axios/axios - GitHub Actions cost & CI smells

From the depmedic OSS benchmark dataset. Source: public workflow YAML in axios/axios/.github/workflows.

Workflows

Per-run $ (modeled)

$2.62

Monthly $ @ 30/day

$2,361.6

ci-doctor findings

Numbers are modeled: 8 minutes per priced job, 30 runs per day per workflow, 30-day month, GitHub-hosted runner rate sheet. axios/axios's real run frequency is unknown to me. Smells, however, are real - they come from parsing the actual YAML.

Findings by rule

Rule	Hits
`missing-timeout`	21
`deprecated-action`	12
`missing-concurrency`	4
`missing-cache`	2
`fetch-depth-zero`	1

Per-workflow breakdown

Workflow	Jobs	Per-run $	Findings
`release-branch.yml`	8	$1.15	14
`run-ci.yml`	7	$1.09	13
`lockfile-lint.yml`	1	$0.06	3
`moderator.yml`	1	$0.06	1
`publish.yml`	1	$0.06	3
`update-sponsor-block.yml`	1	$0.06	2
`verify-build-reproducibility.yml`	1	$0.06	2
`zizmor.yml`	1	$0.06	2

Examples of what ci-doctor reports

release-branch.yml · WARN missing-timeout
Job 'build-and-run-vitest' has no timeout-minutes. Default is 360 (6h). A hung job can drain your CI budget.

release-branch.yml · WARN missing-timeout
Job 'cjs-smoke-tests' has no timeout-minutes. Default is 360 (6h). A hung job can drain your CI budget.

release-branch.yml · WARN missing-timeout
Job 'esm-smoke-tests' has no timeout-minutes. Default is 360 (6h). A hung job can drain your CI budget.

run-ci.yml · WARN missing-timeout
Job 'build-and-run-vitest' has no timeout-minutes. Default is 360 (6h). A hung job can drain your CI budget.

run-ci.yml · WARN missing-timeout
Job 'cjs-smoke-tests' has no timeout-minutes. Default is 360 (6h). A hung job can drain your CI budget.

run-ci.yml · WARN missing-timeout
Job 'esm-smoke-tests' has no timeout-minutes. Default is 360 (6h). A hung job can drain your CI budget.

What you can do

If you maintain axios/axios or a similar workflow shape, three patterns probably move the most dollars per minute of work:

Add a concurrency: block with cancel-in-progress: true on every PR-triggered workflow.
Set timeout-minutes on every job (default is 6 hours).
Make sure every setup-* action sets cache: <ecosystem>.

Free CLIs that automate the audit and the pin step:

npx ci-doctor             # 14-rule audit
npx ci-doctor --fix       # auto-apply the four safe fixes
npx pin-actions           # pin every uses: ref to a SHA
npx gha-budget            # estimate per-run $ + monthly

About this dataset