Build Windows workflow (Postcatlab/postcat)

The Build Windows workflow from Postcatlab/postcat, explained and optimized by Latchkey.

What it does

This is the Build Windows workflow from the Postcatlab/postcat 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: Build Windows

on:
  push:
    # branches: [build/windows]
    tags:
      - 'v*.*.*'

jobs:
  build:
    name: Build
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Install Node.js
        uses: actions/setup-node@v3.0.0
        with:
          node-version: '16'
      - name: Checkout
        uses: actions/checkout@v3
      - name: Install OpenVPN
        run: |
          echo "${{ secrets.OPENVPN_CONFIG_FILE }}" > .github/workflows/client.ovpn
          sudo apt update
          sudo apt install -y openvpn openvpn-systemd-resolved
      - name: Connect to VPN
        uses: 'kota65535/github-openvpn-connect-action@v2'
        with:
          config_file: .github/workflows/client.ovpn
      - name: Build something
        env:
          SSH_WINDOWS_IP: ${{ secrets.SSH_WINDOWS_IP }}
          SSH_WINDOWS_USERNAME: ${{ secrets.SSH_WINDOWS_USERNAME }}
          SSH_WINDOWS_PASSWORD: ${{ secrets.SSH_WINDOWS_PASSWORD }}
          GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GH_TOKEN }}
          QINIU_ENV_JS: ${{ secrets.QINIU_ENV_JS }}
        run: |
          yarn
          yarn deployWindows

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 Windows
 
on:
  push:
    # branches: [build/windows]
    tags:
      - 'v*.*.*'
 
concurrency:
  group: ${{ github.workflow }}-${{ github.ref }}
  cancel-in-progress: true
 
jobs:
  build:
    timeout-minutes: 30
    name: Build
    runs-on: latchkey-small
    steps:
      - name: Install Node.js
        uses: actions/setup-node@v3.0.0
        with:
          cache: 'npm'
          node-version: '16'
      - name: Checkout
        uses: actions/checkout@v3
      - name: Install OpenVPN
        run: |
          echo "${{ secrets.OPENVPN_CONFIG_FILE }}" > .github/workflows/client.ovpn
          sudo apt update
          sudo apt install -y openvpn openvpn-systemd-resolved
      - name: Connect to VPN
        uses: 'kota65535/github-openvpn-connect-action@v2'
        with:
          config_file: .github/workflows/client.ovpn
      - name: Build something
        env:
          SSH_WINDOWS_IP: ${{ secrets.SSH_WINDOWS_IP }}
          SSH_WINDOWS_USERNAME: ${{ secrets.SSH_WINDOWS_USERNAME }}
          SSH_WINDOWS_PASSWORD: ${{ secrets.SSH_WINDOWS_PASSWORD }}
          GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GH_TOKEN }}
          QINIU_ENV_JS: ${{ secrets.QINIU_ENV_JS }}
        run: |
          yarn
          yarn deployWindows
 

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 per trigger. On Latchkey the same minutes cost up to 58% less than GitHub-hosted, with zero queue time.

Actions used in this workflow