Act/Run - GitHub Actions Visual locally - VS Code Extension
English | Português (Brasil)
VS Code extension that runs GitHub Actions workflows locally using nektos/act and visualizes execution in real time through an interactive n8n-style graph.
New Layout
- Integrated sidebar UI.
- Repository selection opens in the main editor column for a more spacious experience.
Summary
- View the same workflow summary produced by GitHub Actions.
Analytics
- Review analytics based on local execution history.
This extension makes testing GitHub Actions locally more productive by providing an intuitive visual interface with real-time execution feedback.
[!IMPORTANT]
This extension requires nektos/act to be installed.
Requirements
- nektos/act installed and available on
PATH, or configured through actRunner.actPath.
- Docker or a compatible alternative such as Podman, Rancher Desktop, or OrbStack.
- VS Code 1.85 or newer.
Installation
- Open the Visual Studio Code Marketplace.
- Search for Act/Run - GitHub Actions Visual locally.
- Select the extension and click Install.
Install from GitHub Releases
Download the .vsix asset from the latest GitHub Release, then open the Extensions view, select ... -> Install from VSIX..., and choose the downloaded file. From a terminal, use code --install-extension act-visual-runner-<version>.vsix.
See the release process for maintainer instructions.
Quick Start
- Open a repository containing workflows in
.github/workflows/.
- Click the ACT Runner icon in the Activity Bar.
- Select a workflow in the explorer and click Run.
- The graph opens automatically and displays each job and step status in real time.
Available Commands
| Command |
Description |
Act: Run Workflow |
Run a complete workflow |
Act: Quick Run |
Run the default workflow without prompts |
Act: Run Job |
Run a specific job |
Act: Stop Execution |
Cancel the current execution |
Act: Validate Workflow |
Validate workflow YAML |
Act: View History |
View previous executions |
Act: Docker Alternatives Guide |
View free alternatives to Docker Desktop |
Configuration
| Setting |
Description |
Default |
actRunner.actPath |
Path to the act executable |
act (PATH) |
actRunner.defaultImage |
Default Docker image |
catthehacker/ubuntu:act-latest |
Configure the extension through Preferences -> Settings -> Act Visual Runner.
Configuration Files
Optionally, act can be configured using these configuration files:
.actrc - default act flags, for example --platform ubuntu-latest=catthehacker/ubuntu:act-latest..secrets - secrets in KEY=value format..env - environment variables.
Example .actrc
# ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
# nektos/act default flags — must live at fean-projects/ root (where act is run).
#
# Invocation:
# cd /path/to/local-repository
# act push -W [name of repository]/.github/workflows/pipeline-local.yaml \
# --secret-file [name of repository]/.secrets
#
# IMPORTANT: act parses this file by splitting on whitespace. Shell quoting is
# NOT supported. Use --flag=value (no space) when the value contains special
# characters. Never write: --flag="value with space"
# ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
# Runner image — catthehacker has Docker CLI, curl, jq, Python, etc. pre-installed.
# This overrides ~/.config/act/actrc which maps ubuntu-latest=node:16-buster-slim.
--pull=false
-P ubuntu-latest=catthehacker/ubuntu:act-latest
# Attach all job containers to the platform_net network (created by docker compose).
# Allows containers to reach: sonarqube:9000 localhost:5000 portainer:9443
--network platform_net
# Reuse containers between runs to avoid re-downloading SDKs (217MB .NET SDK etc.)
# Disabled: --reuse causes "No such container" errors when containers are cleaned between runs.
# Clean up manually when needed: docker rm -f $(docker ps -aq --filter "name=act-")
# --reuse
User Guide
See the English user guide or the Portuguese user guide for detailed usage instructions.
License
MIT
