CI workflow (MikeMcl/bignumber.js)

The CI workflow from MikeMcl/bignumber.js, explained and optimized by Latchkey.

What it does

This is the CI workflow from the MikeMcl/bignumber.js 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: CI

on:
  push:
    branches: [main]
  pull_request:
    branches: [main]

jobs:
  test:
    name: Test on Node.js ${{ matrix.node-version }}
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest

    strategy:
      # Build script requires Node.js >= 14.14.0.
      matrix:
        node-version: ['14', '20', 'lts/*', 'node']
      fail-fast: false

    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Use Node.js ${{ matrix.node-version }}
        uses: actions/setup-node@v4
        with:
          node-version: ${{ matrix.node-version }}

      - name: Build
        run: npm run build

      - name: Run JS tests
        run: npm test

  typecheck:
    name: Type-check
    needs: test
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest

    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Use Node.js node
        uses: actions/setup-node@v4
        with:
          node-version: 'node'

      - name: Install dependencies
        run: npm install

      - name: Build
        run: npm run build

      - name: Type-check
        run: npm run typecheck

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: CI
 
on:
  push:
    branches: [main]
  pull_request:
    branches: [main]
 
concurrency:
  group: ${{ github.workflow }}-${{ github.ref }}
  cancel-in-progress: true
 
jobs:
  test:
    timeout-minutes: 30
    name: Test on Node.js ${{ matrix.node-version }}
    runs-on: latchkey-small
 
    strategy:
      # Build script requires Node.js >= 14.14.0.
      matrix:
        node-version: ['14', '20', 'lts/*', 'node']
      fail-fast: false
 
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
 
      - name: Use Node.js ${{ matrix.node-version }}
        uses: actions/setup-node@v4
        with:
          cache: 'npm'
          node-version: ${{ matrix.node-version }}
 
      - name: Build
        run: npm run build
 
      - name: Run JS tests
        run: npm test
 
  typecheck:
    timeout-minutes: 30
    name: Type-check
    needs: test
    runs-on: latchkey-small
 
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
 
      - name: Use Node.js node
        uses: actions/setup-node@v4
        with:
          cache: 'npm'
          node-version: 'node'
 
      - name: Install dependencies
        run: npm install
 
      - name: Build
        run: npm run build
 
      - name: Type-check
        run: npm run typecheck
 
 

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.

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 (5 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