Action Packer

Self-hostable web UI for managing GitHub Actions running locally on-machine.

⚠️ Experimental personal project — under active development

Tech Stack

• Backend: Node.js + Express + TypeScript (via tsx)
• Frontend: React + TypeScript + Vite
• Testing: Vitest + Supertest
• CI/CD: GitHub Actions

Quick Start

Prerequisites

• Node.js 20+ (22+ recommended)
• npm 10+
• Docker (for runner management)

Automated Installation (Recommended)

The easiest way to install Action Packer as a service that runs at startup:

macOS / Linux

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/depoll/action-packer.git
cd action-packer

# Run the installer
./scripts/install.sh

Options:

./scripts/install.sh --port 3001      # Set server port
./scripts/install.sh --env production # Set NODE_ENV
./scripts/install.sh --help           # Show all options

Windows (PowerShell)

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/depoll/action-packer.git
cd action-packer

# Run the installer (may need to allow script execution first)
Set-ExecutionPolicy -ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -Scope CurrentUser
.\scripts\install.ps1

Options:

.\scripts\install.ps1 -Port 3001 -Environment production

This will:

• Install all npm dependencies
• Build the project for production
• Create a .env configuration file
• Set up the service to start automatically on boot/login
• Start the service immediately

Service Management

After installation, use the service control script:

macOS / Linux

./scripts/service.sh status   # Check if running
./scripts/service.sh start    # Start the service
./scripts/service.sh stop     # Stop the service
./scripts/service.sh restart  # Restart the service
./scripts/service.sh logs     # Follow log output

Windows (PowerShell)

.\scripts\service.ps1 status   # Check if running
.\scripts\service.ps1 start    # Start the service
.\scripts\service.ps1 stop     # Stop the service
.\scripts\service.ps1 restart  # Restart the service
.\scripts\service.ps1 logs     # Follow log output

Uninstallation

To remove the service:

macOS / Linux

./scripts/uninstall.sh

Windows (PowerShell)

.\scripts\uninstall.ps1

Manual Installation

If you prefer manual setup:

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/depoll/action-packer.git
cd action-packer

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Build for production
npm run build

# Start the server
npm start

Development

# Start both frontend and backend
npm run dev

# Or run individually
npm run dev:backend   # API at http://localhost:3001
npm run dev:frontend  # UI at http://localhost:5173

npm run dev uses concurrently to run both dev servers in parallel. Press Ctrl+C once to stop both.

Testing

# Run all tests
npm test

# Run tests for specific workspace
npm test -w backend
npm test -w frontend

Building

# Build all packages
npm run build

# Type-check without emitting
npm run typecheck

Project Structure

action-packer/
├── backend/           # Express API server
│   ├── src/
│   │   ├── index.ts
│   │   ├── routes/
│   │   └── middleware/
│   └── tests/
├── frontend/          # React SPA (Vite)
│   ├── src/
│   └── public/
├── .github/workflows/ # CI pipelines
├── AGENTS.md          # AI assistant guidance
└── package.json       # Workspace root

API Endpoints

Method	Endpoint	Description
GET	/health	Health check with uptime
GET	/api	API info

Platform Support

macOS

• Uses launchd to run the service at login
• Logs stored in ~/Library/Logs/ActionPacker/
• Service plist at ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.action-packer.server.plist

Linux

• Uses systemd to run the service at boot
• Requires sudo for service installation
• Logs accessible via journalctl -u action-packer

Windows

• Uses Task Scheduler to run the service at login
• Logs stored in %LOCALAPPDATA%\ActionPacker\Logs\
• Task named ActionPacker in Task Scheduler

Configuration

After installation, edit backend/.env to configure:

# Server
PORT=3001
NODE_ENV=production

# GitHub App (required for GitHub integration)
GITHUB_APP_ID=your_app_id
GITHUB_APP_PRIVATE_KEY_PATH=/path/to/private-key.pem  # Windows: C:\path\to\private-key.pem
GITHUB_APP_CLIENT_ID=your_client_id
GITHUB_APP_CLIENT_SECRET=your_client_secret

# Session
JWT_SECRET=your_secure_random_string

After changing configuration, restart the service:

# macOS/Linux
./scripts/service.sh restart

# Windows (PowerShell)
.\scripts\service.ps1 restart

Contributing

This is an experimental personal project, but contributions are welcome!

License

See LICENSE for details.