vuejs/core - GitHub Actions cost & CI smells

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

Workflows

Per-run $ (modeled)

$0.83

Monthly $ @ 30/day

$748.8

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. vuejs/core's real run frequency is unknown to me. Smells, however, are real - they come from parsing the actual YAML.

Findings by rule

Rule	Hits
`pinned-action-sha`	18
`missing-timeout`	12
`missing-concurrency`	4
`missing-permissions`	3
`artifact-no-retention`	1
`expensive-runner`	1

Per-workflow breakdown

Workflow	Jobs	Per-run $	Findings
`test.yml`	4	$0.32	9
`autofix.yml`	1	$0.06	3
`ci.yml`	2	$0.06	4
`close-cant-reproduce-issues.yml`	1	$0.06	2
`ecosystem-ci-trigger.yml`	1	$0.06	2
`lock-closed-issues.yml`	1	$0.06	2
`release.yml`	2	$0.06	5
`size-data.yml`	1	$0.06	4
`size-report.yml`	1	$0.06	8

Examples of what ci-doctor reports

test.yml · WARN pinned-action-sha
pnpm/action-setup@v5.0.0 is not SHA-pinned. Mutable refs let upstream replace the action under you. Pin to a 40-char commit SHA and add a comment with the version. Run `npx pin-actions` to do all pins automatically.

autofix.yml · WARN pinned-action-sha
pnpm/action-setup@v5.0.0 is not SHA-pinned. Mutable refs let upstream replace the action under you. Pin to a 40-char commit SHA and add a comment with the version. Run `npx pin-actions` to do all pins automatically.

autofix.yml · WARN missing-concurrency
No top-level concurrency block. New pushes will not cancel in-flight runs of stale commits, doubling spend on rapid-push branches.

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

What you can do

If you maintain vuejs/core 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