Buildkite vs GitHub Actions

Choosing the right continuous integration and delivery (CI/CD) tool is crucial for efficient software development. This guide compares Buildkite and GitHub Actions, highlighting their differences and how Graphite's CI optimizations can enhance both platforms.

Buildkite overview

Buildkite is a CI/CD platform that allows teams to run pipelines on their own infrastructure. It offers:

• Self-hosted agents: run builds on your hardware for greater control.
• Scalability: handle large workloads with parallel agents.
• Flexibility: integrate with various tools and customize pipelines extensively.

GitHub Actions overview

GitHub Actions is GitHub's integrated CI/CD solution. It provides:

• Seamless integration: directly within GitHub repositories.
• Ease of use: define workflows using YAML files.
• Community support: access to a vast marketplace of pre-built actions.

Key differences between Buildkite and GitHub Actions

Infrastructure and hosting

• Buildkite: requires self-hosted agents, giving teams full control over the environment.
• GitHub Actions: offers GitHub-hosted runners and the option for self-hosted runners.

Customization and flexibility

• Buildkite: highly customizable with support for complex workflows and plugins.
• GitHub Actions: simpler setup with predefined actions but may require workarounds for advanced scenarios.

Scalability

• Buildkite: excels in handling large-scale builds with parallel agents.
• GitHub Actions: supports matrix builds but may face limitations with concurrent jobs on GitHub-hosted runners.

Cost considerations

• Buildkite: pricing is based on user seats; running agents on your infrastructure can reduce costs.
• GitHub Actions: offers free minutes for public repositories; additional usage incurs costs.

Graphite's CI optimizer

Graphite further enhances CI/CD workflows by optimizing when and how CI runs:

• Selective CI runs: configure CI to run only on specific pull requests in a stack.
• Fast and slow test separation: run quick tests on every PR and defer longer tests to critical stages.
• Integration: works seamlessly with both Buildkite and GitHub Actions.

Example: Integrating Graphite with GitHub Actions

jobs:
  optimize_ci:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    outputs:
      skip: ${{ steps.check_skip.outputs.skip }}
    steps:
      - name: Optimize CI
        id: check_skip
        uses: withgraphite/graphite-ci-action@main
        with:
          graphite_token: ${{ secrets.GRAPHITE_CI_OPTIMIZER_TOKEN }}

  build:
    needs: optimize_ci
    if: needs.optimize_ci.outputs.skip == 'false'
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Build
        run: echo "Building..."

Example: integrating Graphite with Buildkite

steps:
  - label: ":graphite: Optimize CI"
    plugins:
      - withgraphite/graphite-ci#main:
          graphite_token: "your_graphite_token"

  - wait

  - label: ":buildkite: Run tests"
    command: "run-tests.sh"
    if: build.env('GRAPHITE_SHOULD_RUN_CI') == 'true'

Conclusion

Both Buildkite and GitHub Actions offer robust CI/CD capabilities. Your choice depends on factors like infrastructure preferences, scalability needs, and cost considerations. Integrating Graphite's CI optimizer can further enhance your workflows by reducing unnecessary CI runs and optimizing test execution.