CI verification

Set up continuous integration for a Vary project using GitHub Actions.

Verification profiles

The validate command bundles checks into profiles:

Profile	Stages	Typical use
fast	analyze, static, tests	Local iteration
local	analyze, static, tests	Alias for fast
ci	analyze, static, tests, mutation	Pull request gate
nightly	analyze, static, tests, mutation, oracle	Scheduled deep run

Run a profile:

vary validate src/ --profile ci

Cost of each stage

Stage	Cost	What it does
analyze	Cheap	Structural checks (dead code, style, lint rules)
static	Cheap	Type checking and effect analysis
tests	Cheap	Runs test blocks and test_*.vary/*_test.vary files
mutation	Medium	Source-level mutation testing, scales with test count
oracle	Expensive	VAST corpus verification, generates and verifies broad test scenarios

Cheap stages finish in seconds for most projects. Mutation testing can take minutes. VAST/oracle verification takes longer and is best reserved for nightly or weekly runs.

---

PR workflow (GitHub Actions)

Runs on every pull request. Uses the ci profile: static analysis, type checking, tests, and mutation testing.

# .github/workflows/vary-pr.yml
name: Vary PR

on:
  pull_request:
    branches: [main]

jobs:
  verify:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    timeout-minutes: 15

    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Set up JDK
        uses: actions/setup-java@v4
        with:
          distribution: temurin
          java-version: '21'

      - name: Install Vary
        run: |
          curl -fsSL https://github.com/ccollicutt/vary/releases/latest/download/install.sh | sh
          echo "$HOME/.vary/bin" >> "$GITHUB_PATH"

      - name: Validate (CI profile)
        run: vary validate src/ --profile ci

      - name: Upload artifacts
        if: always()
        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
        with:
          name: ci-artifacts
          path: .vary/runs/

What this covers:

Stage	What it catches
analyze	Structural lint checks
static	Type errors, effect violations, service host authority
tests	All test blocks execute and pass
mutation	Mutation score meets configured threshold

---

Nightly workflow (GitHub Actions)

Runs the full verification suite including the VAST oracle stage. Schedule it during off-hours.

# .github/workflows/vary-nightly.yml
name: Vary Nightly

on:
  schedule:
    - cron: '0 3 * * *'  # 3 AM UTC daily
  workflow_dispatch:       # Allow manual trigger

jobs:
  verify:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    timeout-minutes: 60

    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Set up JDK
        uses: actions/setup-java@v4
        with:
          distribution: temurin
          java-version: '21'

      - name: Install Vary
        run: |
          curl -fsSL https://github.com/ccollicutt/vary/releases/latest/download/install.sh | sh
          echo "$HOME/.vary/bin" >> "$GITHUB_PATH"

      - name: Validate (nightly profile)
        run: vary validate src/ --profile nightly

      - name: Upload artifacts
        if: always()
        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
        with:
          name: nightly-artifacts
          path: .vary/runs/

The oracle stage is the addition over PR CI. VAST corpus verification catches correctness issues that unit tests and mutation testing miss.

---

Custom profiles in vary.toml

Define project-specific profiles:

[profiles.pr-fast]
checks = ["check", "test"]
timeout = 300

[profiles.pr-fast.thresholds]
mutation_score = 60

[profiles.full]
checks = ["check", "test", "mutation", "oracle"]
timeout = 1800

[profiles.full.thresholds]
mutation_score = 80

Then reference them in CI:

vary validate src/ --profile pr-fast

Config profiles override built-in profiles of the same name, so you can customize ci or nightly for your project.

---

Production checklist

Minimum verification bar for a production Vary application:

Area	What to configure
Project layout	Follow the canonical structure with pure core separated from effectful boundaries
vary.toml	Define [profiles.ci] and [profiles.nightly] with appropriate thresholds
PR gate	Run vary validate --profile ci and block merge on failure
Nightly job	Run vary validate --profile nightly with VAST oracle verification
Service host authority	Configure [services] in vary.toml if the app makes HTTP calls
Effect deny list	Configure [check.effects] to prevent unintended side effects in pure modules
Mutation threshold	At least 60% for CI, 80% for nightly
Contract preconditions	in {} blocks on public API functions for input validation
Test coverage	Both unit tests (test blocks) and integration tests for service boundaries

Quick start

Generate a project with these defaults already configured:

vary new my-app --template serious

This scaffolds a project with vary.toml profiles, a GitHub Actions workflow, and the canonical directory structure.