Run tests workflow (madhums/node-express-mongoose-demo)

The Run tests workflow from madhums/node-express-mongoose-demo, explained and optimized by Latchkey.

CI health: F - at risk

Point runs-on at Latchkey and get caching, run de-duplication, job timeouts, SHA-pinned actions, self-healing for flaky steps, and up to 58% lower cost, applied automatically.

Grade your own workflow free or run it on Latchkey →

Source: madhums/node-express-mongoose-demo.github/workflows/test.ymlLicense MITView source

What it does

This is the Run tests workflow from the madhums/node-express-mongoose-demo 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: Run tests

on: [push]

jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    strategy:
      matrix:
        node-version: [18.x, 19.x]
        mongodb-version: ['5.0', '6.0']

    steps:
    - name: Git checkout
      uses: actions/checkout@v3

    - name: Use Node.js ${{ matrix.node-version }}
      uses: actions/setup-node@v3
      with:
        node-version: ${{ matrix.node-version }}

    - name: Start MongoDB
      uses: supercharge/mongodb-github-action@1.8.0
      with:
        mongodb-version: ${{ matrix.mongodb-version }}

    - run: npm install

    - run: npm test
      env:
        CI: true
        TWITTER_CLIENTID: "xxx"
        TWITTER_SECRET: "xxx"
        GITHUB_CLIENTID: "xxx"
        GITHUB_SECRET: "xxx"
        LINKEDIN_CLIENTID: "xxx"
        LINKEDIN_SECRET: "xxx"
        GOOGLE_CLIENTID: "xxx"
        GOOGLE_SECRET: "xxx"

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: Run tests
 
on: [push]
 
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, 19.x]
        mongodb-version: ['5.0', '6.0']
 
    steps:
    - name: Git checkout
      uses: actions/checkout@v3
 
    - name: Use Node.js ${{ matrix.node-version }}
      uses: actions/setup-node@v3
      with:
        cache: 'npm'
        node-version: ${{ matrix.node-version }}
 
    - name: Start MongoDB
      uses: supercharge/mongodb-github-action@1.8.0
      with:
        mongodb-version: ${{ matrix.mongodb-version }}
 
    - run: npm install
 
    - run: npm test
      env:
        CI: true
        TWITTER_CLIENTID: "xxx"
        TWITTER_SECRET: "xxx"
        GITHUB_CLIENTID: "xxx"
        GITHUB_SECRET: "xxx"
        LINKEDIN_CLIENTID: "xxx"
        LINKEDIN_SECRET: "xxx"
        GOOGLE_CLIENTID: "xxx"
        GOOGLE_SECRET: "xxx"

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.

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.

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 (4 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