Automate Issue Management: Stale.yml Workflow Guide

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Automate Issue Management: Stale.yml Workflow Guide

Keeping your GitHub repository clean and well-maintained can be a real challenge, especially when you have a lot of contributors and a steady stream of issues and pull requests coming in. One effective way to manage this is by using a stale.yml workflow. This automation helps in identifying and marking inactive issues and PRs as stale, ensuring that your team focuses on what's current and relevant. In this guide, we'll walk you through setting up a stale.yml workflow, configuring its timing and messaging, and submitting a pull request to add it to your repository. So, let's dive in and make your repository more efficient!

Why Use a Stale Workflow?

Before we get into the how-to, let's cover the why. Why should you bother setting up a stale workflow? Well, here are a few compelling reasons:

  • Reduced Clutter: Over time, issues and pull requests can accumulate, many of which become irrelevant or are no longer being actively worked on. A stale workflow helps to automatically close these, reducing clutter and making it easier to find what's important.
  • Improved Focus: By clearing out old, inactive items, your team can focus on current and relevant tasks. This can lead to increased productivity and better use of resources.
  • Better User Experience: A clean and well-maintained repository gives a better impression to contributors and users. It shows that the project is actively managed and that issues are being addressed.
  • Automation: Manually going through issues and PRs to check for inactivity is time-consuming. A stale workflow automates this process, saving you valuable time and effort.
  • Consistency: Automation ensures that the process of identifying and closing stale issues is consistent and fair. It removes the potential for human error or bias.

Now that you understand the benefits, let's get started with setting up your stale.yml workflow.

Step-by-Step Guide to Setting Up stale.yml

1. Create the stale.yml File

First things first, you need to create the stale.yml file in the correct directory. Navigate to your repository and create a new file under .github/workflows/. Name it stale.yml. This is where you'll define the workflow.

Example File Path: .github/workflows/stale.yml

2. Configure the Workflow

Now, let's add the configuration to your stale.yml file. Here's a basic example to get you started:

name: Mark stale issues and pull requests

on:
  schedule:
    - cron: "0 0 * * *"  # Runs every day at midnight UTC
  workflow_dispatch:

jobs:
  stale:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
    - uses: actions/stale@v9
      with:
        stale-issue-message: 'This issue has been automatically marked as stale because it has not had recent activity. It will be closed if no further activity occurs.'
        stale-pr-message: 'This pull request has been automatically marked as stale because it has not had recent activity. It will be closed if no further activity occurs.'
        stale-issue-label: 'stale'
        stale-pr-label: 'stale'
        days-before-stale: 30
        days-before-close: 7
        remove-stale-when-updated: true
        operations-per-run: 100

Let's break down what each part of this configuration does:

  • name: This is the name of the workflow, which will be displayed in the Actions tab of your repository.
  • on: This section defines when the workflow will run.
    • schedule: This specifies that the workflow will run daily at midnight UTC. You can adjust the cron expression to suit your needs. For example, "0 12 * * *" would run the workflow at noon UTC every day.
    • workflow_dispatch: This allows you to manually trigger the workflow from the Actions tab.
  • jobs: This section defines the jobs that will be executed as part of the workflow.
    • stale: This is the name of the job.
    • runs-on: This specifies the type of machine to run the job on. In this case, we're using ubuntu-latest.
    • steps: This section defines the steps that will be executed in the job.
      • uses: actions/stale@v9: This specifies that we're using the actions/stale action, version 9. This action is responsible for marking issues and PRs as stale.
      • with: This section configures the action with various parameters:
        • stale-issue-message: The message that will be added to issues when they are marked as stale.
        • stale-pr-message: The message that will be added to pull requests when they are marked as stale.
        • stale-issue-label: The label that will be added to issues when they are marked as stale.
        • stale-pr-label: The label that will be added to pull requests when they are marked as stale.
        • days-before-stale: The number of days of inactivity before an issue or PR is marked as stale. In this case, it's set to 30 days.
        • days-before-close: The number of days after being marked as stale before an issue or PR is closed. Here, it's set to 7 days.
        • remove-stale-when-updated: If set to true, the stale label will be removed when an issue or PR is updated.
        • operations-per-run: The number of operations to perform per run to avoid hitting API rate limits.

3. Customize Your Configuration

The example configuration above is a good starting point, but you'll likely want to customize it to fit your specific needs. Here are some things you might want to adjust:

  • Timing: Adjust the cron expression to control when the workflow runs. Consider the activity patterns of your repository when choosing a schedule.
  • Messages: Customize the stale-issue-message and stale-pr-message to provide clear and helpful information to users. Let them know why their issue or PR was marked as stale and what they can do to keep it open.
  • Labels: You can change the stale-issue-label and stale-pr-label to match your existing labeling conventions. Make sure the labels are descriptive and easy to understand.
  • Days Before Stale: Adjust the days-before-stale parameter to reflect the typical lifecycle of issues and PRs in your repository. If issues are often resolved quickly, you might want to set this to a lower value. If issues tend to linger for a while, you might want to increase it.
  • Days Before Close: The days-before-close parameter controls how long an issue or PR remains stale before being closed. Consider the impact of closing issues automatically and whether it's better to err on the side of caution.
  • Operations Per Run: Adjust operations-per-run to a lower value if you are hitting API limits. The default is 30, but you can increment this value to a maximum of 100.

Here's an example of a more customized configuration:

name: Mark stale issues and pull requests

on:
  schedule:
    - cron: "0 12 * * *"  # Runs every day at noon UTC
  workflow_dispatch:

jobs:
  stale:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
    - uses: actions/stale@v9
      with:
        stale-issue-message: >
          This issue has been automatically marked as stale because it has not had recent activity.
          It will be closed in 14 days if no further activity occurs. If you believe this is a mistake,
          please comment on the issue to prevent it from being closed.
        stale-pr-message: >
          This pull request has been automatically marked as stale because it has not had recent activity.
          It will be closed in 14 days if no further activity occurs. If you believe this is a mistake,
          please comment on the PR to prevent it from being closed.
        stale-issue-label: 'needs-attention'
        stale-pr-label: 'needs-attention'
        days-before-stale: 45
        days-before-close: 14
        remove-stale-when-updated: true

4. Submit a Pull Request

Once you've created and configured your stale.yml file, it's time to submit a pull request to add it to your repository. This allows other members of your team to review the changes and provide feedback before they are merged into the main branch.

Here's how to submit a pull request:

  1. Commit Your Changes: Commit the stale.yml file to your local repository with a descriptive commit message.
  2. Push Your Changes: Push your local branch to a remote repository (e.g., GitHub).
  3. Create a Pull Request: Go to your repository on GitHub and create a new pull request from your branch to the main branch.
  4. Add a Description: Provide a clear and concise description of the changes you've made in the pull request. Explain why you're adding the stale.yml workflow and how it's configured.
  5. Request a Review: Ask one or more members of your team to review the pull request. Encourage them to test the workflow and provide feedback.
  6. Address Feedback: If reviewers provide feedback, address their comments and make any necessary changes to the stale.yml file.
  7. Merge the Pull Request: Once the pull request has been reviewed and approved, merge it into the main branch.

5. Test Your Workflow

After merging the pull request, it's important to test your workflow to make sure it's working as expected. Here are a few things you can do to test it:

  • Manual Trigger: Manually trigger the workflow from the Actions tab in your repository. This will allow you to see if it runs successfully and if any errors occur.
  • Check for Stale Issues and PRs: After the workflow has run, check your repository for issues and PRs that have been marked as stale. Verify that the correct message and label have been added.
  • Monitor Activity: Keep an eye on the workflow's activity over the next few days to see how it's handling new and updated issues and PRs. Make sure it's not marking anything as stale prematurely.

6. Monitor and Adjust

Once your stale.yml workflow is up and running, it's important to monitor its performance and make adjustments as needed. Here are some things to keep in mind:

  • Review Closed Issues: Periodically review the issues that have been closed by the workflow to make sure that no important issues were closed accidentally.
  • Gather Feedback: Ask your team and contributors for feedback on the workflow. Are the messages clear and helpful? Is the timing appropriate?
  • Adjust Configuration: Based on your observations and feedback, adjust the configuration of the workflow as needed. Don't be afraid to experiment with different settings to find what works best for your repository.

Conclusion

Setting up a stale.yml workflow is a great way to keep your GitHub repository clean, organized, and focused. By automating the process of marking and closing inactive issues and PRs, you can save time, improve productivity, and provide a better experience for your team and contributors. Follow the steps outlined in this guide to create and configure your own stale.yml workflow, and start enjoying the benefits of automated issue management today!

So, there you have it, folks! A comprehensive guide to setting up a stale.yml workflow in your GitHub repository. With this, you're well on your way to maintaining a cleaner and more efficient project. Happy coding!