Nightly Cron workflow (facebook/Ax)
The Nightly Cron workflow from facebook/Ax, explained and optimized by Latchkey.
F
CI health: F - at risk
The optimized version below adds caching, run de-duplication, job timeouts, SHA-pinned actions.
What it does
This is the Nightly Cron workflow from the facebook/Ax 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
workflow (.yml)
name: Nightly Cron
on:
schedule:
# midnight EST
- cron: '0 5 * * *'
# allow this to be scheduled manually in addition to cron
workflow_dispatch:
push:
branches: [ main ]
paths:
- "tutorials/**"
jobs:
tests-and-coverage-minimal:
name: Tests with latest BoTorch & minimal dependencies
uses: ./.github/workflows/reusable_test.yml
with:
pinned_botorch: false
minimal_dependencies: true
secrets: inherit
tests-and-coverage-full:
name: Tests with latest BoTorch & full dependencies
uses: ./.github/workflows/reusable_test.yml
with:
pinned_botorch: false
minimal_dependencies: false
secrets: inherit
publish-latest-website:
name: Publish latest website
uses: ./.github/workflows/publish_website.yml
permissions:
pages: write
id-token: write
contents: write
with:
run_tutorials: true
pinned_botorch: false
deploy-test-pypi:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
permissions:
id-token: write # This is required for PyPI OIDC authentication.
env:
# `uv pip ...` requires venv by default. This skips that requirement.
UV_SYSTEM_PYTHON: 1
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v6
- name: Fetch all history for all tags and branches
run: git fetch --prune --unshallow
- name: Install uv
uses: astral-sh/setup-uv@v7
- name: Set up Python
uses: actions/setup-python@v6
with:
python-version: "3.14"
- name: Install dependencies
run: |
# use latest BoTorch
uv pip install git+https://github.com/cornellius-gp/linear_operator.git
uv pip install git+https://github.com/cornellius-gp/gpytorch.git
uv pip install git+https://github.com/pytorch/botorch.git
uv pip install -e ".[dev,mysql,notebook]"
uv pip install --upgrade build setuptools setuptools_scm wheel
- name: Extract reduced version and save to env var
# strip the commit hash from the version to enable upload to pypi
# env var will persist for subsequent steps
run: |
no_local_version=$(python -m setuptools_scm | cut -d "+" -f 1)
echo "SETUPTOOLS_SCM_PRETEND_VERSION=${no_local_version}" >> $GITHUB_ENV
- name: Build wheel
run: |
python -m build --sdist --wheel
- name: Deploy to Test PyPI
uses: pypa/gh-action-pypi-publish@ed0c53931b1dc9bd32cbe73a98c7f6766f8a527e # release/v1.13
with:
repository-url: https://test.pypi.org/legacy/
skip-existing: true
verbose: true
The same workflow, on Latchkey
Estimated ~20% faster on cache hits, plus fewer wasted runs and a safer supply chain. Added and changed lines are highlighted.
name: Nightly Cron on: schedule: # midnight EST - cron: '0 5 * * *' # allow this to be scheduled manually in addition to cron workflow_dispatch: push: branches: [ main ] paths: - "tutorials/**" concurrency: group: ${{ github.workflow }}-${{ github.ref }} cancel-in-progress: true jobs: tests-and-coverage-minimal: timeout-minutes: 30 name: Tests with latest BoTorch & minimal dependencies uses: ./.github/workflows/reusable_test.yml with: pinned_botorch: false minimal_dependencies: true secrets: inherit tests-and-coverage-full: timeout-minutes: 30 name: Tests with latest BoTorch & full dependencies uses: ./.github/workflows/reusable_test.yml with: pinned_botorch: false minimal_dependencies: false secrets: inherit publish-latest-website: timeout-minutes: 30 name: Publish latest website uses: ./.github/workflows/publish_website.yml permissions: pages: write id-token: write contents: write with: run_tutorials: true pinned_botorch: false deploy-test-pypi: timeout-minutes: 30 runs-on: latchkey-small permissions: id-token: write # This is required for PyPI OIDC authentication. env: # `uv pip ...` requires venv by default. This skips that requirement. UV_SYSTEM_PYTHON: 1 steps: - uses: actions/checkout@v6 - name: Fetch all history for all tags and branches run: git fetch --prune --unshallow - name: Install uv uses: astral-sh/setup-uv@v7 - name: Set up Python uses: actions/setup-python@v6 with: cache: 'pip' python-version: "3.14" - name: Install dependencies run: | # use latest BoTorch uv pip install git+https://github.com/cornellius-gp/linear_operator.git uv pip install git+https://github.com/cornellius-gp/gpytorch.git uv pip install git+https://github.com/pytorch/botorch.git uv pip install -e ".[dev,mysql,notebook]" uv pip install --upgrade build setuptools setuptools_scm wheel - name: Extract reduced version and save to env var # strip the commit hash from the version to enable upload to pypi # env var will persist for subsequent steps run: | no_local_version=$(python -m setuptools_scm | cut -d "+" -f 1) echo "SETUPTOOLS_SCM_PRETEND_VERSION=${no_local_version}" >> $GITHUB_ENV - name: Build wheel run: | python -m build --sdist --wheel - name: Deploy to Test PyPI uses: pypa/gh-action-pypi-publish@ed0c53931b1dc9bd32cbe73a98c7f6766f8a527e # release/v1.13 with: repository-url: https://test.pypi.org/legacy/ skip-existing: true verbose: true
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. - Cancel superseded runs when a branch or PR gets a newer push.
- Cache dependency installs on the setup step so they are served from cache.
- 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 4 jobs per trigger. On Latchkey the same minutes cost up to 58% less than GitHub-hosted, with zero queue time.
Actions used in this workflow
Frequently asked questions
What does the Nightly Cron workflow (facebook/Ax) workflow do?
This is the Nightly Cron workflow from the facebook/Ax repository, a real project running GitHub Actions. It is shown here with attribution under its MIT license.
What CI health grade does this workflow get?
This Python workflow grades F. Paste your own workflow into the Latchkey grader to see its grade and the exact fixes.
How can I improve this Python workflow?
Apply caching, run de-duplication, job timeouts, SHA-pinned actions. Latchkey applies these automatically on managed runners when you point runs-on at Latchkey.