How can I optimize my GitHub Actions workflow to reduce build time and costs, especially when running tests on multiple Node.js versions?"

[Amanuel776]

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Question

What GitHub Actions topic or product is this about?

Misc

Discussion Details

'm currently using a matrix strategy to test across several Node.js versions, and the workflow runs fine, but it's starting to feel a bit slow and potentially costly as I scale up.

Are there best practices, caching strategies, or specific actions/setup-node options that can help improve speed and efficiency?

Any examples or open-source workflows I can learn from would be appreciated!

[AmanT776]

Optimizing Node.js Matrix Testing in GitHub Actions

There are several strategies you can use to make your Node.js matrix testing more efficient in GitHub Actions. Here are the most effective approaches:

1. Caching Dependencies

- name: Cache node modules
  uses: actions/cache@v3
  with:
    path: |
      ~/.npm
      **/node_modules
    key: ${{ runner.os }}-node-${{ hashFiles('**/package-lock.json') }}
    restore-keys: |
      ${{ runner.os }}-node-

2. Selective Version Testing

Only test on versions that matter:

strategy:
  matrix:
    node-version: ['18.x', '20.x', 'lts/*'] # Instead of testing every minor version

3. Setup-Node Optimizations

- uses: actions/setup-node@v3
  with:
    node-version: ${{ matrix.node-version }}
    cache: 'npm' # Automatic npm caching
    cache-dependency-path: '**/package-lock.json'

4. Parallel Testing

Break your workflow into parallel jobs:

jobs:
  test:
    strategy:
      matrix:
        node-version: [12.x, 14.x, 16.x]
        os: [ubuntu-latest, windows-latest]
    runs-on: ${{ matrix.os }}

5. Fail Fast

Add this to your strategy to stop all jobs if one fails:

strategy:
  fail-fast: true

6. Exclude Unnecessary Combinations

strategy:
  matrix:
    node-version: [12.x, 14.x, 16.x]
    os: [ubuntu-latest, windows-latest, macos-latest]
    exclude:
      - os: windows-latest
        node-version: 12.x # Don't test Node 12 on Windows

Example Open Source Workflows

1. Express.js GitHub Actions workflow
2. Next.js test matrix
3. Jest's optimized workflow

Additional Tips

• Use npm ci instead of npm install in CI for faster, more reliable installs
• Consider using --workspaces=false if you don't need workspace support
• For large projects, split linting and testing into separate jobs
• Use actions/cache for build outputs if you have expensive compilation steps

[Amanuel776]

thank you for your response