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CopilotTimHess
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TimHess
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Simplify keep-alive workflow to reuse same PR every ~59 days
Co-authored-by: TimHess <3947063+TimHess@users.noreply.github.com>
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‎.github/workflows/keep-alive.yml‎

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@@ -5,14 +5,16 @@
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# This workflow prevents that by creating minimal activity when needed.
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#
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# How it works:
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# 1. Runs monthly on the 1st of each month
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# 2. Checks for any commits, issues, or PRs in the last 50 days
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# 3. If no activity is found:
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# - Creates a temporary branch with an empty commit
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# - Opens a pull request
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# - Immediately closes the PR
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# - Deletes the temporary branch
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# 4. If recent activity exists, does nothing
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# 1. Runs every 59 days (using approximation via cron)
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# 2. Checks if the keep-alive PR exists
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# 3. If PR doesn't exist, creates it with a persistent branch
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# 4. Reopens the PR (if closed) and immediately closes it again
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# 5. This activity prevents workflow deactivation
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#
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# Benefits:
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# - Uses the same PR repeatedly (minimal noise)
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# - No human intervention required
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# - Runs every ~59 days (close to 60-day limit but safe)
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#
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# Manual trigger:
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# This workflow can also be triggered manually via workflow_dispatch if needed.
@@ -23,10 +25,9 @@ name: Keep Scheduled Workflows Alive
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on:
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schedule:
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# Run on the 1st of each month (checks for activity in the last 50 days before taking action)
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# This conservative frequency ensures we never hit the 60-day GitHub inactivity limit
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# even accounting for holidays, weekends, or workflow execution delays
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- cron: "0 0 1 * *"
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# Run every 59 days (approximate using twice per 4 months = ~60 days)
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# This is close to GitHub's 60-day limit but provides a safety margin
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- cron: "0 0 1 */2 *"
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workflow_dispatch:
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permissions:
@@ -44,91 +45,82 @@ jobs:
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- name: Git checkout
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uses: actions/checkout@v4
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- name: Check for recent activity
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id: check_activity
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- name: Ensure keep-alive branch and PR exist
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env:
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GH_TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}
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shell: bash
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run: |
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# Check for any activity in the last 50 days
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# Note: date -d is GNU-specific, but this workflow runs on ubuntu-latest which has GNU date
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cutoff_date=$(date -u -d '50 days ago' '+%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ')
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echo "Checking for activity since: $cutoff_date"
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# Use a fixed branch name for persistence
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branch_name="keep-alive-workflow"
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# Check for recent commits
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recent_commits=$(gh api \
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-H "Accept: application/vnd.github+json" \
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-H "X-GitHub-Api-Version: 2022-11-28" \
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"/repos/${{ github.repository }}/commits?since=$cutoff_date&per_page=1" \
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--jq 'length' 2>/dev/null || echo "0")
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# Configure git
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git config --local user.name "github-actions[bot]"
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git config --local user.email "github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com"
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# Check for recent issues/PRs
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recent_issues=$(gh api \
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-H "Accept: application/vnd.github+json" \
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-H "X-GitHub-Api-Version: 2022-11-28" \
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"/repos/${{ github.repository }}/issues?since=$cutoff_date&per_page=1&state=all" \
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--jq 'length' 2>/dev/null || echo "0")
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# Check if branch exists remotely
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if git ls-remote --heads origin "$branch_name" | grep -q "$branch_name"; then
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echo "Branch $branch_name already exists"
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else
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echo "Creating new branch $branch_name"
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git checkout -b "$branch_name"
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git commit --allow-empty -m "chore: keep scheduled workflows alive
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This branch is used by the keep-alive workflow to maintain repository activity.
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GitHub disables scheduled workflows after 60 days of repository inactivity."
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git push --set-upstream origin "$branch_name"
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fi
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echo "Recent commits: $recent_commits"
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echo "Recent issues/PRs: $recent_issues"
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# Check if PR exists (open or closed)
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pr_number=$(gh pr list --head "$branch_name" --state all --json number --jq '.[0].number' 2>/dev/null || echo "")
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if [ "$recent_commits" -gt 0 ] || [ "$recent_issues" -gt 0 ]; then
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echo "Recent activity detected. No action needed."
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echo "needs_activity=false" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
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if [ -z "$pr_number" ]; then
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echo "Creating new PR for keep-alive workflow"
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gh pr create \
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--head "$branch_name" \
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--base ${{ github.event.repository.default_branch }} \
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--title "chore: keep scheduled workflows alive" \
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--body "This automated PR maintains repository activity to prevent scheduled workflows from being disabled.
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GitHub automatically disables scheduled workflows after 60 days of repository inactivity. This PR is reopened and closed periodically by the keep-alive workflow to ensure continuous operation.
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**Note:** This PR is managed by automation and will be reopened/closed automatically. Do not delete this PR or its branch."
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# Get the newly created PR number
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pr_number=$(gh pr list --head "$branch_name" --state all --json number --jq '.[0].number')
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echo "Created PR #$pr_number"
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else
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echo "No recent activity. Will create keep-alive activity."
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echo "needs_activity=true" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
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echo "PR #$pr_number already exists"
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fi
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# Store PR number for next step
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echo "pr_number=$pr_number" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
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id: setup
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- name: Create and close PR to maintain activity
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if: steps.check_activity.outputs.needs_activity == 'true'
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- name: Reopen and close PR to maintain activity
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env:
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GH_TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}
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shell: bash
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run: |
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# Configure git
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git config --local user.name "github-actions[bot]"
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git config --local user.email "github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com"
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pr_number="${{ steps.setup.outputs.pr_number }}"
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# Create a unique branch name
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branch_name="keep-alive-$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S)"
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# Create a new branch and make an empty commit
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git checkout -b "$branch_name"
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git commit --allow-empty -m "chore: keep scheduled workflows alive
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This automated commit ensures scheduled workflows remain active.
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GitHub disables scheduled workflows after 60 days of repository inactivity."
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if [ -z "$pr_number" ]; then
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echo "Error: PR number not found"
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exit 1
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fi
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git push --set-upstream origin "$branch_name"
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# Check PR state
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pr_state=$(gh pr view "$pr_number" --json state --jq '.state')
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echo "PR #$pr_number is currently: $pr_state"
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# Create PR
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pr_url=$(gh pr create \
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--head "$branch_name" \
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--base ${{ github.event.repository.default_branch }} \
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--title "chore: keep scheduled workflows alive" \
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--body "This automated PR is created to prevent scheduled workflows from being disabled due to inactivity.
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GitHub automatically disables scheduled workflows when no repository activity has occurred in 60 days. This PR ensures continuous operation of our scheduled builds and tests.
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This PR contains an empty commit and will be automatically closed without merging.")
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echo "Created PR: $pr_url"
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# Reopen if closed
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if [ "$pr_state" = "CLOSED" ]; then
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echo "Reopening PR #$pr_number"
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gh pr reopen "$pr_number"
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sleep 2
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fi
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# Extract PR number from URL (require at least one digit)
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pr_number=$(echo "$pr_url" | grep -oE '[0-9]+$')
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# Close the PR with a timestamp comment
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echo "Closing PR #$pr_number"
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gh pr close "$pr_number" --comment "Keep-alive activity: $(date -u '+%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S UTC')"
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if [ -n "$pr_number" ]; then
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# Close the PR immediately
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gh pr close "$pr_number" --comment "Closing this keep-alive PR as its purpose (maintaining repository activity) has been fulfilled."
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echo "Closed PR #$pr_number"
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# Clean up the branch
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git push origin --delete "$branch_name"
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echo "Deleted branch: $branch_name"
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else
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echo "Warning: Could not extract PR number from URL: $pr_url"
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echo "The branch $branch_name was created but PR may not have been properly closed."
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echo "Attempting to clean up branch anyway..."
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git push origin --delete "$branch_name" 2>/dev/null || echo "Branch cleanup failed, may need manual cleanup"
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fi
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echo "Keep-alive activity completed successfully"

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