🚨 CRITICAL: Fix CI/CD Pipeline - Backend Health Check Failures and Test Reliability Issues

[manavgup]

🚨 CRITICAL: Fix CI/CD Pipeline - Backend Health Check Failures and Test Reliability Issues

🚨 Critical Issue: CI/CD Pipeline Reliability

Current Status

The CI/CD pipeline shows false positives - runs appear successful but contain critical failures:

Latest Run: https://github.com/manavgup/rag_modulo/actions/runs/17419554712

❌ Critical Failures Identified

1. Backend Health Check Failures

Container rag-modulo-backend-1  Starting
Container rag-modulo-backend-1  Started
dependency failed to start: container rag-modulo-backend-1 is unhealthy
Some integration tests failed (non-blocking for now)

2. Linting and Unit Test Failures

• lint-and-unit: 4 errors, 1 warning
• api-tests: Exit code 4 failures
• integration-test: No test reports generated

3. False Success Status

• Pipeline shows "Success" despite multiple failures
• Non-blocking test failures are masking critical issues
• No proper failure propagation to overall pipeline status

🔍 Root Cause Analysis Needed

Backend Health Check Issues

1. Authentication System: OIDC authentication broken (known issue)
2. Database Connectivity: PostgreSQL connection failures
3. Environment Variables: Missing or incorrect configuration
4. Container Dependencies: Service startup order issues
5. Resource Constraints: Memory/CPU limits in CI environment

Test Framework Issues

1. Test Execution: Tests not running due to authentication blockers
2. Test Reporting: No artifacts generated for integration tests
3. Test Isolation: Tests not properly isolated from each other
4. Test Data: Missing or corrupted test data setup

🎯 Success Criteria

Phase 1: Fix Critical Blockers (Week 1)

• Backend Health Checks Pass: All containers start and become healthy
• Authentication System Working: OIDC authentication functional
• Database Connectivity: PostgreSQL connections stable
• Environment Configuration: All required variables properly set
• Pre-commit Hooks: Basic quality checks before commits

Phase 2: Test Framework Reliability (Week 2)

• All Tests Execute: No skipped or blocked tests
• Test Reports Generated: Proper artifacts and coverage reports
• Test Isolation: Tests don't interfere with each other
• Test Data Management: Consistent test data setup/teardown
• CI Test Suite: Simple, reliable tests following KISS principle

Phase 3: Production-Grade CI (Week 3)

• Pipeline Reliability: 100% success rate for healthy code
• Failure Detection: Proper failure propagation and reporting
• Performance Monitoring: CI execution time optimization
• Security Scanning: Automated security checks
• Quality Gates: Enforce code quality standards

🛠️ Immediate Actions Required

1. Debug Backend Health Issues

# Check backend container logs
docker logs rag-modulo-backend-1

# Verify environment variables
docker exec rag-modulo-backend-1 env | grep -E "(DB_|AUTH_|OIDC_)"

# Test database connectivity
docker exec rag-modulo-backend-1 python -c "import psycopg2; print('DB OK')"

2. Fix Authentication System

• Debug OIDC middleware
• Fix JWT token validation
• Test authentication endpoints
• Verify user login/logout flows

3. Improve Test Framework

• Set up proper test isolation
• Fix test data management
• Ensure test reports are generated
• Add proper cleanup procedures

4. Enhance CI Pipeline

• Add proper failure detection
• Implement quality gates
• Add performance monitoring
• Set up security scanning

5. Add Pre-commit Hooks (Low risk, immediate value)

# .pre-commit-config.yaml
repos:
  # Python formatting
  - repo: https://github.com/psf/black
    rev: 23.12.1
    hooks:
      - id: black
        language_version: python3.11
        args: [--line-length=120]

  # Python linting
  - repo: https://github.com/charliermarsh/ruff-pre-commit
    rev: v0.1.9
    hooks:
      - id: ruff
        args: [--line-length=120, --fix]

  # YAML formatting
  - repo: https://github.com/pre-commit/pre-commit-hooks
    rev: v4.5.0
    hooks:
      - id: trailing-whitespace
      - id: end-of-file-fixer
      - id: check-yaml
      - id: check-added-large-files
      - id: check-merge-conflict
      - id: check-toml
      - id: check-json
      - id: pretty-format-json
        args: [--autofix, --no-sort-keys]

  # Prevent secrets
  - repo: https://github.com/Yelp/detect-secrets
    rev: v1.4.0
    hooks:
      - id: detect-secrets
        args: ['--baseline', '.secrets.baseline']

  # Type checking (optional, can be added later)
  - repo: https://github.com/pre-commit/mirrors-mypy
    rev: v1.8.0
    hooks:
      - id: mypy
        args: [--ignore-missing-imports]
        additional_dependencies: [types-all]

Setup Instructions:

# Install pre-commit
pip install pre-commit

# Install the git hooks
pre-commit install

# Run against all files (initial setup)
pre-commit run --all-files

# Create secrets baseline
detect-secrets scan --baseline .secrets.baseline

Benefits:

• Catches formatting issues before commit
• Prevents secrets from entering repository
• Ensures consistent code style
• Reduces CI pipeline failures
• Immediate developer feedback

6. Add Database Migration CI Checks

# Add to Makefile
migration-check:
    @echo "Validating database migrations..."
    docker compose run backend alembic check
    docker compose run backend alembic upgrade head
    docker compose run backend alembic downgrade -1
    docker compose run backend alembic upgrade head
    @echo "Migration validation successful"

📊 Current Pipeline Issues

Component	Status	Issues
Backend Health	❌ Failing	Authentication, DB connectivity
Unit Tests	❌ Failing	4 errors, 1 warning
API Tests	❌ Failing	Exit code 4
Integration Tests	❌ Failing	No reports generated
Linting	❌ Failing	Multiple violations
Build Process	✅ Working	Images building successfully

🔧 Technical Debt

1. Authentication System: Completely broken, blocking all testing
2. Test Framework: Not properly configured for CI environment
3. Environment Management: Inconsistent configuration across environments
4. Error Handling: Poor error reporting and failure detection
5. Monitoring: No proper health monitoring or alerting

📈 Expected Outcomes

Short-term (1-2 weeks)

• All containers start and become healthy
• Basic test suite runs successfully
• Authentication system functional
• CI pipeline shows accurate status
• Pre-commit hooks catching issues early

Medium-term (3-4 weeks)

• Comprehensive test coverage
• Reliable CI/CD pipeline
• Proper error reporting
• Performance optimization

Long-term (1-2 months)

• Production-ready CI/CD
• Automated security scanning
• Performance monitoring
• Quality gates enforcement

🚨 Priority Level: CRITICAL

This issue blocks:

• All development work
• Production deployment
• Code quality assurance
• Team productivity

📝 Next Steps

1. Immediate: Debug backend health check failures
2. Today: Add pre-commit hooks for immediate quality improvements
3. This Week: Fix authentication system
4. Next Week: Implement proper test framework
5. Following Week: Enhance CI pipeline reliability

🔗 Related Issues

• Authentication system issues (blocking all testing)
• Test framework configuration
• Environment setup problems
• CI/CD pipeline reliability
• Add Observability and Monitoring Infrastructure #168 - Observability and Monitoring (follow-up)
• Implement Secret Scanning and Security Checks #169 - Secret Scanning (follow-up)
• Developer Experience Improvements #170 - Developer Experience (follow-up)

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Assignee: @manavgup
Labels: critical, ci-cd, testing, backend, authentication
Milestone: Production Readiness
Priority: P0 (Critical)