From 2c6d6a02cdfdcf610a89724eb8f52cffaeef45dc Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: CaliBrain <calibrain@l4n.xyz>
Date: Mon, 21 Sep 2026 02:38:06 -0400
Subject: [PATCH] ci: debounce dev image builds instead of building nightly
 (#1376)
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Replace the nightly cron and its check-changes job with a debounce.
Every push to main starts dev-image-debounce.yml, which waits out the
60-minute wait timer on the dev-image-debounce environment, then
dispatches the Docker workflow only if main still points at its commit.
A burst of merges now publishes one dev image, an hour after the last
merge.

The Docker workflow keeps only its tag and workflow_dispatch triggers,
so its history holds real builds only. The debounce workflow deletes its
own finished runs, so no-op runs don't pile up either.

Requires the dev-image-debounce environment with a 60-minute wait
timer (Settings → Environments).
---
 .../build-and-publish-docker-image.yml        | 40 +--------------
 .github/workflows/dev-image-debounce.yml      | 51 +++++++++++++++++++
 2 files changed, 53 insertions(+), 38 deletions(-)
 create mode 100644 .github/workflows/dev-image-debounce.yml

diff --git a/.github/workflows/build-and-publish-docker-image.yml b/.github/workflows/build-and-publish-docker-image.yml
index 5f9b256..3d82d8c 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/build-and-publish-docker-image.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/build-and-publish-docker-image.yml
@@ -3,10 +3,8 @@ on:
   push:
     tags:
       - 'v*'
-  schedule:
-    # Nightly at 03:17 UTC — only builds if there are new commits on main
-    # since the last successful run (see check-changes job).
-    - cron: '17 3 * * *'
+  # Also dispatched on main by dev-image-debounce.yml, once main has been
+  # quiet for an hour, to publish the dev image.
   workflow_dispatch:
 permissions: read-all
 
@@ -14,41 +12,7 @@ env:
   REGISTRY: ghcr.io
   IMAGE_NAME: ${{ github.repository_owner }}/shelfmark
 jobs:
-  check-changes:
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    outputs:
-      should_build: ${{ steps.check.outputs.should_build }}
-    steps:
-      - name: Check for new commits since last successful build
-        id: check
-        env:
-          GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
-          EVENT_NAME: ${{ github.event_name }}
-          CURRENT_SHA: ${{ github.sha }}
-          REPO: ${{ github.repository }}
-        run: |
-          # Always build on tag pushes and manual dispatch.
-          if [[ "$EVENT_NAME" != "schedule" ]]; then
-            echo "Event is $EVENT_NAME — building unconditionally."
-            echo "should_build=true" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
-            exit 0
-          fi
-
-          # Scheduled run: only build if HEAD differs from the last successful build on main.
-          LAST_SHA=$(gh api "/repos/${REPO}/actions/workflows/build-and-publish-docker-image.yml/runs?branch=main&status=success&per_page=1" --jq '.workflow_runs[0].head_sha' 2>/dev/null || true)
-          echo "Last successful build SHA: ${LAST_SHA:-<none>}"
-          echo "Current HEAD SHA:          ${CURRENT_SHA}"
-          if [[ -z "$LAST_SHA" || "$LAST_SHA" != "$CURRENT_SHA" ]]; then
-            echo "New commits detected — building."
-            echo "should_build=true" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
-          else
-            echo "No new commits since last successful build — skipping."
-            echo "should_build=false" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
-          fi
-
   build-and-push-images:
-    needs: check-changes
-    if: needs.check-changes.outputs.should_build == 'true'
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     permissions:
       contents: read
diff --git a/.github/workflows/dev-image-debounce.yml b/.github/workflows/dev-image-debounce.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ea6d0fc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/dev-image-debounce.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,51 @@
+name: Debounce dev image
+# A burst of merges to main should publish one dev image, not one per commit.
+# Each push to main waits out the 60-minute wait timer on the
+# dev-image-debounce environment (Settings → Environments; waiting holds no
+# runner), then dispatches the Docker workflow only if main still points at
+# its commit. So only the last push of a burst builds, and the Docker
+# workflow's history holds real builds only.
+on:
+  push:
+    branches:
+      - main
+permissions: {}
+
+jobs:
+  debounce:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    environment:
+      name: dev-image-debounce
+      deployment: false
+    permissions:
+      actions: write # dispatch the build, delete finished debounce runs
+      contents: read
+    env:
+      GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+      GH_REPO: ${{ github.repository }}
+    steps:
+      - name: Dispatch the dev build if main is still at this commit
+        env:
+          CURRENT_SHA: ${{ github.sha }}
+        run: |
+          HEAD_SHA=$(gh api "repos/${GH_REPO}/git/ref/heads/main" --jq '.object.sha')
+          echo "This run's commit: ${CURRENT_SHA}"
+          echo "main HEAD now:     ${HEAD_SHA}"
+          if [[ "$HEAD_SHA" == "$CURRENT_SHA" ]]; then
+            echo "No newer commits on main — dispatching the dev build."
+            gh workflow run build-and-publish-docker-image.yml --ref main
+          else
+            echo "main has moved on — the newer push's run will build it."
+          fi
+
+      # A finished debounce run is noise: it either did nothing or its build
+      # run is the record. Best effort, since runs from the same burst race to
+      # delete the same runs.
+      - name: Delete finished debounce runs
+        run: |
+          # On an HTTP error gh prints the error body to stdout, so bail out
+          # rather than loop over it.
+          ids=$(gh api "repos/${GH_REPO}/actions/workflows/dev-image-debounce.yml/runs?status=success&per_page=100" --jq '.workflow_runs[].id') || exit 0
+          for id in $ids; do
+            gh api -X DELETE "repos/${GH_REPO}/actions/runs/${id}" || true
+          done