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changelog workflow (open-telemetry/opentelemetry-python)

The changelog workflow from open-telemetry/opentelemetry-python, explained and optimized by Latchkey.

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Source: open-telemetry/opentelemetry-python.github/workflows/changelog.ymlLicense Apache-2.0View source

What it does

This is the changelog workflow from the open-telemetry/opentelemetry-python 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

workflow (.yml)
# This action requires that any PR targeting the main branch should add a
# changelog fragment file in the .changelog/ directory. If a changelog entry
# is not required, add the "Skip Changelog" label to disable this action.

name: changelog

on:
  pull_request:
    types: [opened, synchronize, reopened, labeled, unlabeled]
    branches:
      - main
  merge_group:

permissions:
  contents: read

jobs:
  changelog:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    if: |
      github.event_name != 'merge_group' &&
      !contains(github.event.pull_request.labels.*.name, 'Skip Changelog')
      && github.actor != 'otelbot[bot]'

    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
        with:
          fetch-depth: 0

      - name: Fetch base branch
        run: git fetch origin ${{ github.base_ref }} --depth=1

      - name: Ensure no direct changes to CHANGELOG.md
        run: |
          if [[ $(git diff --name-only FETCH_HEAD -- 'CHANGELOG.md') ]]
          then
            echo "CHANGELOG.md should not be directly modified."
            echo "Please add a changelog fragment file to the .changelog/ directory instead."
            echo "See CONTRIBUTING.md for details."
            echo ""
            echo "Or add the \"Skip Changelog\" label if this job should be skipped."
            false
          fi

      - name: Install towncrier
        run: pip install towncrier==25.8.0

      - name: Check for changelog fragment
        run: |
          if ! towncrier check --compare-with origin/${{ github.base_ref }}; then
            echo ""
            echo "No changelog fragment found for this PR."
            echo "Add a file named .changelog/${{ github.event.pull_request.number }}.<type>"
            echo "where <type> is one of: added, changed, deprecated, removed, fixed"
            echo "See CONTRIBUTING.md for details."
            echo ""
            echo "Or add the \"Skip Changelog\" label if this job should be skipped."
            false
          fi

      - name: Validate fragment filenames
        env:
          PR_NUMBER: ${{ github.event.pull_request.number }}
        run: |
          fragments=$(git diff --diff-filter=A --name-only origin/${{ github.base_ref }} -- '.changelog/*' | grep -v '/\.gitignore$' || true)
          [ -z "$fragments" ] && exit 0
          invalid=()
          while IFS= read -r f; do
            base=$(basename "$f")
            if [[ ! "$base" =~ ^([0-9]+)\.(added|changed|deprecated|removed|fixed)$ ]]; then
              invalid+=("$f (expected <PR_NUMBER>.<type>; type one of added, changed, deprecated, removed, fixed)")
              continue
            fi
            if [[ "${BASH_REMATCH[1]}" != "${PR_NUMBER}" ]]; then
              invalid+=("$f (PR number ${BASH_REMATCH[1]} does not match this PR's number ${PR_NUMBER})")
            fi
          done <<< "$fragments"
          if (( ${#invalid[@]} > 0 )); then
            echo "Invalid changelog fragment(s):"
            for msg in "${invalid[@]}"; do
              echo "  $msg"
            done
            exit 1
          fi

      - name: Preview changelog
        run: towncrier build --draft --version Unreleased

The same workflow, on Latchkey

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

# This action requires that any PR targeting the main branch should add a
# changelog fragment file in the .changelog/ directory. If a changelog entry
# is not required, add the "Skip Changelog" label to disable this action.
 
name: changelog
 
on:
  pull_request:
    types: [opened, synchronize, reopened, labeled, unlabeled]
    branches:
      - main
  merge_group:
 
permissions:
  contents: read
 
concurrency:
  group: ${{ github.workflow }}-${{ github.ref }}
  cancel-in-progress: true
 
jobs:
  changelog:
    timeout-minutes: 30
    runs-on: latchkey-small
    if: |
      github.event_name != 'merge_group' &&
      !contains(github.event.pull_request.labels.*.name, 'Skip Changelog')
      && github.actor != 'otelbot[bot]'
 
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
        with:
          fetch-depth: 0
 
      - name: Fetch base branch
        run: git fetch origin ${{ github.base_ref }} --depth=1
 
      - name: Ensure no direct changes to CHANGELOG.md
        run: |
          if [[ $(git diff --name-only FETCH_HEAD -- 'CHANGELOG.md') ]]
          then
            echo "CHANGELOG.md should not be directly modified."
            echo "Please add a changelog fragment file to the .changelog/ directory instead."
            echo "See CONTRIBUTING.md for details."
            echo ""
            echo "Or add the \"Skip Changelog\" label if this job should be skipped."
            false
          fi
 
      - name: Install towncrier
        run: pip install towncrier==25.8.0
 
      - name: Check for changelog fragment
        run: |
          if ! towncrier check --compare-with origin/${{ github.base_ref }}; then
            echo ""
            echo "No changelog fragment found for this PR."
            echo "Add a file named .changelog/${{ github.event.pull_request.number }}.<type>"
            echo "where <type> is one of: added, changed, deprecated, removed, fixed"
            echo "See CONTRIBUTING.md for details."
            echo ""
            echo "Or add the \"Skip Changelog\" label if this job should be skipped."
            false
          fi
 
      - name: Validate fragment filenames
        env:
          PR_NUMBER: ${{ github.event.pull_request.number }}
        run: |
          fragments=$(git diff --diff-filter=A --name-only origin/${{ github.base_ref }} -- '.changelog/*' | grep -v '/\.gitignore$' || true)
          [ -z "$fragments" ] && exit 0
          invalid=()
          while IFS= read -r f; do
            base=$(basename "$f")
            if [[ ! "$base" =~ ^([0-9]+)\.(added|changed|deprecated|removed|fixed)$ ]]; then
              invalid+=("$f (expected <PR_NUMBER>.<type>; type one of added, changed, deprecated, removed, fixed)")
              continue
            fi
            if [[ "${BASH_REMATCH[1]}" != "${PR_NUMBER}" ]]; then
              invalid+=("$f (PR number ${BASH_REMATCH[1]} does not match this PR's number ${PR_NUMBER})")
            fi
          done <<< "$fragments"
          if (( ${#invalid[@]} > 0 )); then
            echo "Invalid changelog fragment(s):"
            for msg in "${invalid[@]}"; do
              echo "  $msg"
            done
            exit 1
          fi
 
      - name: Preview changelog
        run: towncrier build --draft --version Unreleased
 

What changed

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:

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