Node CI workflow (kefranabg/readme-md-generator)

The Node CI workflow from kefranabg/readme-md-generator, explained and optimized by Latchkey.

What it does

This is the Node CI workflow from the kefranabg/readme-md-generator 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: Node CI

on:
  pull_request:
  push:
    branches:
      - master

jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest

    strategy:
      matrix:
        node-version: [8.x, 10.x, 12.x]

    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v1
      - uses: actions/cache@v1
        with:
          path: ~/.npm
          key: ${{ runner.os }}-node-${{ hashFiles('**/package-lock.json') }}
          restore-keys: |
            ${{ runner.os }}-node-
      - name: Install dependencies
        run: npm ci
      - name: Run prettier check on project files
        run: npm run prettier:check
      - name: Run linter
        run: npm run lint
      - name: Run unit tests
        run: npm run test:ci
        env:
          CODECOV_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.CODECOV_TOKEN }}

The same workflow, on Latchkey

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

name: Node CI
 
on:
  pull_request:
  push:
    branches:
      - master
 
concurrency:
  group: ${{ github.workflow }}-${{ github.ref }}
  cancel-in-progress: true
 
jobs:
  build:
    timeout-minutes: 30
    runs-on: latchkey-small
 
    strategy:
      matrix:
        node-version: [8.x, 10.x, 12.x]
 
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v1
      - uses: actions/cache@v1
        with:
          path: ~/.npm
          key: ${{ runner.os }}-node-${{ hashFiles('**/package-lock.json') }}
          restore-keys: |
            ${{ runner.os }}-node-
      - name: Install dependencies
        run: npm ci
      - name: Run prettier check on project files
        run: npm run prettier:check
      - name: Run linter
        run: npm run lint
      - name: Run unit tests
        run: npm run test:ci
        env:
          CODECOV_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.CODECOV_TOKEN }}
 

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• Cancel superseded runs when a branch or PR gets a newer push.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.

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 (3 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