Pull Requests workflow (gchq/CyberChef)

The Pull Requests workflow from gchq/CyberChef, explained and optimized by Latchkey.

CI health: D - needs work

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Source: gchq/CyberChef.github/workflows/pull_requests.ymlLicense Apache-2.0View source

What it does

This is the Pull Requests workflow from the gchq/CyberChef 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

workflow (.yml)

name: "Pull Requests"

permissions:
  contents: read

on:
  workflow_dispatch:
  pull_request:
    types: [synchronize, opened, reopened]

jobs:
  main:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@9c091bb21b7c1c1d1991bb908d89e4e9dddfe3e0 # v7.0.0

      - name: Set node version
        uses: actions/setup-node@48b55a011bda9f5d6aeb4c2d9c7362e8dae4041e # v6.4.0
        with:
          node-version: 24
          registry-url: "https://registry.npmjs.org"

      - name: Install
        run: |
          npm ci
          npm run setheapsize

      - name: Lint
        run: npx grunt lint

      - name: Unit Tests
        run: |
          npm test
          npm run testnodeconsumer

      - name: Production Build
        if: success()
        run: npx grunt prod

      - name: Upload Build Artefact
        if: success()
        uses: actions/upload-artifact@043fb46d1a93c77aae656e7c1c64a875d1fc6a0a # v7.0.1
        with:
          name: zipped-build
          path: build/prod/*.zip
          retention-days: 5

      - name: Setup Chrome
        id: setup-chrome
        if: success()
        run: |
          npx @puppeteer/browsers install chrome@148
          echo chromedir=$(dirname $(find `pwd`/chrome/* -name chrome -print -quit)) >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT

      - name: UI Tests
        if: success()
        run: |
          export PATH=${{ steps.setup-chrome.outputs.chromedir }}:$PATH
          sudo apt-get install xvfb
          xvfb-run --server-args="-screen 0 1200x800x24" npx grunt testui

      - name: Set up Docker Buildx
        if: success()
        uses: docker/setup-buildx-action@d7f5e7f509e45cec5c76c4d5afdd7de93d0b3df5 # v4.1.0

      - name: Set up QEMU
        uses: docker/setup-qemu-action@06116385d9baf250c9f4dcb4858b16962ea869c3 # v4.1.0

      - name: Production Image Build
        if: success()
        id: build-image
        uses: docker/build-push-action@f9f3042f7e2789586610d6e8b85c8f03e5195baf # v7.2.0
        with:
          platforms: linux/amd64,linux/arm64,linux/arm/v7

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: "Pull Requests"
 
permissions:
  contents: read
 
on:
  workflow_dispatch:
  pull_request:
    types: [synchronize, opened, reopened]
 
concurrency:
  group: ${{ github.workflow }}-${{ github.ref }}
  cancel-in-progress: true
 
jobs:
  main:
    timeout-minutes: 30
    runs-on: latchkey-small
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@9c091bb21b7c1c1d1991bb908d89e4e9dddfe3e0 # v7.0.0
 
      - name: Set node version
        uses: actions/setup-node@48b55a011bda9f5d6aeb4c2d9c7362e8dae4041e # v6.4.0
        with:
          cache: 'npm'
          node-version: 24
          registry-url: "https://registry.npmjs.org"
 
      - name: Install
        run: |
          npm ci
          npm run setheapsize
 
      - name: Lint
        run: npx grunt lint
 
      - name: Unit Tests
        run: |
          npm test
          npm run testnodeconsumer
 
      - name: Production Build
        if: success()
        run: npx grunt prod
 
      - name: Upload Build Artefact
        if: success()
        uses: actions/upload-artifact@043fb46d1a93c77aae656e7c1c64a875d1fc6a0a # v7.0.1
        with:
          name: zipped-build
          path: build/prod/*.zip
          retention-days: 5
 
      - name: Setup Chrome
        id: setup-chrome
        if: success()
        run: |
          npx @puppeteer/browsers install chrome@148
          echo chromedir=$(dirname $(find `pwd`/chrome/* -name chrome -print -quit)) >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
 
      - name: UI Tests
        if: success()
        run: |
          export PATH=${{ steps.setup-chrome.outputs.chromedir }}:$PATH
          sudo apt-get install xvfb
          xvfb-run --server-args="-screen 0 1200x800x24" npx grunt testui
 
      - name: Set up Docker Buildx
        if: success()
        uses: docker/setup-buildx-action@d7f5e7f509e45cec5c76c4d5afdd7de93d0b3df5 # v4.1.0
 
      - name: Set up QEMU
        uses: docker/setup-qemu-action@06116385d9baf250c9f4dcb4858b16962ea869c3 # v4.1.0
 
      - name: Production Image Build
        if: success()
        id: build-image
        uses: docker/build-push-action@f9f3042f7e2789586610d6e8b85c8f03e5195baf # v7.2.0
        with:
          platforms: linux/amd64,linux/arm64,linux/arm/v7

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
Container pulls and builds
End-to-end and browser tests

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

actions/checkout actions/setup-node actions/upload-artifact docker/setup-buildx-action docker/setup-qemu-action docker/build-push-action