github-actions-finops

GitHub Actions FinOps

Analyze GitHub Actions usage, costs, and efficiency across organizations and repositories.

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when...	Use X instead when...
Analyzing CI/CD costs and billing	Debugging a specific failed workflow -- use gh-workflow-monitoring
Identifying wasted workflow runs	Setting up new workflows -- use github-actions-workflows
Investigating workflow trigger patterns	Managing cache keys -- use github-actions-cache-optimization
Comparing efficiency across repos	Monitoring a single run -- use gh-workflow-monitoring

Context

• Current repo URL: !git remote get-url origin
• Workflow files: !find .github/workflows -maxdepth 1 -name '*.yml' -o -name '*.yaml'
• Active workflows: !gh workflow list --json id,name,state

Execution

Execute this GitHub Actions FinOps analysis:

Step 1: Determine scope

Read the Context values above. Parse $OWNER and $REPO from the current repo URL (e.g., https://github.com/OWNER/REPO.git). Run gh api repos/$OWNER/$REPO --jq '.owner.type' to determine if the owner is an "Organization" or "User". If Organization, set $GITHUB_ORG to the repo owner for org-level billing queries.

If no repo context is available, ask the user for the target organization or repository.

Step 2: Fetch org-level billing (if org and admin access)

Query the Actions billing API:

gh api /orgs/$GITHUB_ORG/settings/billing/actions \
  --jq '{included_minutes, total_minutes_used, total_paid_minutes_used}'

If this returns a permissions error, note that admin access is required and skip to Step 3.

Optionally also check packages and storage billing:

gh api /orgs/$GITHUB_ORG/settings/billing/packages \
  --jq '{included_gigabytes_bandwidth, total_gigabytes_bandwidth_used}'

gh api /orgs/$GITHUB_ORG/settings/billing/shared-storage \
  --jq '{days_left_in_billing_cycle, estimated_paid_storage_for_month}'

Step 3: Analyze workflow runs

Fetch recent runs and group by workflow:

gh api "/repos/$OWNER/$REPO/actions/runs?per_page=100" \
  --jq '.workflow_runs | group_by(.name) |
        map({workflow: .[0].name, runs: length,
             conclusions: (group_by(.conclusion) | map({(.[0].conclusion // "unknown"): length}) | add)}) |
        sort_by(-.runs)'

Calculate run durations:

gh api "/repos/$OWNER/$REPO/actions/runs?per_page=20&status=completed" \
  --jq '.workflow_runs | group_by(.name) |
        map({name: .[0].name, count: length,
             total_seconds: (map(.run_started_at as $start | .updated_at as $end |
                            (($end | fromdateiso8601) - ($start | fromdateiso8601))) | add)}) |
        sort_by(-.count) | .[] | "\(.name): \(.count) runs, ~\(.total_seconds/60|floor)min total"'

Step 4: Detect waste patterns

Check each waste indicator:

Skipped runs:

gh api "/repos/$OWNER/$REPO/actions/runs?per_page=100" \
  --jq '[.workflow_runs[] | select(.conclusion == "skipped")] |
        group_by(.name) | map({workflow: .[0].name, skipped: length}) |
        sort_by(-.skipped)'

Bot-triggered runs:

gh api "/repos/$OWNER/$REPO/actions/runs?per_page=100" \
  --jq '[.workflow_runs[] | select(.triggering_actor.type == "Bot")] | length'

High-frequency workflows (candidates for path filters):

gh api "/repos/$OWNER/$REPO/actions/runs?per_page=100" \
  --jq '.workflow_runs | group_by(.name) | map(select(length > 50)) |
        map({workflow: .[0].name, runs: length})'

Step 5: Analyze workflow files

Read each workflow file from .github/workflows/ and check for:

1. Missing concurrency: groups
2. Missing paths: filters on push/PR triggers
3. Missing bot-trigger guards (if: github.event.sender.type != 'Bot')

Step 6: Report findings

Print a summary with these sections:

1. Billing summary (if available): minutes used, paid minutes, days left in cycle
2. Workflow run counts: table of workflows with run counts and conclusion breakdown
3. Waste indicators: skipped runs, bot triggers, high-frequency workflows, missing concurrency groups
4. Recommendations: specific fixes for each waste pattern detected

Use these thresholds for flagging:

Metric	Red Flag Threshold
Skipped runs	>10% of total runs
Bot triggers	Bot-to-bot chains detected
Long durations	>10min average
High frequency	>50 runs/month without path filters
Duplicate runs	Same commit triggers multiple runs

Step 7: Suggest fixes

For each waste pattern found, recommend the specific fix:

Pattern	Fix
Bot-triggered waste	Add if: github.event.sender.type != 'Bot' to jobs
Missing concurrency	Add concurrency: { group: ${{ github.workflow }}-${{ github.ref }}, cancel-in-progress: true }
No path filters	Add paths: with relevant source directories
Duplicate runs	Add concurrency groups with cancel-in-progress: true

API Reference

Endpoint	Purpose	Admin Required
/orgs/{org}/settings/billing/actions	Minutes usage	Yes
/orgs/{org}/settings/billing/packages	Package bandwidth	Yes
/orgs/{org}/settings/billing/shared-storage	Storage billing	Yes
/orgs/{org}/actions/cache/usage	Org cache stats	No
/repos/{owner}/{repo}/actions/runs	Workflow runs	No
/repos/{owner}/{repo}/actions/workflows	Workflow definitions	No

Agentic Optimizations

Context	Command
Org billing	gh api /orgs/$ORG/settings/billing/actions --jq '{included_minutes, total_minutes_used}'
List repos	gh repo list $ORG --json nameWithOwner --limit 100
Workflow runs	gh api "/repos/$O/$R/actions/runs?per_page=100" --jq '.workflow_runs' --jq 'length'
Skipped count	`gh api "..." --jq '[.workflow_runs[]
Bot triggers	`gh api "..." --jq '[.workflow_runs[]

See Also

• github-actions-cache-optimization - Cache-specific analysis and cleanup
• gh-workflow-monitoring - Watching individual workflow runs