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Abusing version control and CI service as database sounds like a way for ruining it for open source projects that actually need it. The recent Travis thing didn

Abusing version control and CI service as database sounds like a way for ruining it for open source projects that actually need it. The recent Travis thing didn't happen without reason.

fahrradflucht 6y ago
I'm pretty sure the reason for "the recent Travis thing" is called Idera, Inc.
- geerlingguy 6y ago
  Yeah but bleeding money due to abuse of a free service surely contributed to the decision to sell. Microsoft had much deeper pockets, but if people start using GH Actions as free Lambda, basically... the gravy train can't go on forever. I figure it would be a better medium for GH to throttle CI workflows to something more reasonable, like 1/hour at minimum.
  - lma21 6y ago
    Does 1/hour really count as /Continuous/ integration/delivery? They made 2000 action-minutes-per-month for free for a specific reason. I think they can bare the cost and the potential 'abuse' inhibited by free orgs.
lipanski 6y ago
I second this - it sounds like a massive waste to spin up a Github Actions job in order to trigger a basic request every 5 minutes, 300 times a day. Why not just use a dedicated uptime service with a free tier? I've been using UptimeRobot [1] in the past - they give you 50 free checks at the same refresh rate of 5 minutes. [1] https://uptimerobot.com/ https://uptimerobot.com/
- jjeaff 6y ago
  You say "spin up" which in my mind implies a whole VM. I think surely actions are just run in sort of a container of some sort like a lambda. I would think it should be rather efficient to run a github action.
  - xahrepap 6y ago
    Yes and no. Depends on tenancy requirements. I know with docker and other common Linux container strategies you would want to keep each tenant on their own VM. A container isn’t safe enough. So if this is your org’s only action. Then you’re probably spinning up a VM. If you have other options. You’re probably not adding any overhead. (Edit: grammar)
    - cube2222 6y ago
      You can also use more secure containarization technologies than native docker, like gVisor, to achieve both lightness and isolation.
    - jjeaff 6y ago
      Ya, but I doubt that is the case with actions, because I don't think you really have full access to everything. You provide a yaml file and their software runs that yaml which could easily exclude any dangerous commands. Plus, github offers a hosted runner service where you pay for a dedicated VM to run your actions in. So that makes it seem like actions are probably run together on larger VMs by default.
      - Bognar 6y ago
        It is definitely the case with Actions. > I don't think you really have full access to everything You do. > their software runs that yaml which could easily exclude any dangerous commands Categorizing dangerous commands is impossible to do accurately by just looking at a yaml file. > Plus, github offers a hosted runner service where you pay for a dedicated VM to run your actions in. So that makes it seem like actions are probably run together on larger VMs by default. I'm not sure what this means. The paid hosted runners are not any different from the free hosted runners, but free runners can only be used on public repos.
- nickjj 6y ago
  I use Uptime Robot too. Been using them for years on the free plan. It's dependable.
- the_arun 6y ago
  How about self hosted enterprise GitHub?
  - judge2020 6y ago
    Then the issue is getting a GHE license. Maybe if there was a community edition...
- seized 6y ago
  Uptime Robot is great. Status Cake is another excellent service with a free/hobbyist/homelab tier. https://www.statuscake.com/ https://www.statuscake.com/
sneak 6y ago
I doubt Microsoft (GitHub's owner) cares that much about such tiny usage. They run all of Azure, after all. A small price to pay, it seems, to lock more people into GitHub/GitHub Actions. We're talking pennies, here.
- Denvercoder9 6y ago
  > I doubt Microsoft (GitHub's owner) cares that much about such tiny usage. They probably don't care about one person doing this, but if tens of thousands of repositories start doing this it becomes a problem. > They run all of Azure, after all. They get paid for that.
  - arvindamirtaa 6y ago
    They will for this too. Github actions aren't free. They just have a generous free tier.
    - ralph84 6y ago
      No. Actions is 100% free for public repos. Full stop.
      - stevekemp 6y ago
        Currently, of course. Travis used to be free for oss-projects too. I suspect Microsoft is less interested in making a profit on every single part of the github ecosystem, and less likely to change the pricing/limits for actions. But of course only time will tell.
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
- ende 6y ago
  Yeah, MS has been pretty vague so far on gha usage. Basically “have fun; don’t go crazy”. I imagine they are waiting and collecting more data before opting to impose any specific usage constraints.

Abusing version control and CI service as database sounds like a way for ruining it for open source projects that actually need it. The recent Travis thing didn't happen without reason.

fahrradflucht 6y ago

I'm pretty sure the reason for "the recent Travis thing" is called Idera, Inc.

geerlingguy 6y ago
Yeah but bleeding money due to abuse of a free service surely contributed to the decision to sell. Microsoft had much deeper pockets, but if people start using GH Actions as free Lambda, basically... the gravy train can't go on forever. I figure it would be a better medium for GH to throttle CI workflows to something more reasonable, like 1/hour at minimum.
- lma21 6y ago
  Does 1/hour really count as /Continuous/ integration/delivery? They made 2000 action-minutes-per-month for free for a specific reason. I think they can bare the cost and the potential 'abuse' inhibited by free orgs.

lipanski 6y ago

I second this - it sounds like a massive waste to spin up a Github Actions job in order to trigger a basic request every 5 minutes, 300 times a day. Why not just use a dedicated uptime service with a free tier? I've been using UptimeRobot [1] in the past - they give you 50 free checks at the same refresh rate of 5 minutes. [1] https://uptimerobot.com/ https://uptimerobot.com/

jjeaff 6y ago
You say "spin up" which in my mind implies a whole VM. I think surely actions are just run in sort of a container of some sort like a lambda. I would think it should be rather efficient to run a github action.
- xahrepap 6y ago
  Yes and no. Depends on tenancy requirements. I know with docker and other common Linux container strategies you would want to keep each tenant on their own VM. A container isn’t safe enough. So if this is your org’s only action. Then you’re probably spinning up a VM. If you have other options. You’re probably not adding any overhead. (Edit: grammar)
  - cube2222 6y ago
    You can also use more secure containarization technologies than native docker, like gVisor, to achieve both lightness and isolation.
  - jjeaff 6y ago
    Ya, but I doubt that is the case with actions, because I don't think you really have full access to everything. You provide a yaml file and their software runs that yaml which could easily exclude any dangerous commands. Plus, github offers a hosted runner service where you pay for a dedicated VM to run your actions in. So that makes it seem like actions are probably run together on larger VMs by default.
    - Bognar 6y ago
      It is definitely the case with Actions. > I don't think you really have full access to everything You do. > their software runs that yaml which could easily exclude any dangerous commands Categorizing dangerous commands is impossible to do accurately by just looking at a yaml file. > Plus, github offers a hosted runner service where you pay for a dedicated VM to run your actions in. So that makes it seem like actions are probably run together on larger VMs by default. I'm not sure what this means. The paid hosted runners are not any different from the free hosted runners, but free runners can only be used on public repos.
nickjj 6y ago
I use Uptime Robot too. Been using them for years on the free plan. It's dependable.
the_arun 6y ago
How about self hosted enterprise GitHub?
- judge2020 6y ago
  Then the issue is getting a GHE license. Maybe if there was a community edition...
seized 6y ago
Uptime Robot is great. Status Cake is another excellent service with a free/hobbyist/homelab tier. https://www.statuscake.com/ https://www.statuscake.com/

sneak 6y ago

I doubt Microsoft (GitHub's owner) cares that much about such tiny usage. They run all of Azure, after all. A small price to pay, it seems, to lock more people into GitHub/GitHub Actions. We're talking pennies, here.

Denvercoder9 6y ago
> I doubt Microsoft (GitHub's owner) cares that much about such tiny usage. They probably don't care about one person doing this, but if tens of thousands of repositories start doing this it becomes a problem. > They run all of Azure, after all. They get paid for that.
- arvindamirtaa 6y ago
  They will for this too. Github actions aren't free. They just have a generous free tier.
  - ralph84 6y ago
    No. Actions is 100% free for public repos. Full stop.
    - stevekemp 6y ago
      Currently, of course. Travis used to be free for oss-projects too. I suspect Microsoft is less interested in making a profit on every single part of the github ecosystem, and less likely to change the pricing/limits for actions. But of course only time will tell.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
ende 6y ago
Yeah, MS has been pretty vague so far on gha usage. Basically “have fun; don’t go crazy”. I imagine they are waiting and collecting more data before opting to impose any specific usage constraints.