Set latest tag to last main branch release workflow (RetireJS/retire.js)

The Set latest tag to last main branch release workflow from RetireJS/retire.js, explained and optimized by Latchkey.

What it does

This is the Set latest tag to last main branch release workflow from the RetireJS/retire.js 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: Set latest tag to last main branch release
on:
  workflow_dispatch:

jobs:
  update-latest-tag:
    if: github.ref == 'refs/heads/master' # Only runs on master branch
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    timeout-minutes: 10
    permissions:
      contents: read
      id-token: write
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - uses: actions/setup-node@v4
        with:
          node-version: "18.x"
          registry-url: "https://registry.npmjs.org"
      - run: npm install -g npm
        working-directory: node
      - run: npm dist-tag add retire@$(cat package.json| jq -r ".version") latest
        working-directory: node
        env:
          NODE_AUTH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.NPM_TOKEN }}

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: Set latest tag to last main branch release
on:
  workflow_dispatch:
 
jobs:
  update-latest-tag:
    if: github.ref == 'refs/heads/master' # Only runs on master branch
    runs-on: latchkey-small
    timeout-minutes: 10
    permissions:
      contents: read
      id-token: write
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - uses: actions/setup-node@v4
        with:
          cache: 'npm'
          node-version: "18.x"
          registry-url: "https://registry.npmjs.org"
      - run: npm install -g npm
        working-directory: node
      - run: npm dist-tag add retire@$(cat package.json| jq -r ".version") latest
        working-directory: node
        env:
          NODE_AUTH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.NPM_TOKEN }}
 

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.
• Cache dependency installs on the setup step so they are served from cache.

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