Run tests workflow (node-red/node-red)

The Run tests workflow from node-red/node-red, explained and optimized by Latchkey.

What it does

This is the Run tests workflow from the node-red/node-red 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: Run tests

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

permissions:
  contents: read

jobs:
  build:
    permissions:
      contents: read  # for actions/checkout to fetch code
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    strategy:
      matrix:
        node-version: [22, 24]
    steps:
    - uses: actions/checkout@v4
    - name: Use Node.js ${{ matrix.node-version }}
      uses: actions/setup-node@v4
      with:
        node-version: ${{ matrix.node-version }}
    - name: Install Dependencies
      run: npm ci
    - name: Run tests
      run: |
        npm run test

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: Run tests
 
on:
  push:
    branches: [ main, dev ]
  pull_request:
    branches: [ main, dev ]
 
permissions:
  contents: read
 
concurrency:
  group: ${{ github.workflow }}-${{ github.ref }}
  cancel-in-progress: true
 
jobs:
  build:
    timeout-minutes: 30
    permissions:
      contents: read  # for actions/checkout to fetch code
    runs-on: latchkey-small
    strategy:
      matrix:
        node-version: [22, 24]
    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: Install Dependencies
      run: npm ci
    - name: Run tests
      run: |
        npm run test
 

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• Cancel superseded runs when a branch or PR gets a newer push.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 1 job (2 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