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8. GitHub Actions policy while developing on develop

Date: 2026-05-03

Status​

Accepted

Context​

The team is iterating quickly on develop. The default GitHub Actions workflow was running on every pull request regardless of target branch, consuming CI minutes on frequent pushes to PRs opened against develop.

Decision​

  • Restrict automated CI so the workflow runs only when:
    • push targets main, or
    • pull_request targets main (promotion / release PRs).
  • Add workflow_dispatch so anyone with repo access can run the same workflow manually from the Actions tab when validation is needed without opening a PR to main.
  • Pull requests into develop no longer trigger this workflow by default. Contributors should run local checks (bun install, docs build, tracks typechecks/builds per root README.md) before merging.

This policy is cost-motivated and reversible when we want PR gates back on develop (widen pull_request.branches or add a second workflow).

Consequences​

  • Positive: Lower GitHub Actions usage during heavy development on develop.
  • Positive: Manual runs remain available for confidence checks.
  • Tradeoff: PRs to develop rely on human discipline and local verification until CI is broadened again.

Dependabot still opens weekly PRs (typically against the default branch). Those PRs inherit the same CI rules: if the default branch is develop, Dependabot PRs do not run the restricted workflow unless you change Dependabot target-branch or restore CI for develop.