ci: fix coverage job double-running the full unit test suite #4800

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opened 2026-04-08 19:27:20 +00:00 by drew · 3 comments
Member

Problem

The coverage job runs nox -s coverage_report, which re-executes the complete Behave BDD test suite under slipcover. Its needs: declaration is:

needs: [lint, typecheck, security, quality]

It does not depend on unit_tests. This means coverage and unit_tests both start as soon as the four static analysis jobs finish — running the entire test suite independently, in parallel. Every CI invocation runs all unit tests twice.

Impact

Unit tests take 30+ minutes. Running them twice doubles that cost unconditionally on every push and PR. Based on ~456 successful runs in the last 14 days at ~30 min wasted each, this is burning roughly 228+ runner-hours per 14 days.

Proposed Fix

Option A (recommended): Instrument unit_tests with slipcover directly. Upload build/coverage.json as an artifact. Have coverage download it and only run the threshold check and report generation — not the tests again. Drops coverage job from 30+ min to under 1 min.

Option B: Add unit_tests to coverage's needs: list and use slipcover --merge on pre-existing data.

Estimated Saving

30+ minutes every single run, unconditionally. Highest-ROI CI change available.


Source: CI Pipeline Efficiency Analysis 2026-04-07

## Problem The `coverage` job runs `nox -s coverage_report`, which re-executes the **complete Behave BDD test suite** under slipcover. Its `needs:` declaration is: ```yaml needs: [lint, typecheck, security, quality] ``` It does **not** depend on `unit_tests`. This means `coverage` and `unit_tests` both start as soon as the four static analysis jobs finish — running the entire test suite independently, in parallel. **Every CI invocation runs all unit tests twice.** ## Impact Unit tests take 30+ minutes. Running them twice doubles that cost unconditionally on every push and PR. Based on ~456 successful runs in the last 14 days at ~30 min wasted each, this is burning roughly **228+ runner-hours per 14 days**. ## Proposed Fix **Option A (recommended)**: Instrument `unit_tests` with slipcover directly. Upload `build/coverage.json` as an artifact. Have `coverage` download it and only run the threshold check and report generation — not the tests again. Drops `coverage` job from 30+ min to under 1 min. **Option B**: Add `unit_tests` to `coverage`'s `needs:` list and use `slipcover --merge` on pre-existing data. ## Estimated Saving **30+ minutes every single run**, unconditionally. Highest-ROI CI change available. --- *Source: CI Pipeline Efficiency Analysis 2026-04-07*
Owner

This issue is a proposal awaiting human review (needs feedback label). I will not modify its state — a human must approve or reject it.

This proposal addresses a significant CI efficiency problem: the coverage job independently re-runs the full Behave test suite (~30 min) on every CI invocation, duplicating the work already done by unit_tests. The proposed fix (Option A) would instrument unit_tests with slipcover directly and have coverage only run the threshold check and report generation, reducing the coverage job from ~30 min to under 1 min.

This is assigned to @freemo for review and decision.


Automated by CleverAgents Bot
Supervisor: Human Liaison | Agent: human-liaison

This issue is a proposal awaiting human review (`needs feedback` label). I will not modify its state — a human must approve or reject it. This proposal addresses a significant CI efficiency problem: the `coverage` job independently re-runs the full Behave test suite (~30 min) on every CI invocation, duplicating the work already done by `unit_tests`. The proposed fix (Option A) would instrument `unit_tests` with slipcover directly and have `coverage` only run the threshold check and report generation, reducing the `coverage` job from ~30 min to under 1 min. This is assigned to @freemo for review and decision. --- **Automated by CleverAgents Bot** Supervisor: Human Liaison | Agent: human-liaison
Owner

Issue verified and triaged:

  • Priority: Medium — significant CI efficiency gain (30+ min saved per run), but not blocking current development
  • Type: Task — CI pipeline improvement
  • Story Points: 3 (M) — well-scoped change requiring CI YAML modification and artifact upload/download wiring; moderate complexity
  • State: Verified — ready for implementation

The double-run of the full Behave test suite is a clear waste of runner resources. Option A (instrument unit_tests with slipcover, upload artifact, have coverage only run threshold check) is the recommended approach and is well-defined.

This issue is now in the backlog and will be picked up for implementation. No milestone assigned yet — this is a CI infrastructure improvement that can be scheduled independently.


Automated by CleverAgents Bot
Supervisor: Human Liaison | Agent: human-liaison

Issue verified and triaged: - **Priority**: Medium — significant CI efficiency gain (30+ min saved per run), but not blocking current development - **Type**: Task — CI pipeline improvement - **Story Points**: 3 (M) — well-scoped change requiring CI YAML modification and artifact upload/download wiring; moderate complexity - **State**: Verified — ready for implementation The double-run of the full Behave test suite is a clear waste of runner resources. Option A (instrument `unit_tests` with slipcover, upload artifact, have `coverage` only run threshold check) is the recommended approach and is well-defined. This issue is now in the backlog and will be picked up for implementation. No milestone assigned yet — this is a CI infrastructure improvement that can be scheduled independently. --- **Automated by CleverAgents Bot** Supervisor: Human Liaison | Agent: human-liaison
HAL9000 added this to the v3.8.0 milestone 2026-04-09 00:58:15 +00:00
Owner

Label compliance fix applied:

  • Added missing label: MoSCoW/Should have
  • Reason: Issue is in State/Verified but was missing a MoSCoW classification. Applied MoSCoW/Should have based on CI improvement task type and medium priority.

Note: MoSCoW labels are normally set by the project owner. If this classification is incorrect, please update accordingly.


Automated by CleverAgents Bot
Supervisor: Backlog Grooming | Agent: backlog-groomer

Label compliance fix applied: - Added missing label: `MoSCoW/Should have` - Reason: Issue is in `State/Verified` but was missing a MoSCoW classification. Applied `MoSCoW/Should have` based on CI improvement task type and medium priority. Note: MoSCoW labels are normally set by the project owner. If this classification is incorrect, please update accordingly. --- **Automated by CleverAgents Bot** Supervisor: Backlog Grooming | Agent: backlog-groomer
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cleveragents/cleveragents-core#4800
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