Run tests workflow (TimMcCool/scratchattach)

The Run tests workflow from TimMcCool/scratchattach, explained and optimized by Latchkey.

What it does

This is the Run tests workflow from the TimMcCool/scratchattach 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

# This workflow will run pytest in the repository directory
# This runs on pull request or on any push to the repository
# based on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFcXrWT4f80
name: Run tests

on:
  pull_request:
    branches: ['main', 'semver2']
  push:
    branches: ['main', 'semver2']
  release:
    types: [prereleased, published]
  schedule:
    - cron: '0 0 * * *' # every day at midnight UTC
  workflow_dispatch:

jobs:
  tests:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    environment: release

    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v7
      - uses: astral-sh/setup-uv@v7
      - name: install deps
        run: uv sync
      - name: mask secrets
        env:
          FERNET_KEY: ${{ secrets.FERNET_KEY }}
        run: |
          cd tests
          uv pip install -e ..
          uv run -m util addmask
          cd ..
      - name: Lint with ruff
        run: uv run -m ruff check
      - name: Test with pytest
        env:
          FERNET_KEY: ${{ secrets.FERNET_KEY }}
        run: |
          cd tests
          uv run -m pytest

The same workflow, on Latchkey

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

# This workflow will run pytest in the repository directory
# This runs on pull request or on any push to the repository
# based on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFcXrWT4f80
name: Run tests
 
on:
  pull_request:
    branches: ['main', 'semver2']
  push:
    branches: ['main', 'semver2']
  release:
    types: [prereleased, published]
  schedule:
    - cron: '0 0 * * *' # every day at midnight UTC
  workflow_dispatch:
 
concurrency:
  group: ${{ github.workflow }}-${{ github.ref }}
  cancel-in-progress: true
 
jobs:
  tests:
    timeout-minutes: 30
    runs-on: latchkey-small
    environment: release
 
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v7
      - uses: astral-sh/setup-uv@v7
      - name: install deps
        run: uv sync
      - name: mask secrets
        env:
          FERNET_KEY: ${{ secrets.FERNET_KEY }}
        run: |
          cd tests
          uv pip install -e ..
          uv run -m util addmask
          cd ..
      - name: Lint with ruff
        run: uv run -m ruff check
      - name: Test with pytest
        env:
          FERNET_KEY: ${{ secrets.FERNET_KEY }}
        run: |
          cd tests
          uv run -m pytest
 

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.

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 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