Publish Docker Image workflow (nkanaev/yarr)

The Publish Docker Image workflow from nkanaev/yarr, explained and optimized by Latchkey.

What it does

This is the Publish Docker Image workflow from the nkanaev/yarr 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: Publish Docker Image
on: workflow_call

env:
  REGISTRY: ghcr.io
  IMAGE_NAME: nkanaev/yarr

jobs:
  build-and-push-image:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    permissions:
      contents: read
      packages: write
    steps:
      - name: Checkout repository
        uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Set up QEMU
        uses: docker/setup-qemu-action@v3

      - name: Set up Docker Buildx
        uses: docker/setup-buildx-action@v3

      - name: Log in to the Container registry
        uses: docker/login-action@v3
        with:
          registry: ${{ env.REGISTRY }}
          username: ${{ github.actor }}
          password: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}

      - name: Extract Docker metadata
        id: meta
        uses: docker/metadata-action@v5
        with:
          images: ${{ env.REGISTRY }}/${{ env.IMAGE_NAME }}
          tags: |
            type=schedule
            type=ref,event=branch
            type=ref,event=tag
            type=raw,value=bleeding,enable=${{ github.ref_name == 'master' }}

      - name: Build and push Docker image
        uses: docker/build-push-action@v6
        with:
          context: .
          file: ./etc/dockerfile
          push: true
          tags: ${{ steps.meta.outputs.tags }}
          labels: ${{ steps.meta.outputs.labels }}
          platforms: linux/amd64,linux/arm64

The same workflow, on Latchkey

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

name: Publish Docker Image
on: workflow_call
 
env:
  REGISTRY: ghcr.io
  IMAGE_NAME: nkanaev/yarr
 
jobs:
  build-and-push-image:
    timeout-minutes: 30
    runs-on: latchkey-small
    permissions:
      contents: read
      packages: write
    steps:
      - name: Checkout repository
        uses: actions/checkout@v4
 
      - name: Set up QEMU
        uses: docker/setup-qemu-action@v3
 
      - name: Set up Docker Buildx
        uses: docker/setup-buildx-action@v3
 
      - name: Log in to the Container registry
        uses: docker/login-action@v3
        with:
          registry: ${{ env.REGISTRY }}
          username: ${{ github.actor }}
          password: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
 
      - name: Extract Docker metadata
        id: meta
        uses: docker/metadata-action@v5
        with:
          images: ${{ env.REGISTRY }}/${{ env.IMAGE_NAME }}
          tags: |
            type=schedule
            type=ref,event=branch
            type=ref,event=tag
            type=raw,value=bleeding,enable=${{ github.ref_name == 'master' }}
 
      - name: Build and push Docker image
        uses: docker/build-push-action@v6
        with:
          context: .
          file: ./etc/dockerfile
          push: true
          tags: ${{ steps.meta.outputs.tags }}
          labels: ${{ steps.meta.outputs.labels }}
          platforms: linux/amd64,linux/arm64
 

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.
• Add a job timeout so a hung step cannot burn hours of runner time.

5 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.

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:

• Container pulls and builds

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