RSpec GitHub Actions Formatter

A focused, practical Ruby gem that solves a specific problem: making RSpec output work better with GitHub Actions CI/CD pipelines.

The Problem

When running RSpec tests in GitHub Actions, two main issues arise:

1. Failing and pending specs don’t get properly annotated in the GitHub Actions interface
2. Standard RSpec formatters have streaming issues with GitHub Actions’ STDOUT handling

The Solution

This custom formatter provides:

• Proper GitHub Actions Annotations: Failing and pending specs are correctly annotated in the GitHub Actions UI
• Stream-Friendly Output: Designed to work well with GitHub Actions’ approach to streaming STDOUT
• Useful Progress Display: Clear test progress indication regardless of where you run the tests

Usage

Install the gem:

gem 'rspec-github-actions-formatter'

Configure RSpec to use it by adding to your .rspec file:

--format RspecGithubActionsFormatter

Or use it directly:

bundle exec rspec --format RspecGithubActionsFormatter

Technical Approach

The formatter integrates with RSpec 3.9+ and provides annotations in the specific format that GitHub Actions expects. While the annotations are most useful in CI environments, the progress display is beneficial for local development as well.

Impact

This gem addresses a common pain point for Ruby developers using GitHub Actions for CI/CD, making test failures more visible and easier to debug directly in the GitHub interface.

Published on RubyGems and available as open source under the MIT license.