CodeQL workflow (svg/svgo)

The CodeQL workflow from svg/svgo, explained and optimized by Latchkey.

What it does

This is the CodeQL workflow from the svg/svgo 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: 'CodeQL'

on:
  push:
    branches:
      - main
  pull_request:
    branches:
      - main
  schedule:
    - cron: '0 0 * * 0'
  workflow_dispatch:

jobs:
  analyze:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    permissions:
      actions: read
      contents: read
      security-events: write
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v6
        with:
          persist-credentials: false
      - uses: github/codeql-action/init@v4
        with:
          languages: 'javascript'
          queries: +security-and-quality
      - uses: github/codeql-action/autobuild@v4
      - uses: github/codeql-action/analyze@v4
        with:
          category: '/language:javascript'

The same workflow, on Latchkey

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

name: 'CodeQL'
 
on:
  push:
    branches:
      - main
  pull_request:
    branches:
      - main
  schedule:
    - cron: '0 0 * * 0'
  workflow_dispatch:
 
concurrency:
  group: ${{ github.workflow }}-${{ github.ref }}
  cancel-in-progress: true
 
jobs:
  analyze:
    timeout-minutes: 30
    runs-on: latchkey-small
    permissions:
      actions: read
      contents: read
      security-events: write
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v6
        with:
          persist-credentials: false
      - uses: github/codeql-action/init@v4
        with:
          languages: 'javascript'
          queries: +security-and-quality
      - uses: github/codeql-action/autobuild@v4
      - uses: github/codeql-action/analyze@v4
        with:
          category: '/language:javascript'
 

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• Cancel superseded runs when a branch or PR gets a newer push.
• Add a job timeout so a hung step cannot burn hours of runner time.

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