update proxies.json workflow (CharlesPikachu/freeproxy)

The update proxies.json workflow from CharlesPikachu/freeproxy, explained and optimized by Latchkey.

What it does

This is the update proxies.json workflow from the CharlesPikachu/freeproxy repository, a real project running GitHub Actions. It is shown here with attribution under its Apache-2.0 license.

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

The workflow

name: update proxies.json

on:
  schedule:
    - cron: "0 */3 * * *"
  workflow_dispatch: {}

permissions:
  contents: write

jobs:
  update:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest

    steps:
      - name: Checkout Repo
        uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Set Up Python
        uses: actions/setup-python@v5
        with:
          python-version: "3.x"

      - name: Install Dependencies
        run: |
          python -m pip install --upgrade pip
          pip install requests

      - name: Update Proxies
        run: python scripts/update_proxies.py

      - name: Commit Changes If Any
        env:
          GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
          AUTHOR_NAME: ${{ secrets.GIT_AUTHOR_NAME }}
          AUTHOR_EMAIL: ${{ secrets.GIT_AUTHOR_EMAIL }}
        run: |
          if git diff --quiet proxies.json; then
            echo "No changes in proxies.json"
            exit 0
          fi
          git config user.name "github-actions[bot]"
          git config user.email "41898282+github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com"
          git add proxies.json
          git commit -m "Update proxies.json [skip ci]" --author="${AUTHOR_NAME} <${AUTHOR_EMAIL}>"
          git push

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.

name: update proxies.json
 
on:
  schedule:
    - cron: "0 */3 * * *"
  workflow_dispatch: {}
 
permissions:
  contents: write
 
jobs:
  update:
    timeout-minutes: 30
    runs-on: latchkey-small
 
    steps:
      - name: Checkout Repo
        uses: actions/checkout@v4
 
      - name: Set Up Python
        uses: actions/setup-python@v5
        with:
          cache: 'pip'
          python-version: "3.x"
 
      - name: Install Dependencies
        run: |
          python -m pip install --upgrade pip
          pip install requests
 
      - name: Update Proxies
        run: python scripts/update_proxies.py
 
      - name: Commit Changes If Any
        env:
          GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
          AUTHOR_NAME: ${{ secrets.GIT_AUTHOR_NAME }}
          AUTHOR_EMAIL: ${{ secrets.GIT_AUTHOR_EMAIL }}
        run: |
          if git diff --quiet proxies.json; then
            echo "No changes in proxies.json"
            exit 0
          fi
          git config user.name "github-actions[bot]"
          git config user.email "41898282+github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com"
          git add proxies.json
          git commit -m "Update proxies.json [skip ci]" --author="${AUTHOR_NAME} <${AUTHOR_EMAIL}>"
          git push
 

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.
• 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 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