Using the act command it's possible to run Github Actions locally, for much faster feedback loops minimizing commits.
https://github.com/actions/runner-images https://nektosact.com/installation/ https://nektosact.com/installation/gh.html https://docs.github.com/en/actions/writing-workflows/choosing-what-your-workflow-does/accessing-contextual-information-about-workflow-runs
# use install script to install Docker Engine and act
./install.sh
act # run all workflows locally
act --list
# sim Actions run on push
gh act push
# sim Actions run on pull_request
gh act pull_request
# optionally install github cli extension
gh extension install https://github.com/nektos/gh-act
# commands are simply prefixed with gh, for example
gh act --listAnything that can be done with blender --background can probably be done with containerized Blender -- particularly unit tests. Github Actions can pull the container in ~15s.
https://hub.docker.com/r/blendergrid/blender https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/latest/advanced/command_line/render.html
# Command flags work as with `blender`
docker run blendergrid/blender --python-expr "print('howdy')"
docker run blendergrid/blender -E CYCLES -f 1
# Check blender version running in container (>=4.4.3)
docker run blendergrid/blender --version
# Render to a persistent volume outside the container
docker run -v $(pwd)/volume:/volume blendergrid/blender -E CYCLES -o volume/test_ -f 1
# Get a terminal in the container
docker run -it --entrypoint /bin/bash blendergrid/blender
# Note that blender is not on PATH, need to do this:
#: root@ee4d02de2b09:/# /usr/local/blender/blender --background
# Blender 4.4.3 (hash 802179c51ccc built 2025-04-29 15:12:13)
# map a volume and run a python script in blender like this.
# you could use this to render using the containerized Blender
docker run \
-v $(pwd)/volume:/volume \
blendergrid/blender \
-P /volume/system-under-test/test/script.py
# volumes can be used to share files between jobs in the runner container
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/57498605/github-actions-share-workspace-artifacts-between-jobs