autoupdate workflow (vmware/versatile-data-kit)

The autoupdate workflow from vmware/versatile-data-kit, explained and optimized by Latchkey.

What it does

This is the autoupdate workflow from the vmware/versatile-data-kit 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

# Copyright 2023-2025 Broadcom
# SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0

name: autoupdate
on:
  push: {}
jobs:
  autoupdate:
    name: autoupdate
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: docker://chinthakagodawita/autoupdate-action:v1
        env:
          GITHUB_TOKEN: "${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}"
          DRY_RUN: "false"
          PR_FILTER: "auto_merge"

The same workflow, on Latchkey

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

# Copyright 2023-2025 Broadcom
# SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
 
name: autoupdate
on:
  push: {}
concurrency:
  group: ${{ github.workflow }}-${{ github.ref }}
  cancel-in-progress: true
 
jobs:
  autoupdate:
    timeout-minutes: 30
    name: autoupdate
    runs-on: latchkey-small
    steps:
      - uses: docker://chinthakagodawita/autoupdate-action:v1
        env:
          GITHUB_TOKEN: "${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}"
          DRY_RUN: "false"
          PR_FILTER: "auto_merge"
 

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• Cancel superseded runs when a branch or PR gets a newer push.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.