes
| Run | iOS | Desktop | Android |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scripted test, builds reused | about 25 min, plus the wait for a macOS runner, which the team's builds share (minutes to an hour) | about 10 min | about 15 min |
| The core rebuilt, after Haskell changes | 30–45 min more | about 25 min more | about 27 min more |
| With the test backend | 20–45 min more when it is rebuilt, then about 10 min to start | about 30 min more when it is rebuilt, then a few minutes to start | as desktop, whose backend it shares |
| With Claude on the smoke plan | 10–15 min more | about 4 min more | about 5 min more |
The Claude job
It needs the GitHub environment app-sim-claude with the secret CLAUDE_CODE_OAUTH_TOKEN, a Claude subscription token. The environment's branch rule alone decides which branches may use it: on a branch it doesn't allow, a run that asks for Claude fails at the Claude job's environment check, and the scripted test runs as usual. Each run spends the subscription's usage limits; the job summary gives its tokens and cost estimated at API prices.