Build PR Docker Image workflow (stevezau/media_preview_generator)
The Build PR Docker Image workflow from stevezau/media_preview_generator, explained and optimized by Latchkey.
CI health: B - good
Point runs-on at Latchkey and get job timeouts, SHA-pinned actions, self-healing for flaky steps, and up to 58% lower cost, applied automatically.
What it does
This is the Build PR Docker Image workflow from the stevezau/media_preview_generator 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 PR Docker Image
on:
pull_request_target:
types: [labeled, synchronize, reopened]
branches: [main, dev]
paths-ignore:
- 'docs/**'
- '*.md'
- 'LICENSE'
- '.github/instructions/**'
- '.github/prompts/**'
- 'unraid-templates/**'
- 'docker-compose.example.yml'
env:
REGISTRY: ghcr.io
concurrency:
group: docker-pr-${{ github.event.pull_request.number }}
cancel-in-progress: true
jobs:
build:
# Gate: only run when the `build-docker` label is present.
# - For `labeled` events, check the label that was just added.
# - For `synchronize`/`reopened` events, check the PR's current label set.
# This is the standard mitigation for `pull_request_target` running fork code:
# a maintainer must review the diff and apply the label before any build runs.
if: >-
(github.event.action == 'labeled' && github.event.label.name == 'build-docker') ||
((github.event.action == 'synchronize' || github.event.action == 'reopened') &&
contains(github.event.pull_request.labels.*.name, 'build-docker'))
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
permissions:
contents: read
packages: write
pull-requests: write
steps:
- name: Checkout PR head
uses: actions/checkout@v4
with:
# CRITICAL: pull_request_target defaults to the base branch. We must
# explicitly check out the PR head SHA to actually build the contributor's code.
ref: ${{ github.event.pull_request.head.sha }}
fetch-depth: 0 # Full history for setuptools-scm versioning
- name: Compute lowercase image name
id: img
run: echo "name=${REPO,,}" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
env:
REPO: ${{ github.repository }}
- name: Set up Docker Buildx
uses: docker/setup-buildx-action@v3
- name: Log in to GHCR
uses: docker/login-action@v3
with:
registry: ${{ env.REGISTRY }}
username: ${{ github.actor }}
password: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
- name: Build and push PR image
uses: docker/build-push-action@v6
with:
context: .
platforms: linux/amd64
push: true
tags: ${{ env.REGISTRY }}/${{ steps.img.outputs.name }}:pr-${{ github.event.pull_request.number }}
build-args: |
GIT_BRANCH=pr-${{ github.event.pull_request.number }}
GIT_SHA=${{ github.event.pull_request.head.sha }}
cache-from: type=gha,scope=pr-${{ github.event.pull_request.number }}
cache-to: type=gha,scope=pr-${{ github.event.pull_request.number }},mode=max
- name: Post/update sticky PR comment
uses: marocchino/sticky-pull-request-comment@v2
with:
header: pr-docker-image
message: |
## PR Docker image ready
```bash
docker pull ${{ env.REGISTRY }}/${{ steps.img.outputs.name }}:pr-${{ github.event.pull_request.number }}
```
- Tag: `pr-${{ github.event.pull_request.number }}` - **overwritten in place** on every commit to this PR, so always pulling this tag gets the latest head.
- Built from commit: `${{ github.event.pull_request.head.sha }}`
- Platform: `linux/amd64`
- Image is automatically deleted when this PR is closed.
The same workflow, on Latchkey
Removes redundant runs and caps runaway jobs. Added and changed lines are highlighted.
name: Build PR Docker Image on: pull_request_target: types: [labeled, synchronize, reopened] branches: [main, dev] paths-ignore: - 'docs/**' - '*.md' - 'LICENSE' - '.github/instructions/**' - '.github/prompts/**' - 'unraid-templates/**' - 'docker-compose.example.yml' env: REGISTRY: ghcr.io concurrency: group: docker-pr-${{ github.event.pull_request.number }} cancel-in-progress: true jobs: build: timeout-minutes: 30 # Gate: only run when the `build-docker` label is present. # - For `labeled` events, check the label that was just added. # - For `synchronize`/`reopened` events, check the PR's current label set. # This is the standard mitigation for `pull_request_target` running fork code: # a maintainer must review the diff and apply the label before any build runs. if: >- (github.event.action == 'labeled' && github.event.label.name == 'build-docker') || ((github.event.action == 'synchronize' || github.event.action == 'reopened') && contains(github.event.pull_request.labels.*.name, 'build-docker')) runs-on: latchkey-small permissions: contents: read packages: write pull-requests: write steps: - name: Checkout PR head uses: actions/checkout@v4 with: # CRITICAL: pull_request_target defaults to the base branch. We must # explicitly check out the PR head SHA to actually build the contributor's code. ref: ${{ github.event.pull_request.head.sha }} fetch-depth: 0 # Full history for setuptools-scm versioning - name: Compute lowercase image name id: img run: echo "name=${REPO,,}" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT" env: REPO: ${{ github.repository }} - name: Set up Docker Buildx uses: docker/setup-buildx-action@v3 - name: Log in to GHCR uses: docker/login-action@v3 with: registry: ${{ env.REGISTRY }} username: ${{ github.actor }} password: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }} - name: Build and push PR image uses: docker/build-push-action@v6 with: context: . platforms: linux/amd64 push: true tags: ${{ env.REGISTRY }}/${{ steps.img.outputs.name }}:pr-${{ github.event.pull_request.number }} build-args: | GIT_BRANCH=pr-${{ github.event.pull_request.number }} GIT_SHA=${{ github.event.pull_request.head.sha }} cache-from: type=gha,scope=pr-${{ github.event.pull_request.number }} cache-to: type=gha,scope=pr-${{ github.event.pull_request.number }},mode=max - name: Post/update sticky PR comment uses: marocchino/sticky-pull-request-comment@v2 with: header: pr-docker-image message: | ## PR Docker image ready ```bash docker pull ${{ env.REGISTRY }}/${{ steps.img.outputs.name }}:pr-${{ github.event.pull_request.number }} ``` - Tag: `pr-${{ github.event.pull_request.number }}` - **overwritten in place** on every commit to this PR, so always pulling this tag gets the latest head. - Built from commit: `${{ github.event.pull_request.head.sha }}` - Platform: `linux/amd64` - Image is automatically deleted when this PR is closed.
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 useslatchkey-small; pick the runner size that fits the job. - Add a job timeout so a hung step cannot burn hours of runner time.
4 third-party actions are referenced by a movable tag. Pin them 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:
- Container pulls and builds
This workflow runs 1 job per trigger. On Latchkey the same minutes cost up to 58% less than GitHub-hosted, with zero queue time.