Node.js CI workflow (chaijs/chai)

The Node.js CI workflow from chaijs/chai, explained and optimized by Latchkey.

CI health: D - needs work

Point runs-on at Latchkey and get caching, run de-duplication, job timeouts, self-healing for flaky steps, and up to 58% lower cost, applied automatically.

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Source: chaijs/chai.github/workflows/node.js.ymlLicense MITView source

What it does

This is the Node.js CI workflow from the chaijs/chai 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

workflow (.yml)

# This workflow will do a clean install of node dependencies, build the source code and run tests across different versions of node
# For more information see: https://help.github.com/actions/language-and-framework-guides/using-nodejs-with-github-actions

name: Node.js CI

on:
  push:
    branches: [ main, 4.x.x ]
  pull_request:
    branches: [ main, 4.x.x ]

permissions: {}

jobs:
  lint:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
    - uses: actions/checkout@9c091bb21b7c1c1d1991bb908d89e4e9dddfe3e0 # v7.0.0
      with:
        persist-credentials: false
    - name: Use Node.js ${{ matrix.node-version }}
      uses: actions/setup-node@48b55a011bda9f5d6aeb4c2d9c7362e8dae4041e # v6.4.0
      with:
        node-version: 24
    - run: npm ci --ignore-scripts
    - run: npm run lint

  build:

    runs-on: ubuntu-latest

    strategy:
      matrix:
        node-version:
          - 20      # to be removed 2026-04-30
          - 25
          - latest
        # See supported Node.js release schedule at https://github.com/nodejs/release#release-schedule

    steps:
    - uses: actions/checkout@9c091bb21b7c1c1d1991bb908d89e4e9dddfe3e0 # v7.0.0
      with:
        persist-credentials: false
    - name: Use Node.js ${{ matrix.node-version }}
      uses: actions/setup-node@48b55a011bda9f5d6aeb4c2d9c7362e8dae4041e # v6.4.0
      with:
        node-version: ${{ matrix.node-version }}
    - run: npm ci --ignore-scripts
    - run: npm run build --if-present
    - run: npm run test-node

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 do a clean install of node dependencies, build the source code and run tests across different versions of node
# For more information see: https://help.github.com/actions/language-and-framework-guides/using-nodejs-with-github-actions
 
name: Node.js CI
 
on:
  push:
    branches: [ main, 4.x.x ]
  pull_request:
    branches: [ main, 4.x.x ]
 
permissions: {}
 
concurrency:
  group: ${{ github.workflow }}-${{ github.ref }}
  cancel-in-progress: true
 
jobs:
  lint:
    timeout-minutes: 30
    runs-on: latchkey-small
    steps:
    - uses: actions/checkout@9c091bb21b7c1c1d1991bb908d89e4e9dddfe3e0 # v7.0.0
      with:
        persist-credentials: false
    - name: Use Node.js ${{ matrix.node-version }}
      uses: actions/setup-node@48b55a011bda9f5d6aeb4c2d9c7362e8dae4041e # v6.4.0
      with:
        cache: 'npm'
        node-version: 24
    - run: npm ci --ignore-scripts
    - run: npm run lint
 
  build:
    timeout-minutes: 30
 
    runs-on: latchkey-small
 
    strategy:
      matrix:
        node-version:
          - 20      # to be removed 2026-04-30
          - 25
          - latest
        # See supported Node.js release schedule at https://github.com/nodejs/release#release-schedule
 
    steps:
    - uses: actions/checkout@9c091bb21b7c1c1d1991bb908d89e4e9dddfe3e0 # v7.0.0
      with:
        persist-credentials: false
    - name: Use Node.js ${{ matrix.node-version }}
      uses: actions/setup-node@48b55a011bda9f5d6aeb4c2d9c7362e8dae4041e # v6.4.0
      with:
        cache: 'npm'
        node-version: ${{ matrix.node-version }}
    - run: npm ci --ignore-scripts
    - run: npm run build --if-present
    - run: npm run test-node

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.

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 2 jobs (4 with the matrix expanded) per trigger. On Latchkey the same minutes cost up to 58% less than GitHub-hosted, with zero queue time.

Actions used in this workflow

actions/checkout actions/setup-node