Introduction - Interested in system test Improvement project

Google Summer of Code
,
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Hello everyone,

My name is Tanuj Sharma. I am interested in contributing to preCICE under the Google Summer of Code program.

Currently, I am looking into the System Test Improvement project and planning to work on the entry task of running the system tests locally and adding a tutorial to the tests.

I have experience with Python, Docker, and GitHub Actions, and I am interested in applying these skills while learning more about the testing infrastructure in preCICE.

I would appreciate any guidance or suggestions on getting started with the system tests and contributing effectively.

Thank you!

1 Like
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Update: I have been actively working on the entry test. So far I have:

  • Fixed a Dockerfile syntax bug in Dockerfile.openfoam-adapter
    (inline comment on SHELL instruction causing parse errors)
  • Resolved the python-is-python3 compatibility issue for Ubuntu 20.04
  • Upgraded CMake to 3.22.1+ using the Kitware APT repository
  • Explored the GitHub Actions workflow structure in the tutorials repo

I have also prepared my GSoC proposal. Would love any feedback
from the mentors!

GitHub: github.com/Tanuj-Sharma-12

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Update on my entry test progress:

I have successfully added the oscillator tutorial to the
preCICE system tests:

  • Created metadata.yaml for the oscillator tutorial
    (with mass-left-python and mass-right-python cases)
  • Added oscillator_test suite to tools/tests/tests.yaml
  • Verified using print_metadata.py and print_test_suites.py
    — the tutorial is correctly recognized by the system

I also worked extensively on the older systemtests repository,
where I fixed several issues:

  • Fixed a Dockerfile syntax bug in Dockerfile.openfoam-adapter
    (inline comment on SHELL instruction causing parse errors)
  • Resolved the python-is-python3 compatibility issue for Ubuntu 20.04
  • Upgraded CMake to 3.22.1+ using the Kitware APT repository

My work on the tutorials fork is available here:

I tried opening a PR to precice/tutorials but the repository
requires collaborator access. I would love any feedback from
@fsimonis and @Makis on my approach!

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Hi @Makis,

I have successfully submitted my GSoC 2026 proposal for the System Tests Improvements.
Looking forward to your feedback!

Tanuj Sharma

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Hi @Makis,

While reading the preCICE system tests documentation at preCICE system tests | preCICE - The Coupling Library , I noticed this comment:

“The Docker Compose services consider GitHub Actions Cache when building the services, although the cache is currently only updated, but not hit.”

This means the cache is being saved but never actually used, causing every build to start from scratch. As part of my proposed work on faster builds, I would like to investigate and fix this. Could you help me understand why the cache is not being hit currently? Is there a known reason for this,
or was it never fully implemented?

Thank you!