main workflow (mdx-js/mdx)

The main workflow from mdx-js/mdx, explained and optimized by Latchkey.

What it does

This is the main workflow from the mdx-js/mdx 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

jobs:
  small:
    env:
      PUPPETEER_SKIP_DOWNLOAD: 1
    name: test / ${{matrix.os}} / ${{matrix.node}}
    runs-on: ${{matrix.os}}
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v6
        with:
          fetch-depth: 0
      - uses: actions/setup-node@v6
        with:
          cache: npm
          node-version: ${{matrix.node}}
      - run: npm ci
      - run: npm run test-api
    strategy:
      matrix:
        include:
          - node: lts/iron
            os: ubuntu-latest
        node:
          - lts/*
        os:
          - macos-latest
          - windows-latest
  full:
    env:
      PUPPETEER_SKIP_DOWNLOAD: 1
    name: full build
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v6
        with:
          fetch-depth: 0
      - uses: actions/setup-node@v6
        with:
          cache: npm
          node-version: lts/*
      - run: npm ci
      - run: npm test
      - uses: codecov/codecov-action@v6
name: main
on:
  - pull_request
  - push

The same workflow, on Latchkey

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

concurrency:
  group: ${{ github.workflow }}-${{ github.ref }}
  cancel-in-progress: true
 
jobs:
  small:
    timeout-minutes: 30
    env:
      PUPPETEER_SKIP_DOWNLOAD: 1
    name: test / ${{matrix.os}} / ${{matrix.node}}
    runs-on: ${{matrix.os}}
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v6
        with:
          fetch-depth: 0
      - uses: actions/setup-node@v6
        with:
          cache: npm
          node-version: ${{matrix.node}}
      - run: npm ci
      - run: npm run test-api
    strategy:
      matrix:
        include:
          - node: lts/iron
            os: ubuntu-latest
        node:
          - lts/*
        os:
          - macos-latest
          - windows-latest
  full:
    timeout-minutes: 30
    env:
      PUPPETEER_SKIP_DOWNLOAD: 1
    name: full build
    runs-on: latchkey-small
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v6
        with:
          fetch-depth: 0
      - uses: actions/setup-node@v6
        with:
          cache: npm
          node-version: lts/*
      - run: npm ci
      - run: npm test
      - uses: codecov/codecov-action@v6
name: main
on:
  - pull_request
  - push
 

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.

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 2 jobs (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