docs workflow (mujocolab/mjlab)

The docs workflow from mujocolab/mjlab, explained and optimized by Latchkey.

What it does

This is the docs workflow from the mujocolab/mjlab 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: docs

on:
  push:
    branches:
      - main
    tags:
      - 'v*'

permissions:
  contents: write

env:
  UV_FROZEN: "1"

jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v6
        with:
          fetch-depth: 0

      - uses: actions/setup-python@v5
        with:
          python-version: '3.13'

      - name: Install uv
        uses: astral-sh/setup-uv@v7

      - name: Build Sphinx Documentation
        run: uv run --group docs sphinx-multiversion docs docs/_build

      - name: Add root redirect
        run: echo '<meta http-equiv="refresh" content="0; url=main/index.html">' > docs/_build/index.html

      - name: Remove Sphinx build artifacts
        run: find docs/_build -type d -name .doctrees -exec rm -rf {} +

      - name: Deploy to GitHub Pages
        uses: peaceiris/actions-gh-pages@v4
        with:
          github_token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
          publish_dir: ./docs/_build/
          keep_files: true

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: docs
 
on:
  push:
    branches:
      - main
    tags:
      - 'v*'
 
permissions:
  contents: write
 
env:
  UV_FROZEN: "1"
 
concurrency:
  group: ${{ github.workflow }}-${{ github.ref }}
  cancel-in-progress: true
 
jobs:
  build:
    timeout-minutes: 30
    runs-on: latchkey-small
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v6
        with:
          fetch-depth: 0
 
      - uses: actions/setup-python@v5
        with:
          cache: 'pip'
          python-version: '3.13'
 
      - name: Install uv
        uses: astral-sh/setup-uv@v7
 
      - name: Build Sphinx Documentation
        run: uv run --group docs sphinx-multiversion docs docs/_build
 
      - name: Add root redirect
        run: echo '<meta http-equiv="refresh" content="0; url=main/index.html">' > docs/_build/index.html
 
      - name: Remove Sphinx build artifacts
        run: find docs/_build -type d -name .doctrees -exec rm -rf {} +
 
      - name: Deploy to GitHub Pages
        uses: peaceiris/actions-gh-pages@v4
        with:
          github_token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
          publish_dir: ./docs/_build/
          keep_files: true
 

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.

2 third-party actions are referenced by a movable tag. Pin them to the commit SHA (Latchkey resolves and applies this automatically) so a repointed tag cannot change what runs.

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