pin-actions

Pin every uses: owner/repo@ref in your GitHub Actions workflows to a full commit SHA. Supply-chain-safe, in-place rewrite, comment-preserving.

$ npx pin-actions

pin-actions  2026-04-27T06:30:00Z

PIN    .github/workflows/ci.yml:7   actions/checkout@v4       ->  b3aab09b1b18  # v4
PIN    .github/workflows/ci.yml:8   actions/setup-node@v4     ->  39370e3970a6  # v4
PIN    .github/workflows/ci.yml:13  actions/upload-artifact@v4 -> ea165f8d6502  # v4
wrote  .github/workflows/ci.yml

summary: pin=3  already-pinned=0  skipped=0  errors=0
mode: write

Why

GitHub's hardening guide says: pin third-party actions to a full commit SHA. The reason is real. A compromised tag can ship malicious code under the same @v4 you've been trusting for a year. Tags are mutable. SHAs are not.

Pinning by hand is tedious. Renovate handles it but is heavy. Dependabot handles it only after you opt in per repo and only for some ecosystems. pin-actions does it in one shot, locally, with no service.

Install

npx pin-actions                  # one-shot
npm install -g pin-actions       # if you'll run it often

Usage

pin-actions                      # rewrite .github/workflows/*.yml in cwd
pin-actions path/to/repo         # specific repo
pin-actions --check              # do not write; exit 1 if pins are needed (CI)
pin-actions --json               # machine-readable report
pin-actions --token=ghp_xxx      # higher rate limit (or env GITHUB_TOKEN)

In CI, --check is the right mode:

- name: Verify all actions are pinned
  uses: actions/checkout@v4
  with:
    fetch-depth: 1
- run: npx pin-actions --check
  env:
    GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}

Behavior

• Pins by rewriting uses: owner/repo@v4 to uses: owner/repo@<sha> # v4. The trailing comment lets humans read what version is pinned.
• Existing trailing comments are preserved.
• Already-SHA pins are left alone.
• Local actions (./actions/foo) and Docker actions (docker://...) are skipped; SHA-pinning is for repository actions only.
• Annotated tags are dereferenced to the underlying commit SHA so the pin matches what actions/checkout would see.

Rate limits

Anonymous: 60 GitHub API requests/hr. A medium repo with ~30 uses: lines is well under that. Larger repos: pass --token=$GITHUB_TOKEN or set GITHUB_TOKEN in the environment for 5,000/hr.

Companion tools

• ci-doctor - audit workflows for waste, cost, and other security gaps. ci-doctor flags unpinned actions; pin-actions fixes them.
• gha-budget - estimate the dollar cost of a workflow per runner.
• depmedic - surgical npm vulnerability triage.
• cursor-rules-init
  • opinionated .cursorrules starters.

License

MIT.

Sponsor / support depmedic

If this saved you 10 minutes of CI debugging, consider one of these. All of them keep the free CLIs free:

• Tip what you want — pay-what-you-want, $0 minimum: https://buy.polar.sh/polar_cl_tipjar?utm_source=npm&utm_medium=readme&utm_campaign=pin-actions
• depmedic Pro $5/mo — one license, unlocks Pro tier in every depmedic CLI + the VS Code / Cursor extension, free access to every paid playbook for as long as you stay subscribed: https://buy.polar.sh/polar_cl_SUzmX5RCQCV8MJV3dDEBFMu3MGWu2WQhzZ1s02ZhK09?utm_source=npm&utm_medium=readme&utm_campaign=pin-actions
• Everything Bundle $59 once — every paid playbook (current and future): https://buy.polar.sh/polar_cl_everything_bundle?utm_source=npm&utm_medium=readme&utm_campaign=pin-actions
• Sponsor on GitHub — https://github.com/sponsors/depmedicdev-byte

More from depmedic

| | | | --- | --- | | ci-doctor | audit GitHub Actions for cost + security (16 rules) | | gitlab-ci-doctor | same engine for .gitlab-ci.yml (14 rules) | | bitbucket-ci-doctor | for bitbucket-pipelines.yml (8 rules) | | azure-pipelines-ci-doctor | for azure-pipelines.yml (8 rules) | | circleci-ci-doctor | for .circleci/config.yml (8 rules) | | gha-budget | $-denominated cost estimate of any GHA workflow | | pin-actions | one-shot SHA pinner for uses: blocks | | cursor-rules-init | scaffold .cursor/rules/ for your stack | | depmedic | all-in-one cli, finds outdated/risky deps | | depmedic/ci-doctor-action | composite GitHub Action: PR comment + SARIF |

In-browser scanners (no install): GitHub · GitLab · Bitbucket · Azure · CircleCI.

Newsletter (weekly, low-volume): https://depmedicdev-byte.github.io/newsletter.html?utm_source=npm&utm_medium=readme&utm_campaign=pin-actions.