Node.js CI workflow (JakeChampion/fetch)

The Node.js CI workflow from JakeChampion/fetch, 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.

Grade your own workflow free or run it on Latchkey →

Source: JakeChampion/fetch.github/workflows/node.js.ymlLicense MITView source

What it does

This is the Node.js CI workflow from the JakeChampion/fetch 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 ]
  pull_request:
    branches: [ main ]
    
permissions:
  contents: read

jobs:
  build:

    runs-on: ubuntu-latest

    strategy:
      matrix:
        node-version: [18.x, 20.x]

    steps:
    - uses: actions/checkout@9bb56186c3b09b4f86b1c65136769dd318469633 # v4.1.2
    - name: Use Node.js ${{ matrix.node-version }}
      uses: actions/setup-node@60edb5dd545a775178f52524783378180af0d1f8 # v4.0.2
      with:
        node-version: ${{ matrix.node-version }}
    - run: npm i
    - run: npm run build --if-present
    - run: npm test

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 ]
  pull_request:
    branches: [ main ]
    
permissions:
  contents: read
 
concurrency:
  group: ${{ github.workflow }}-${{ github.ref }}
  cancel-in-progress: true
 
jobs:
  build:
    timeout-minutes: 30
 
    runs-on: latchkey-small
 
    strategy:
      matrix:
        node-version: [18.x, 20.x]
 
    steps:
    - uses: actions/checkout@9bb56186c3b09b4f86b1c65136769dd318469633 # v4.1.2
    - name: Use Node.js ${{ matrix.node-version }}
      uses: actions/setup-node@60edb5dd545a775178f52524783378180af0d1f8 # v4.0.2
      with:
        cache: 'npm'
        node-version: ${{ matrix.node-version }}
    - run: npm i
    - run: npm run build --if-present
    - run: npm test

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.

This workflow runs 1 job (2 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