Release workflow (harlan-zw/unlighthouse)

The Release workflow from harlan-zw/unlighthouse, explained and optimized by Latchkey.

What it does

This is the Release workflow from the harlan-zw/unlighthouse 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

name: Release

on:
  push:
    tags:
      - 'v*'

permissions:
  contents: write
  id-token: write

jobs:
  release:
    runs-on: ubuntu-24.04-arm
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v6
        with:
          fetch-depth: 0

      - uses: pnpm/action-setup@v6

      - uses: actions/setup-node@v6
        with:
          node-version: 22.x
          cache: pnpm
          registry-url: https://registry.npmjs.org

      - run: npx changelogithub
        env:
          GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}

      - run: pnpm i

      - run: pnpm build

      - name: Detect prerelease tag
        id: prerelease
        run: |
          TAG="${GITHUB_REF#refs/tags/}"
          if [[ "$TAG" =~ -(beta|rc|alpha) ]]; then
            DIST_TAG=$(echo "$TAG" | sed 's/.*-\(beta\|rc\|alpha\).*/\1/')
            echo "tag=--tag $DIST_TAG" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
          else
            echo "tag=" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
          fi

      - run: pnpm publish -r --access public --no-git-checks --provenance ${{ steps.prerelease.outputs.tag }}

The same workflow, on Latchkey

Removes redundant runs and caps runaway jobs. Added and changed lines are highlighted.

name: Release
 
on:
  push:
    tags:
      - 'v*'
 
permissions:
  contents: write
  id-token: write
 
concurrency:
  group: ${{ github.workflow }}-${{ github.ref }}
  cancel-in-progress: true
 
jobs:
  release:
    timeout-minutes: 30
    runs-on: latchkey-small-arm
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v6
        with:
          fetch-depth: 0
 
      - uses: pnpm/action-setup@v6
 
      - uses: actions/setup-node@v6
        with:
          node-version: 22.x
          cache: pnpm
          registry-url: https://registry.npmjs.org
 
      - run: npx changelogithub
        env:
          GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
 
      - run: pnpm i
 
      - run: pnpm build
 
      - name: Detect prerelease tag
        id: prerelease
        run: |
          TAG="${GITHUB_REF#refs/tags/}"
          if [[ "$TAG" =~ -(beta|rc|alpha) ]]; then
            DIST_TAG=$(echo "$TAG" | sed 's/.*-\(beta\|rc\|alpha\).*/\1/')
            echo "tag=--tag $DIST_TAG" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
          else
            echo "tag=" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
          fi
 
      - run: pnpm publish -r --access public --no-git-checks --provenance ${{ steps.prerelease.outputs.tag }}
 

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.
• Add a job timeout so a hung step cannot burn hours of runner time.

1 third-party action is referenced by a movable tag. Pin it to the commit SHA (Latchkey resolves and applies this automatically) so a repointed tag cannot change what runs.

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