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Setting up TORRUST_TD_SKIP_SLOW_TESTS for GitHub Copilot Agent

This document explains how to configure the TORRUST_TD_SKIP_SLOW_TESTS environment variable for GitHub Copilot coding agent to skip slow tests during pre-commit checks.

Why This Is Needed

GitHub Copilot coding agent has a hardcoded ~5-6 minute timeout for command execution. Our full pre-commit verification (including E2E tests and coverage checks) takes ~5.5 minutes, causing the agent to timeout and retry infinitely.

Related Issues:

Solution

We use an environment variable (TORRUST_TD_SKIP_SLOW_TESTS=true) to skip slow tests (E2E tests and code coverage) when Copilot agent runs pre-commit checks. This keeps checks under the timeout limit while maintaining full verification for local development.

Note: The variable name follows action-based naming (describes behavior, not context). For a comprehensive discussion on condition-based vs action-based environment variable naming, see Environment Variables Naming Guide. All Torrust Tracker Deployer environment variables use the TORRUST_TD_ prefix as documented in Environment Variable Prefix ADR.

Pre-commit Timing Breakdown

Understanding where time is spent helps explain why we skip certain tests for the agent:

Individual Task Timings

Task Time % of Total Category Skipped in Fast Mode?
cargo machete 0.08s 0.04% Instant ❌ No
All linters 18.75s 5.7% Fast ❌ No
Unit tests 1m 16s 22.9% Medium ❌ No
cargo doc 44s 13.4% Medium ❌ No
E2E provision 44s 13.4% Medium ✅ Yes
E2E config 48s 14.4% Medium ✅ Yes
Coverage 1m 29s 26.9% Slowest ✅ Yes
TOTAL ~5m 30s 100% - -

Fast Mode Total: ~3m 48s (31% time reduction, ~2 minute safety margin below timeout)

Unit Tests Breakdown (cargo test)

The unit tests (cargo test) complete in 1m 16s and include:

Test Suite Time Tests Description
Unit tests (lib) 12.24s 1200 Core library unit tests
e2e_create_command 13.45s 4 End-to-end create command workflow
e2e_destroy_command 0.65s 4 End-to-end destroy command workflow
file_lock_multiprocess 6.05s 8 Multi-process file locking tests
logging_integration 0.13s 11 Logging system integration tests
ssh_client_integration 11.31s 9 SSH client integration tests
template_integration 0.01s 4 Template rendering integration tests
Doc tests 15.44s 289 Documentation example tests
TOTAL ~1m 16s 1529 All test suites

Key Insight: Even though unit tests take 1m 16s (22.9% of total), they're NOT skipped in fast mode because:

  • They validate correctness across the entire codebase
  • Many are fast unit tests (12.24s for 1200 tests)
  • Integration tests provide critical coverage
  • Doc tests ensure documentation examples work

What We Skip: E2E tests (1m 32s) and coverage (1m 29s) are skipped because:

  • They're the slowest checks (54.8% of total time combined)
  • E2E tests run in CI workflows after PR creation
  • Coverage runs in CI and provides informational metrics
  • Skipping them provides ~3 minute time savings

How to Configure

Step 1: Navigate to Repository Settings

  1. Go to your GitHub repository: https://github.com/torrust/torrust-tracker-deployer
  2. Click Settings (requires admin access)
  3. In the left sidebar, click Environments

Step 2: Configure the Copilot Environment

  1. Click on the copilot environment (it should already exist)
  2. Scroll down to Environment variables
  3. Click Add environment variable

Step 3: Add the Variable

  1. Name: TORRUST_TD_SKIP_SLOW_TESTS
  2. Value: true
  3. Click Add variable

How It Works

For Local Development (Full Verification)

When developers run ./scripts/pre-commit.sh locally:

  • TORRUST_TD_SKIP_SLOW_TESTS is not set (defaults to false)
  • All checks run, including E2E tests and coverage (~5.5 minutes)
  • Full quality verification maintained

For Copilot Agent (Fast Verification)

When Copilot agent runs the pre-commit hook:

  • TORRUST_TD_SKIP_SLOW_TESTS=true is injected from the copilot environment
  • E2E tests and coverage checks are skipped (~3.8 minutes total)
  • CI workflows will still run all tests after the PR is created

Verification

To verify the configuration is working:

  1. Check that the variable exists in Settings > Environments > copilot
  2. Wait for Copilot agent to create a PR
  3. Check the session logs - you should see: ⚠️ Running in fast mode (skipping slow tests)

What Gets Skipped

When TORRUST_TD_SKIP_SLOW_TESTS=true:

Skipped (saves ~3 minutes):

  • ❌ E2E provision and destroy tests (~44s)
  • ❌ E2E configuration tests (~48s)
  • ❌ Code coverage check (~1m 29s)

Still runs (maintains quality):

  • ✅ Cargo machete - unused dependencies (~0.08s)
  • ✅ All linters - markdown, YAML, Rust, shellcheck (~19s)
  • ✅ Unit tests - 1529 tests across all suites (~1m 16s)
  • ✅ Cargo documentation build (~44s)

Total time: ~3m 48s (vs ~5m 30s in full mode)

CI Safety Net

Even though slow tests are skipped in pre-commit for Copilot agent, they still run:

  • In GitHub Actions workflows on PR creation
  • In the full CI pipeline before merging

This ensures no regressions slip through while keeping Copilot agent functional.

Running Skipped Tests Manually

The pre-commit script will inform you about skipped tests and provide commands to run them:

For AI agents: You can run these commands separately (each completes in < 5 minutes):

# Run E2E provision tests (~44s)
cargo run --bin e2e-provision-and-destroy-tests

# Run E2E config tests (~48s)
cargo run --bin e2e-config-tests

# Run coverage check (~1m 29s)
cargo cov-check

For developers: Test the fast mode locally:

TORRUST_TD_SKIP_SLOW_TESTS=true ./scripts/pre-commit.sh

To run the full verification locally (default):

./scripts/pre-commit.sh

References