Build Docs workflow (CASIA-IVA-Lab/DANet)

The Build Docs workflow from CASIA-IVA-Lab/DANet, explained and optimized by Latchkey.

What it does

This is the Build Docs workflow from the CASIA-IVA-Lab/DANet repository, a real project running GitHub Actions. It is shown here with attribution under its MIT license.

Below, Latchkey shows a faster, safer version produced by its optimization engine.

The workflow

# This workflow will install Python dependencies, run tests and lint with a single version of Python
# For more information see: https://help.github.com/actions/language-and-framework-guides/using-python-with-github-actions

name: Build Docs

on: 
  push:
    branches: [ master ]

jobs:
  docs:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v1
      - uses: seanmiddleditch/gha-setup-ninja@master
        
      - name: Set up Python
        uses: actions/setup-python@v1
        with:
          python-version: 3.7
          
      - name: Install dependencies
        run: |
          python -m pip install --upgrade pip
          pip install numpy -I
          pip install pytest torch
          
      - name: Install package
        run: |
          pip install -e .
          
      - name: Install Sphix Dependencies
        run: |
          cd docs/
          pip install -r requirements.txt
          
      - name: Build Sphinx docs
        run: |
          cd docs/
          make html
          touch build/html/.nojekyll
          
      # https://github.com/marketplace/actions/github-pages
      - name: Deploy
        if: success()
        uses: crazy-max/ghaction-github-pages@v1
        env:
          GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
        with:
          build_dir: docs/build/html/
          target_branch: gh-pages

The same workflow, on Latchkey

Estimated ~20% faster on cache hits, plus fewer wasted runs and a safer supply chain. Added and changed lines are highlighted.

# This workflow will install Python dependencies, run tests and lint with a single version of Python
# For more information see: https://help.github.com/actions/language-and-framework-guides/using-python-with-github-actions
 
name: Build Docs
 
on: 
  push:
    branches: [ master ]
 
concurrency:
  group: ${{ github.workflow }}-${{ github.ref }}
  cancel-in-progress: true
 
jobs:
  docs:
    timeout-minutes: 30
    runs-on: latchkey-small
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v1
      - uses: seanmiddleditch/gha-setup-ninja@master
        
      - name: Set up Python
        uses: actions/setup-python@v1
        with:
          cache: 'pip'
          python-version: 3.7
          
      - name: Install dependencies
        run: |
          python -m pip install --upgrade pip
          pip install numpy -I
          pip install pytest torch
          
      - name: Install package
        run: |
          pip install -e .
          
      - name: Install Sphix Dependencies
        run: |
          cd docs/
          pip install -r requirements.txt
          
      - name: Build Sphinx docs
        run: |
          cd docs/
          make html
          touch build/html/.nojekyll
          
      # https://github.com/marketplace/actions/github-pages
      - name: Deploy
        if: success()
        uses: crazy-max/ghaction-github-pages@v1
        env:
          GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
        with:
          build_dir: docs/build/html/
          target_branch: gh-pages
 

What changed

• Run on Latchkey managed runners with one line (runs-on), which apply the fixes below automatically and self-heal transient failures. This example uses latchkey-small; pick the runner size that fits the job.
• Cancel superseded runs when a branch or PR gets a newer push.
• Cache dependency installs on the setup step so they are served from cache.
• Add a job timeout so a hung step cannot burn hours of runner time.

2 third-party actions are referenced by a movable tag. Pin them to the commit SHA (Latchkey resolves and applies this automatically) so a repointed tag cannot change what runs.

What Latchkey heals here

This workflow has steps that commonly fail on transient issues (network, registries, flaky browsers). On Latchkey managed runners they are detected, retried, and self-healed instead of failing your build:

• Dependency installs

This workflow runs 1 job per trigger. On Latchkey the same minutes cost up to 58% less than GitHub-hosted, with zero queue time.

Actions used in this workflow