CLI CI job passes without running training

[ale18V]

Describe the bug

The test-cli GitHub Actions job is reported as successful even though the CLI exits during argument parsing and never starts training.

The workflow runs:

pnpm -F cli start -t cifar10 -u 3 -e 1 -r 1

However, testID is a required CLI argument and the workflow does not provide it. The CLI prints:

Required parameter 'testID' was not passed. Please provide a value by passing '--testID=passedValue' or '-i passedValue'

The argument parser exits with a successful status, so GitHub Actions marks the job as passing.

As a result, the current CI check does not:

• Create any Disco clients.
• Start any training.
• Test the CIFAR-10 task.
• Test decentralized communication.

Evidence

This can be seen in successful CI runs:

• September 22, 2026
• September 18, 2026
• September 11, 2026
• September 11, 2026

Each job prints the missing testID error and is nevertheless marked successful.

The relevant workflow command is:

https://github.com/epfml/disco/blob/main/.github/workflows/_test.yml#L70-L78

The required argument is defined here:

https://github.com/epfml/disco/blob/main/cli/src/args.ts#L93-L96

Additional server setup issue

After adding a test ID, the job will also need to start a Disco server.

CIFAR-10 uses the decentralized scheme and the CLI defaults to connecting to http://localhost:8080. The test-cli job currently does not start a server. The server started by build-server-docker belongs to a separate GitHub Actions runner and is not available to the test job.

Expected behavior

The CI job should:

1. Start a Disco server on the same runner.
2. Wait until the server is ready.
3. Run the CLI with a test ID and three CIFAR-10 users.
4. Fail if argument parsing, server connection, or training fails.
5. Shut down the server after the test.

The CLI should also return a nonzero exit code when required arguments are missing or when its main operation rejects.

Possible fix

• Pass a test ID, for example -i ci-cifar10.
• Start the server as a background process or job service within test-cli.
• Add a readiness check for port 8080.
• Change the CLI entry-point error handler to set a failing exit code, for example:

main(args.provider, args.numberOfUsers).catch((error) => {
  console.error(error);
  process.exitCode = 1;
});