Pact WIP pacts (includeWipPactsSince) not surfacing pacts in CI

By Daniel Zoghalchali·Latchkey

WIP pacts pull in newly published contracts on other branches so a provider can verify them early without failing the build. If includeWipPactsSince is set but no WIP pacts show up, the branch or date context is usually the reason.

What this error means

The verifier is configured with includeWipPactsSince but the run verifies only the usual pacts, and no WIP contracts appear even though consumers published new ones.

INFO: includeWipPactsSince is set to 2026-01-01
INFO: 0 WIP pacts found for orders-provider
WARN: providerVersionBranch not set - WIP pact selection may be empty

Common causes

The provider version branch is not set

WIP selection is relative to the provider branch; without providerVersionBranch the broker cannot determine which pacts are WIP.

The since date excludes recent pacts

A includeWipPactsSince date after the pacts were published leaves nothing in the WIP window.

How to fix it

Set the branch and a correct since date

1. Pass providerVersionBranch so WIP selection has a baseline.
2. Set includeWipPactsSince to a date before the WIP pacts were published.
3. Re-run and confirm WIP pacts are now listed.

new Verifier({
  provider: 'orders-provider',
  providerVersion: process.env.GIT_SHA,
  providerVersionBranch: process.env.GIT_BRANCH,
  includeWipPactsSince: '2026-01-01',
})

Publish consumer pacts with a branch

WIP relies on consumer pacts having branch metadata; ensure consumers publish with --branch so their WIP pacts are discoverable.

How to prevent it

• Always set the provider version branch when using WIP pacts.
• Keep the since date early enough to include current work.
• Publish consumer pacts with branch metadata.

Frequently asked questions

Related guides

References

• GitHub Actions documentation