GitHub Actions

Prerequisites

Get Your API Key

Navigate to your Coval dashboard and generate an API key from Settings.

Add GitHub Secret

Go to your repository Settings > Secrets and variables > Actions
Click New repository secret
Name: COVAL_API_KEY
Value: Your Coval API key

Gather Required IDs

You’ll need the following identifiers:

Agent ID (22 chars): Found in Agents page → Select agent → Copy ID
Persona ID (22 chars): Found in Personas page → Select persona → Copy ID
Test Set ID (8 chars): Found in Test Sets page → Select test set → Copy ID
Metric IDs (22 chars each, optional): Found in Metrics page → Click metric → Copy ID

Quick Start

Automatic PR Checks

Create .github/workflows/coval-eval.yml:

name: Coval Evaluation

on:
  pull_request:
    branches: [main]

jobs:
  evaluate-agent:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Run Coval Evaluation
        uses: coval-ai/coval-github-action@v1
        env:
          COVAL_API_KEY: ${{ secrets.COVAL_API_KEY }}
        with:
          agent_id: "gk3jK9mPq2xRt5vW8yZaBc"
          persona_id: "hL4kL0nQr3ySt6vX9zAcDd"
          test_set_id: "aB1cD2eF"

Manual Workflow Dispatch

Create .github/workflows/manual-eval.yml:

name: Manual Evaluation

on:
  workflow_dispatch:
    inputs:
      agent_id:
        description: "Agent ID (22 characters)"
        required: true
        type: string
      persona_id:
        description: "Persona ID (22 characters)"
        required: true
        type: string
      test_set_id:
        description: "Test Set ID (8 characters)"
        required: true
        type: string

jobs:
  evaluate:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Run Evaluation
        uses: coval-ai/coval-github-action@v1
        env:
          COVAL_API_KEY: ${{ secrets.COVAL_API_KEY }}
        with:
          agent_id: ${{ inputs.agent_id }}
          persona_id: ${{ inputs.persona_id }}
          test_set_id: ${{ inputs.test_set_id }}

To trigger:

Navigate to Actions tab
Select Manual Evaluation
Click Run workflow
Enter your IDs and click Run workflow

Advanced Configuration

Custom Metrics and Options

- name: Advanced Evaluation
  uses: coval-ai/coval-github-action@v1
  env:
    COVAL_API_KEY: ${{ secrets.COVAL_API_KEY }}
  with:
    agent_id: "gk3jK9mPq2xRt5vW8yZaBc"
    persona_id: "hL4kL0nQr3ySt6vX9zAcDd"
    test_set_id: "aB1cD2eF"
    # Specific metrics to evaluate
    metric_ids: '["iM5lM1oRs4zTu7wY0aBdEe", "jN6mN2pSt5aUv8xZ1bCeFf"]'
    # Run each test case 3 times
    iteration_count: 3
    # Run 2 simulations concurrently
    concurrency: 2
    # Custom metadata for tracking
    metadata: '{"campaign": "q4_2025", "env": "staging"}'

Using Outputs

- name: Run Evaluation
  id: coval
  uses: coval-ai/coval-github-action@v1
  env:
    COVAL_API_KEY: ${{ secrets.COVAL_API_KEY }}
  with:
    agent_id: "gk3jK9mPq2xRt5vW8yZaBc"
    persona_id: "hL4kL0nQr3ySt6vX9zAcDd"
    test_set_id: "aB1cD2eF"

- name: Post Results
  run: |
    echo "Run ID: ${{ steps.coval.outputs.run_id }}"
    echo "Status: ${{ steps.coval.outputs.status }}"
    echo "View: ${{ steps.coval.outputs.run_url }}"

- name: Comment on PR
  if: github.event_name == 'pull_request'
  uses: actions/github-script@v7
  with:
    script: |
      github.rest.issues.createComment({
        issue_number: context.issue.number,
        owner: context.repo.owner,
        repo: context.repo.repo,
        body: '✓ Evaluation complete: ${{ steps.coval.outputs.run_url }}'
      })

Configuration Reference

Inputs

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
`agent_id`	string	Yes	-	Agent to test (22 chars)
`persona_id`	string	Yes	-	Simulated persona (22 chars)
`test_set_id`	string	Yes	-	Test set with test cases (8 chars)
`metric_ids`	JSON array	No	Agent defaults	Metric IDs to evaluate (22 chars each)
`iteration_count`	integer	No	`1`	Runs per test case (1-10)
`concurrency`	integer	No	`1`	Concurrent simulations (1-5)
`metadata`	JSON object	No	`{}`	Custom metadata for tracking
`max_wait_time`	integer	No	`600`	Max wait time in seconds
`check_interval`	integer	No	`30`	Status check interval in seconds

Outputs

Output	Type	Description
`run_id`	string	Unique run identifier
`status`	string	Final status (COMPLETED, FAILED, etc.)
`run_url`	string	Dashboard URL to view results

Environment Variables

Variable	Required	Description
`COVAL_API_KEY`	Yes	Your Coval API key

API Details

The action uses the Coval v1 Runs API:

Launch Run

Endpoint: POST https://api.coval.dev/v1/runs Request:

{
  "agent_id": "gk3jK9mPq2xRt5vW8yZaBc",
  "persona_id": "hL4kL0nQr3ySt6vX9zAcDd",
  "test_set_id": "aB1cD2eF",
  "metric_ids": ["iM5lM1oRs4zTu7wY0aBdEe"],
  "options": {
    "iteration_count": 3,
    "concurrency": 2
  },
  "metadata": {
    "campaign": "q4_2025"
  }
}

Response:

{
  "run": {
    "run_id": "8EktrIgaVxn9LfxkIynagX",
    "status": "PENDING",
    "create_time": "2025-10-14T12:00:00Z"
  }
}

Monitor Run

Endpoint: GET https://api.coval.dev/v1/runs/{run_id} Response:

{
  "run": {
    "run_id": "8EktrIgaVxn9LfxkIynagX",
    "status": "IN PROGRESS",
    "progress": {
      "total_test_cases": 10,
      "completed_test_cases": 5,
      "failed_test_cases": 0,
      "in_progress_test_cases": 1
    }
  }
}

Run Statuses

Status	Description
`PENDING`	Waiting to start
`IN QUEUE`	Queued for execution
`IN PROGRESS`	Running test cases
`COMPLETED`	Successfully completed
`FAILED`	Run failed

Examples

Environment-Based Testing

name: Multi-Environment Testing

on:
  push:
    branches: [main, staging, dev]

jobs:
  evaluate:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Set Environment
        id: env
        run: |
          if [[ "${{ github.ref }}" == "refs/heads/main" ]]; then
            echo "agent=prodAgentId12345678" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
            echo "env=production" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
          elif [[ "${{ github.ref }}" == "refs/heads/staging" ]]; then
            echo "agent=stgAgentId123456789" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
            echo "env=staging" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
          else
            echo "agent=devAgentId123456789" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
            echo "env=development" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
          fi

      - name: Evaluate
        uses: coval-ai/coval-github-action@v1
        env:
          COVAL_API_KEY: ${{ secrets.COVAL_API_KEY }}
        with:
          agent_id: ${{ steps.env.outputs.agent }}
          persona_id: "hL4kL0nQr3ySt6vX9zAcDd"
          test_set_id: "aB1cD2eF"
          metadata: '{"env": "${{ steps.env.outputs.env }}", "commit": "${{ github.sha }}"}'

Parallel Persona Testing

name: Multi-Persona Testing

on:
  workflow_dispatch:

jobs:
  test:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    strategy:
      matrix:
        persona:
          - { id: "persona1234567890abcd", name: "Friendly" }
          - { id: "persona1234567890efgh", name: "Frustrated" }
          - { id: "persona1234567890ijkl", name: "Technical" }
    steps:
      - name: Test ${{ matrix.persona.name }}
        uses: coval-ai/coval-github-action@v1
        env:
          COVAL_API_KEY: ${{ secrets.COVAL_API_KEY }}
        with:
          agent_id: "gk3jK9mPq2xRt5vW8yZaBc"
          persona_id: ${{ matrix.persona.id }}
          test_set_id: "aB1cD2eF"
          metadata: '{"persona": "${{ matrix.persona.name }}"}'

Scheduled Regression Testing

name: Nightly Regression

on:
  schedule:
    - cron: '0 2 * * *'  # 2 AM daily

jobs:
  regression:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Run Tests
        uses: coval-ai/coval-github-action@v1
        env:
          COVAL_API_KEY: ${{ secrets.COVAL_API_KEY }}
        with:
          agent_id: "gk3jK9mPq2xRt5vW8yZaBc"
          persona_id: "hL4kL0nQr3ySt6vX9zAcDd"
          test_set_id: "regrTest"
          iteration_count: 5
          concurrency: 3
          max_wait_time: 1800

Troubleshooting

Invalid API Key

Status Code: 401
Error Code: UNAUTHENTICATED
Message: Invalid or missing API key

Solution: Verify COVAL_API_KEY is set correctly in GitHub Secrets.

Invalid Agent ID

Status Code: 400
Error Code: INVALID_ARGUMENT
Message: Invalid agent_id: Agent not found

Solution: Confirm the agent ID is 22 characters and exists in your organization.

Validation Errors

Status Code: 400
Details:
  - iteration_count: Value must be between 1 and 10

Solution: Ensure all parameters meet the constraints listed in the Configuration Reference.

Timeout

Solution: Increase max_wait_time for larger test sets or check the Coval dashboard for run status.

Invalid JSON

# Wrong - will fail
metric_ids: ["id1", "id2"]

# Correct - use single quotes around JSON
metric_ids: '["id1", "id2"]'

Introduction

Configuration

Observability

Step-by-Step Guides

Use Cases

Connect & Collaborate

Prerequisites

Quick Start

Automatic PR Checks

Manual Workflow Dispatch

Advanced Configuration

Custom Metrics and Options

Using Outputs

Configuration Reference

Inputs

Outputs

Environment Variables

API Details

Launch Run

Monitor Run

Run Statuses

Examples

Environment-Based Testing

Parallel Persona Testing

Scheduled Regression Testing

Troubleshooting

Invalid API Key

Invalid Agent ID

Validation Errors

Timeout

Invalid JSON

Resources

Introduction

Configuration

Observability

Step-by-Step Guides

Use Cases

Connect & Collaborate

​Prerequisites

​Quick Start

​Automatic PR Checks

​Manual Workflow Dispatch

​Advanced Configuration

​Custom Metrics and Options

​Using Outputs

​Configuration Reference

​Inputs

​Outputs

​Environment Variables

​API Details

​Launch Run

​Monitor Run

​Run Statuses

​Examples

​Environment-Based Testing

​Parallel Persona Testing

​Scheduled Regression Testing

​Troubleshooting

​Invalid API Key

​Invalid Agent ID

​Validation Errors

​Timeout

​Invalid JSON

​Resources

Prerequisites

Quick Start

Automatic PR Checks

Manual Workflow Dispatch

Advanced Configuration

Custom Metrics and Options

Using Outputs

Configuration Reference

Inputs

Outputs

Environment Variables

API Details

Launch Run

Monitor Run

Run Statuses

Examples

Environment-Based Testing

Parallel Persona Testing

Scheduled Regression Testing

Troubleshooting

Invalid API Key

Invalid Agent ID

Validation Errors

Timeout

Invalid JSON

Resources