build workflow (poloclub/cnn-explainer)

The build workflow from poloclub/cnn-explainer, explained and optimized by Latchkey.

What it does

This is the build workflow from the poloclub/cnn-explainer 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: build

on:
  # Triggers the workflow on push or pull request events but only for the master branch
  push:
    branches: [ master ]
  pull_request:
    branches: [ master ]
  schedule:
    - cron: "0 0 * * *"

jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: ${{ matrix.os }}

    strategy:
      matrix:
        node-version: [16]
        os: [ubuntu-latest, macos-latest, windows-latest]

    steps:
    - uses: actions/checkout@v3
    - uses: actions/setup-node@v3
      with:
        node-version: ${{ matrix.node-version }}
    - name: Install dependencies
      run: npm install
    - name: Build
      run: npm run build

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: build
 
on:
  # Triggers the workflow on push or pull request events but only for the master branch
  push:
    branches: [ master ]
  pull_request:
    branches: [ master ]
  schedule:
    - cron: "0 0 * * *"
 
concurrency:
  group: ${{ github.workflow }}-${{ github.ref }}
  cancel-in-progress: true
 
jobs:
  build:
    timeout-minutes: 30
    runs-on: ${{ matrix.os }}
 
    strategy:
      matrix:
        node-version: [16]
        os: [ubuntu-latest, macos-latest, windows-latest]
 
    steps:
    - uses: actions/checkout@v3
    - uses: actions/setup-node@v3
      with:
        cache: 'npm'
        node-version: ${{ matrix.node-version }}
    - name: Install dependencies
      run: npm install
    - name: Build
      run: npm run build
 

What changed

• Cancel superseded runs when a branch or PR gets a newer push.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 (3 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