Tests workflow (gruntjs/grunt)

The Tests workflow from gruntjs/grunt, explained and optimized by Latchkey.

CI health: D - needs work

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Source: gruntjs/grunt.github/workflows/test.ymlLicense MITView source

What it does

This is the Tests workflow from the gruntjs/grunt 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)

name: Tests

on: [push, pull_request]

env:
  FORCE_COLOR: 2

jobs:
  run:
    name: Node ${{ matrix.node }} on ${{ matrix.os }}
    runs-on: ${{ matrix.os }}

    strategy:
      fail-fast: false
      matrix:
        node: [16, 18, 20, 22, 24]
        os: [ubuntu-latest, windows-latest]

    steps:
      - name: Clone repository
        uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Set up Node.js
        uses: actions/setup-node@v4
        with:
          node-version: ${{ matrix.node }}

      - name: Install npm dependencies
        run: npm i

      - name: Run tests
        run: npm test

      # We test multiple Windows shells because of prior stdout buffering issues
      # filed against Grunt. https://github.com/joyent/node/issues/3584
      - name: Run PowerShell tests
        run: "npm test # PowerShell" # Pass comment to PS for easier debugging
        shell: powershell
        if: startsWith(matrix.os, 'windows')

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: Tests
 
on: [push, pull_request]
 
env:
  FORCE_COLOR: 2
 
concurrency:
  group: ${{ github.workflow }}-${{ github.ref }}
  cancel-in-progress: true
 
jobs:
  run:
    timeout-minutes: 30
    name: Node ${{ matrix.node }} on ${{ matrix.os }}
    runs-on: ${{ matrix.os }}
 
    strategy:
      fail-fast: false
      matrix:
        node: [16, 18, 20, 22, 24]
        os: [ubuntu-latest, windows-latest]
 
    steps:
      - name: Clone repository
        uses: actions/checkout@v4
 
      - name: Set up Node.js
        uses: actions/setup-node@v4
        with:
          cache: 'npm'
          node-version: ${{ matrix.node }}
 
      - name: Install npm dependencies
        run: npm i
 
      - name: Run tests
        run: npm test
 
      # We test multiple Windows shells because of prior stdout buffering issues
      # filed against Grunt. https://github.com/joyent/node/issues/3584
      - name: Run PowerShell tests
        run: "npm test # PowerShell" # Pass comment to PS for easier debugging
        shell: powershell
        if: startsWith(matrix.os, 'windows')

What changed

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.

This workflow runs 1 job (10 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