Python Dist workflow (mongodb/motor)

The Python Dist workflow from mongodb/motor, explained and optimized by Latchkey.

What it does

This is the Python Dist workflow from the mongodb/motor repository, a real project running GitHub Actions. It is shown here with attribution under its Apache-2.0 license.

Below, Latchkey shows a faster, safer version produced by its optimization engine.

The workflow

name: Python Dist

concurrency:
  group: dist-${{ github.ref }}
  cancel-in-progress: true

on:
  workflow_dispatch:
  workflow_call:
    inputs:
      ref:
        required: true
        type: string
  pull_request:
  push:
    tags:
      - "[0-9]+.[0-9]+.[0-9]+"
      - "[0-9]+.[0-9]+.[0-9]+.post[0-9]+"
      - "[0-9]+.[0-9]+.[0-9]+[a-b][0-9]+"
      - "[0-9]+.[0-9]+.[0-9]+rc[0-9]+"

jobs:
  build:
    name: "Build Dist"
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
    - uses: actions/checkout@v7
      with:
        ref: ${{ inputs.ref }}
        persist-credentials: false
    - name: Set up Python
      uses: actions/setup-python@v6
      with:
        python-version: 3.x
    - name: Install dependencies
      run: pip install build
    - name: Create packages
      run: python -m build .
    - name: Store package artifacts
      uses: actions/upload-artifact@v7
      with:
        name: all-dist-${{ github.run_id }}
        path: "dist/*"

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: Python Dist
 
concurrency:
  group: dist-${{ github.ref }}
  cancel-in-progress: true
 
on:
  workflow_dispatch:
  workflow_call:
    inputs:
      ref:
        required: true
        type: string
  pull_request:
  push:
    tags:
      - "[0-9]+.[0-9]+.[0-9]+"
      - "[0-9]+.[0-9]+.[0-9]+.post[0-9]+"
      - "[0-9]+.[0-9]+.[0-9]+[a-b][0-9]+"
      - "[0-9]+.[0-9]+.[0-9]+rc[0-9]+"
 
jobs:
  build:
    timeout-minutes: 30
    name: "Build Dist"
    runs-on: latchkey-small
    steps:
    - uses: actions/checkout@v7
      with:
        ref: ${{ inputs.ref }}
        persist-credentials: false
    - name: Set up Python
      uses: actions/setup-python@v6
      with:
        cache: 'pip'
        python-version: 3.x
    - name: Install dependencies
      run: pip install build
    - name: Create packages
      run: python -m build .
    - name: Store package artifacts
      uses: actions/upload-artifact@v7
      with:
        name: all-dist-${{ github.run_id }}
        path: "dist/*"
 

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.
• 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 1 job per trigger. On Latchkey the same minutes cost up to 58% less than GitHub-hosted, with zero queue time.

Actions used in this workflow