Publish Python Package workflow (simonw/llm-mlx)

The Publish Python Package workflow from simonw/llm-mlx, explained and optimized by Latchkey.

What it does

This is the Publish Python Package workflow from the simonw/llm-mlx 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: Publish Python Package

on:
  release:
    types: [created]

permissions:
  contents: read

jobs:
  test:
    runs-on: macos-latest
    strategy:
      matrix:
        python-version: ["3.9", "3.10", "3.11", "3.12", "3.13"]
    steps:
    - uses: actions/checkout@v4
    - name: Set up Python ${{ matrix.python-version }}
      uses: actions/setup-python@v5
      with:
        python-version: ${{ matrix.python-version }}
        cache: pip
        cache-dependency-path: pyproject.toml
    - name: Cache models
      uses: actions/cache@v4
      with:
        path: ~/.cache/huggingface
        key: ${{ runner.os }}-huggingface-
    - name: Install dependencies
      run: |
        pip install -e '.[test]'
    - name: Run tests
      run: |
        python -m pytest
  deploy:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    needs: [test]
    environment: release
    permissions:
      id-token: write
    steps:
    - uses: actions/checkout@v4
    - name: Set up Python
      uses: actions/setup-python@v5
      with:
        python-version: "3.13"
        cache: pip
        cache-dependency-path: pyproject.toml
    - name: Install dependencies
      run: |
        pip install setuptools wheel build
    - name: Build
      run: |
        python -m build
    - name: Publish
      uses: pypa/gh-action-pypi-publish@release/v1

The same workflow, on Latchkey

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

name: Publish Python Package
 
on:
  release:
    types: [created]
 
permissions:
  contents: read
 
jobs:
  test:
    timeout-minutes: 30
    runs-on: macos-latest
    strategy:
      matrix:
        python-version: ["3.9", "3.10", "3.11", "3.12", "3.13"]
    steps:
    - uses: actions/checkout@v4
    - name: Set up Python ${{ matrix.python-version }}
      uses: actions/setup-python@v5
      with:
        python-version: ${{ matrix.python-version }}
        cache: pip
        cache-dependency-path: pyproject.toml
    - name: Cache models
      uses: actions/cache@v4
      with:
        path: ~/.cache/huggingface
        key: ${{ runner.os }}-huggingface-
    - name: Install dependencies
      run: |
        pip install -e '.[test]'
    - name: Run tests
      run: |
        python -m pytest
  deploy:
    timeout-minutes: 30
    runs-on: latchkey-small
    needs: [test]
    environment: release
    permissions:
      id-token: write
    steps:
    - uses: actions/checkout@v4
    - name: Set up Python
      uses: actions/setup-python@v5
      with:
        python-version: "3.13"
        cache: pip
        cache-dependency-path: pyproject.toml
    - name: Install dependencies
      run: |
        pip install setuptools wheel build
    - name: Build
      run: |
        python -m build
    - name: Publish
      uses: pypa/gh-action-pypi-publish@release/v1
 

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.
• Add a job timeout so a hung step cannot burn hours of runner time.

1 third-party action is referenced by a movable tag. Pin it to the commit SHA (Latchkey resolves and applies this automatically) so a repointed tag cannot change what runs.

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 2 jobs (6 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