# lvCICD

**Repository Path**: NEVSTOP-LAB/lvCICD

## Basic Information

- **Project Name**: lvCICD
- **Description**: Customer Action for LabVIEW CI/CD
- **Primary Language**: Unknown
- **License**: MIT
- **Default Branch**: main
- **Homepage**: None
- **GVP Project**: No

## Statistics

- **Stars**: 0
- **Forks**: 0
- **Created**: 2026-03-30
- **Last Updated**: 2026-08-22

## Categories & Tags

**Categories**: Uncategorized

**Tags**: None

## README

# Customer Action for LabVIEW CI/CD (lvCICD)

<!-- [![Sync With AZDO](https://github.com/LV-APT/lvCICD/actions/workflows/Sync%20With%20AZDO.yml/badge.svg)](https://github.com/LV-APT/lvCICD/actions/workflows/Sync%20With%20AZDO.yml) -->
[![LabVIEW Project Tests](https://github.com/NEVSTOP-LAB/lvCICD/actions/workflows/LabVIEW%20Project%20Tests.yml/badge.svg)](https://github.com/NEVSTOP-LAB/lvCICD/actions/workflows/LabVIEW%20Project%20Tests.yml)

## Introduction

This repo is used to complete the missing part of LabVIEW operations in Continuous integration and continuous deployment(CI/CD).

You can use **`lvCICD`** to:

1. *Build your LabVIEW project/LabVIEW FPGA bitfile*
2. *Start Vi Analyzer*
3. *Run LabVIEW test cases*
4. *Install/uninstall VIPM libraries(vip)*
5. *Apply VIPM VIPC file(vipc)*
6. *Setup Large LabVIEW build facility*
7. *Add your own operation, [Click link to see how to contribute to it](docs/How-to-contribute.md)*

Check [**lvCICD Operation-List**](docs/Operation-List.md) for operations of `lvCICD`.

### Dependence

- [LabVIEW 2014 or Later](https://www.ni.com/zh-cn/support/downloads/software-products/download.labview.html)
- [LabVIEW Command line Interface](https://www.ni.com/zh-cn/support/downloads/software-products/download.ni-labview-command-line-interface.html#)
- VIPM Libraries: [VIPM vipc file Download Link](https://github.com/LV-APT/lvCICD/files/8727600/lvCICD.zip)
  - [OpenG by OpenG](https://www.vipm.io/package/openg.org_lib_openg_toolkit/) (LabVIEW >= 2009)
  - [Git API by Hampel Software Engineering](https://www.vipm.io/package/hse_lib_git_api/) (LabVIEW  >= 2016) *Not available in LabVIEW 2014,2015*
  - [VIPM API by JKI](https://www.vipm.io/package/jki_lib_vipm_api/) (LabVIEW  >= 2013)
  - [JKI VI Tester by JKI](https://www.vipm.io/package/jki_labs_tool_vi_tester/) (LabVIEW  >= 2013)

### Known Issues

- Only `10` Parameters could be defined
- The name of parameter is not intuitive due to limitation of github customer action. Check the Operation List for what it stands for.
- Path definition. You can use `[GLOBAL_MACRO]` in relative path parameter.
  Available `GLOBAL_MACRO`:
  - `vi.lib`: vi.lib folder of LabVIEW
  - `user.lib`: user.lib folder of LabVIEW
  - `temp`: temporary folder of System
  - `desktop`: current user's desktop folder
  - You can also use `System Environment Variable` defined in **Environment Variables**

  Examples:
  - If current user's desktop folder is ***C:\Users\Bob\Desktop***
    - ***"[Desktop]\abc.txt"*** -->  ***C:\Users\Bob\Desktop\abc.txt***
  - If LabVIEW 2019(32bit) is used
    - ***[vi.lib]\Utility\error.llb*** --> ***"C:\Program Files (x86)\National Instruments\LabVIEW 2019\vi.lib\Utility\error.llb"***
  - If set ***"SyncPath=C:\Sync"*** in **Environment Variables**
    - ***[SyncPath]\abc.txt*** --> ***"C:\Sync\abc.txt"***

### Troubleshooting: LabVIEWCLI `Error code : 66`

On loaded self-hosted runners (especially when several LabVIEW CI jobs run
concurrently on the same machine), `LabVIEWCLI` can fail with
`Error code : 66` — `RunExecuteOperationVI.vi ... ProxyCaller 中的通信调用错误`
(communication call error in ProxyCaller) — even though the operation itself
is fine. This is a startup timing race: LabVIEW's VI Server is not ready yet
when LabVIEWCLI tries to call into it, and the connection succeeds a moment
later. Rerunning the workflow usually passes.

`lvCICD` handles this automatically since the robustness fix:

1. If the LabVIEW VI Server port is already open (e.g. a previous step left
   LabVIEW running), the running instance is reused instead of starting a
   second LabVIEW process.
2. Otherwise LabVIEW is started and the script polls the VI Server port until
   it accepts connections (instead of a fixed 10 s sleep), up to
   `StartupTimeout` seconds.
3. If `LabVIEWCLI` still fails with `Error code : 66` (or the connect error
   `-350000`), the call is retried up to `MaxRetries` times with `RetryDelay`
   seconds between attempts.
4. **Restart escalation**: when `Error code : 66` keeps repeating (default:
   after 2 consecutive failures), the long-lived shared LabVIEW instance's
   proxy channel is likely broken and simple retries never recover. `lvCICD`
   then kills all LabVIEW / LabVIEWCLI processes, waits for the VI Server port
   to be released, starts a fresh LabVIEW instance and retries the operation.
   This is the fix for the case where the same operation fails with error 66
   on every attempt while earlier steps of the job succeeded.

Only the transient communication errors (`Error code : 66` and `-350000`) are
retried. Real operation failures (e.g. broken VIs detected, build errors,
failing test cases) fail the step immediately without retries. The behavior
is configurable via the `StartupTimeout` / `MaxRetries` / `RetryDelay` /
`RestartOnError66` / `RestartAfterFailures` action inputs.

> **Note**: the restart escalation kills **all** LabVIEW.exe processes on the
> machine. If the machine runs several concurrent CI jobs that share LabVIEW,
> set `RestartOnError66: false` in the workflow.

## Pre-works

  1. Setup a self-host runner for your repo.
     1. Add your self-hosted Windows Machine to pool [`Azure DevOps`](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/pipelines/agents/v2-windows?view=azure-devops) | [`Github`](https://docs.github.com/en/enterprise-server@3.2/actions/hosting-your-own-runners/adding-self-hosted-runners)
     2. Tips:
        1. **[!IMPORTANT!]** Please read [Security hardening for GitHub Actions](https://docs.github.com/en/enterprise-server@3.5/actions/security-guides/security-hardening-for-github-actions#hardening-for-self-hosted-runners) before using a self-host runner in public repos.
        Best practice:
           1. Do NOT use `pull_request` trigger for public repos.
           2. Only use actions created by GitHub or verified creators in marketplace.
           3. Use github secret to store your critical information instead of using plant-text in workflow yml file.
        2. Running Powershell Scripts needs to be enabled on the system. [Reference](https://www.partitionwizard.com/clone-disk/running-scripts-is-disabled-on-this-system.html)
        3. If you set the runner/agent application as a service, please set the account to current user. This makes it easier to set up the environment. You can use `whoami` command to check the current user.
  2. Install LabVIEW and its components needed with [NI Package Manger](https://www.ni.com/zh-cn/support/downloads/software-products/download.package-manager.html)
  3. Install [LabVIEW Command line Interface](https://www.ni.com/zh-cn/support/downloads/software-products/download.ni-labview-command-line-interface.html#)
  4. Install dependent VIPM Libraries ([lvCICD.vipc](https://github.com/LV-APT/lvCICD/files/8727600/lvCICD.zip)).
  5. Install the softwares needed for your own case.

## Usage

### Github Actions

Add this customer-action to `steps` session in github actions yml file.

> Copy this snippet to github workflow yml file and change the content quoted by `[]` following your self-hosted agent/runner configuration and operation to execute.
>
> Use `${{ steps.[step-id].result.Result }}` in next steps to use result of lvCICD.
>
> Check [**lvCICD Operation-List**](docs/Operation-List.md) for detailed information.

    - name: [your_action_step_name]
      uses: LV-APT/lvCICD@[lvcicd_version]
      id: [step-id]
      with:
        Operation: [optional, operation_in_list, 'lvEcho' as default]
        Parameter1: [optional, parameter]
        Parameter2: [optional, parameter]
        Parameter3: [optional, parameter]
        Parameter4: [optional, parameter]
        Parameter5: [optional, parameter]
        Parameter6: [optional, parameter]
        Parameter7: [optional, parameter]
        Parameter8: [optional, parameter]
        Parameter9: [optional, parameter]
        Parameter10: [optional, parameter]
        LabVIEW_Version: [optional, LabVIEW_version,2019 or Later,2019 as default]
        Architecture: [optional, x86 or x64, x86 as default]
        OperationVIFolder: [optional, use lvCICD action path as default, set to ${{ github.workspace }} for searching operations in your repo]
        StartupTimeout: [optional, max seconds to wait for the LabVIEW VI Server port to accept connections before invoking LabVIEWCLI, 120 as default]
        MaxRetries: [optional, how many times to retry LabVIEWCLI when it fails with the transient error code 66, 3 as default]
        RetryDelay: [optional, seconds to wait between error-66 retries, 10 as default]
        RestartOnError66: [optional, restart LabVIEW (kill all LabVIEW/LabVIEWCLI processes, start a fresh instance) when error 66 keeps repeating, true as default]
        RestartAfterFailures: [optional, consecutive error-66 failures before triggering the LabVIEW restart, 2 as default]

**Example 1**: use `lvEcho` to check runner/agent ready for lvCICD tools.

    - name: TestEnvironment
      id: lvEcho
      uses: LV-APT/lvCICD@v0.3
      with:
        Operation: lvEcho
        Parameter1: "line1"
        Parameter2: "line2"
        Parameter3: "line3"

**Example 2**: use `StartVITester` to run unit test cases in "CICD-LabVIEW-Adapter.lvproj".

    - name: Run lvCICD Test cases with VITester
      id: StartVITester
      uses: LV-APT/lvCICD@v0.3
      with:
        Operation: StartVITester
        Parameter1: ${{ github.workspace }}\LabVIEW-Adapter\CICD-LabVIEW-Adapter.lvproj

### Azure DevOps

#### Step 1: Add Variables needed for lvCICD in Azure DevOps Pipeline yml file

> Change the `lvCICD-Tool-Version`/`LabVIEW-Version`/`LabVIEW-Architecture` following your self-hosted agent/runner configuration.

    variables:
    - name: lvCICD-Tool-URL
      value: https://github.com/LV-APT/lvCICD
    - name: lvCICD-Tool-LocalPath
      value: $(Agent.TempDirectory)\lvCICD
    - name: lvCICD-Tool-Version
      value: v0.3
    - name: lvCICD
      value: '"$(lvCICD-Tool-LocalPath)\lvCICD.ps1" $(LabVIEW-Version) $(LabVIEW-Architecture) "$(OperationVIFolder)"'
    - name: LabVIEW-Version
      value: '2017'
    - name: LabVIEW-Architecture
      value: x86
    - name: OperationVIFolder
      value: ""

#### Step 2: Add task for Downloading lvCICD tools to `steps` session of Azure DevOps Pipeline yml file

> lvCICD tool repo needs to be downloaded before taking any operation by `lvCICD`.
>
> Copy this snippet to your Azure DevOps Pipeline yml file as it is. You don't need to change it.

    - task: PowerShell@2
      displayName: Clone lvCICD Tools
      inputs:
        targetType: 'inline'
        script: |
          # Show Parameters
          Write-Host "lvCICD-Tool-LocalPath = $(lvCICD-Tool-LocalPath)"
          Write-Host "lvCICD-Tool-URL = $(lvCICD-Tool-URL)"
          Write-Host "lvCICD-Tool-Version = $(lvCICD-Tool-Version)"
          # Remove temp files
          Write-Host "if ( Test-Path -Path ""$(lvCICD-Tool-LocalPath)"") { Remove-Item -Recurse -Force ""$(lvCICD-Tool-LocalPath)"" }"
          if ( Test-Path -Path "$(lvCICD-Tool-LocalPath)") { Remove-Item -Recurse -Force "$(lvCICD-Tool-LocalPath)" }
          # Clone Tools
          Write-Host "git clone --progress --depth 1 --branch $(lvCICD-Tool-Version) ""$(lvCICD-Tool-URL)"" ""$(lvCICD-Tool-LocalPath)"""
          git clone --progress --depth 1 --branch $(lvCICD-Tool-Version) "$(lvCICD-Tool-URL)" "$(lvCICD-Tool-LocalPath)"

#### Step 3: Add task of lvCICD to DevOps Pipeline yml file

> Copy this snippet to DevOps Pipeline yml file and change the content quoted by `[]` following your self-hosted agent/runner configuration and operation to execute.
>
> Check [**lvCICD Operation-List**](docs/Operation-List.md) for detailed information.

    - task: PowerShell@2
      displayName: [your_action_step_name]
      inputs:
        targetType: 'inline'
        script: |
          # Write your PowerShell commands here.
          & $(lvCICD) [Operation] [Parameter1] [Parameter2] [Parameter3] ...

> If you need to use the output of lvCICD operation, use this snippet instead.
>
> `lvCICD` operation saves the output to ***"$(lvCICD-Tool-LocalPath)\output.txt"***. The additional code in the task exports the result to a variable named `lvEchoOutput`, which could be used in following steps.
>
> Change variable name in your case. Refer to [Set variables in scripts](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/pipelines/process/set-variables-scripts?view=azure-devops&tabs=powershell) for more information.

    - task: PowerShell@2
      displayName: [your_action_step_name]
      inputs:
        targetType: 'inline'
        script: |
          # Write your PowerShell commands here.
          & $(lvCICD) [Operation] [Parameter1] [Parameter2] [Parameter3] ...
          $Result=Get-Content -Path "$(lvCICD-Tool-LocalPath)\output.txt";
          Write-Host "##vso[task.setvariable variable=lvEchoOutput;]$Result"

**Example 1**: use `lvEcho` to check runner/agent ready for lvCICD tools.

    - task: PowerShell@2
      displayName: lvEcho
      inputs:
        targetType: 'inline'
        script: |
          & $(lvCICD) lvEcho a b c

**Example 2**: use `lvBuild` to build "lvCICD-Example.lvproj" which contains a build spec in it.

    - task: PowerShell@2
      displayName: lvBuild
      inputs:
        targetType: 'inline'
        script: |
          Write-Host "$(Pipeline.Workspace)"
          Write-Host "$(Build.Repository.LocalPath)"
          & $(lvCICD) lvBuild '$(Build.Repository.LocalPath)\lvCICD-Example.lvproj'