gha-outdated

gha-outdated is a simple command-line tool that scans your GitHub Actions workflows (YAML format) and checks whether the actions/checkout version used is outdated.

It looks for lines like:

uses: actions/checkout@vX

in your workflow files. By default, it checks:

• .github/workflows
• .gitlab/workflows

Then queries the GitHub API to get the latest tag from the actions/* repository or other custom actions, and reports if your declared version is outdated.

Benefits

• Zero Configuration: Works out of the box with no setup

• No Dependencies: Uses only Node.js standard library

• Fast Execution: Checks multiple actions in parallel

• Simple Output: Clear display of what needs to be updated

• Non-Invasive: Read-only operation, doesn't modify your files

Installation

This tool is published to npm. You can use npx to run it:

npx gha-outdated

Usage

Run the tool without any options:

npx gha-outdated

It will scan your workflow files, compare the declared checkout version with the latest available version, and then output whether your version is up-to-date.

Major Version Check

If you want to only check for major version updates (for example, if you only care whether you're using the latest major version rather than a precise semver), add the -m flag:

npx gha-outdated -m

or

npx gha-outdated -M

This flag applies a major-version-only comparison.

How It Works

1. Reads the Githubs/Gitlab Actions workflow folder:

   • ./.github/workflows/*
   • ./.gitlab/workflows/*

2. Extracts all lines that use:

   uses: actions/checkout@<version>

3. Calls the GitHub API to retrieve the latest tag from the actions/checkout repository.

4. Compares the declared version(s) with the latest available version and outputs whether each is outdated.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.