Fix automatic workflow run updates with improved polling mechanism #541

spboyer · 2025-12-18T20:54:24Z

Description

This PR fixes issue #229 where newly triggered workflow runs required manual refresh to see updates in the UI. The extension now automatically polls for workflow run updates and reflects changes in real-time.

Changes

Enhanced Polling Mechanism

Added checks for window focus and view visibility before polling to prevent unnecessary API calls
Enhanced logging to show run status and conclusion during polling attempts
Improved cleanup of polling intervals when runs complete or polling attempts are exhausted

Key Improvements

Respects window focus and view visibility, optimizing API usage
Workflow runs now update automatically without requiring manual refresh
Proper cleanup prevents memory leaks and unnecessary API calls

Related Issues

Fixes #229

Testing

The fix ensures that:

When a new workflow is triggered, it automatically appears and updates in the extension view
Re-running workflows shows progress updates in real-time
Polling stops when runs complete
API calls are minimized when the window is not focused or the view is not visible

…s; refine run polling log output

spboyer · 2025-12-18T20:55:06Z

Related #285

…te expression

Copilot

Pull request overview

This PR implements an automatic polling mechanism to update workflow runs in real-time without requiring manual refresh, addressing issue #229. The solution adds intelligent polling that respects window focus and view visibility to minimize unnecessary API calls.

Key changes include:

Automatic polling for active workflow runs (in_progress, queued, waiting, requested) with a 4-second interval for up to 15 minutes
Window focus and view visibility tracking to pause polling when the extension is not in use
Enhanced workflow trigger command that waits for new runs to appear and automatically starts polling them

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 7 out of 7 changed files in this pull request and generated 10 comments.

Show a summary per file

File	Description
src/treeViews/workflows.ts	Exports WorkflowsTreeNode type to enable access from other modules
src/treeViews/workflowRunTreeDataProvider.ts	Adds automatic polling initiation for active workflow runs when tree nodes are created
src/treeViews/treeViews.ts	Tracks workflow tree view visibility state and notifies the store
src/store/workflowRun.ts	Unconditionally clears job cache on run updates to ensure polling fetches latest job status
src/store/store.ts	Implements polling mechanism with focus/visibility checks and cleanup logic for completed runs
src/extension.ts	Registers window state change handler to track focus state
src/commands/triggerWorkflowRun.ts	Enhanced to detect newly triggered runs and automatically start polling them

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Copilot · 2025-12-19T15:49:11Z

src/store/store.ts

+    if (!this._isFocused || !this._isViewVisible) {
+      return;
+    }
+
+    log(`Fetching run update: ${updater.runId}. Remaining attempts: ${updater.remainingAttempts}`);

    updater.remainingAttempts--;


The fetchRun method skips the API call when the window is not focused or view is not visible, but it still decrements remainingAttempts (line 87). This means if the window is unfocused for a long time, the remaining attempts could be exhausted without making any API calls. When the user returns to the window, polling may have already stopped. Consider only decrementing remainingAttempts when an API call is actually made.

@copilot open a new pull request to apply changes based on this feedback

Copilot · 2025-12-19T15:49:11Z

src/treeViews/workflowRunTreeDataProvider.ts

+      // Auto-poll active runs
+      if (
+        workflowRun.run.status === "in_progress" ||
+        workflowRun.run.status === "queued" ||
+        workflowRun.run.status === "waiting" ||
+        workflowRun.run.status === "requested"
+      ) {
+        // Poll every 4 seconds for up to 15 minutes (225 attempts)
+        this.store.pollRun(workflowRun.run.id, gitHubRepoContext, 4000, 225);


The pollRun method in workflowRunTreeDataProvider is called every time runNodes is invoked, which could be during tree refreshes. This means that active runs that are already being polled will have their polling restarted with full attempts (225), potentially creating multiple polling intervals for the same run. The store's pollRun does clear the existing interval before creating a new one, but this restart behavior may not be desired. Consider checking if polling is already active for a run before starting new polling.

@copilot open a new pull request to apply changes based on this feedback

Copilot · 2025-12-19T15:49:11Z

src/treeViews/workflowRunTreeDataProvider.ts

+        // Poll every 4 seconds for up to 15 minutes (225 attempts)
+        this.store.pollRun(workflowRun.run.id, gitHubRepoContext, 4000, 225);


Magic numbers 4000 and 225 are used directly without explanation. While there is a comment stating "Poll every 4 seconds for up to 15 minutes", having these values as named constants would improve maintainability and make it easier to adjust the polling strategy across the codebase. Consider defining constants like POLL_INTERVAL_MS and MAX_POLL_ATTEMPTS.

@copilot open a new pull request to apply changes based on this feedback

src/commands/triggerWorkflowRun.ts

Copilot · 2025-12-19T15:49:12Z

src/commands/triggerWorkflowRun.ts

+        const relativeWorkflowPath = vscode.workspace.asRelativePath(workflowUri, false);
+        if (!workflowIdForApi) {
+          workflowIdForApi = basename(workflowUri.fsPath);


The workflowIdForApi is set twice when args is a vscode.Uri - once at line 27 and again at line 56. The second assignment is redundant since the condition "!workflowIdForApi" will never be true when args is a Uri. Consider restructuring this logic to avoid the unnecessary check and assignment.

src/commands/triggerWorkflowRun.ts

src/treeViews/treeViews.ts

Copilot · 2025-12-19T15:49:13Z

src/commands/triggerWorkflowRun.ts

+          );
+        }
+
        return vscode.commands.executeCommand("github-actions.explorer.refresh");


After the loop completes (either by finding the new run or exhausting 20 attempts), the code always calls the refresh command at line 207. However, if a new run was found and already triggered a refresh at line 194, this results in a redundant refresh. Consider skipping the final refresh if the new run was already detected and refreshed.

Co-authored-by: Copilot <175728472+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

spboyer added 12 commits December 18, 2025 14:43

Fix github#229: Auto-refresh UI when a new workflow run is triggered

3692e70

Add test plan for auto-refresh feature in GitHub Actions extension

f7cfef8

Fix github#229: Poll new workflow run for status updates

0e7ed61

Fix github#229: Improve polling duration and stop condition

decdefa

Fix github#229: Force job refresh on run update and add logging

ba66672

Fix github#229: Add verbose logging for debugging polling issues

89fbe5a

Fix github#229: Use workflow ID or filename for polling, fix path issue

0b5c87d

Fix github#229: Add even more verbose logging for polling loop

a62d2e0

Fix github#229: Auto-poll active runs and respect window focus

964065c

Fix github#229: Pause polling when Workflows view is not visible

6fdb2ed

Fix github#229: Improve logging for focus and visibility state change…

4c04b43

…s; refine run polling log output

Remove TEST_PLAN.md

fc52ae5

Copilot AI review requested due to automatic review settings December 18, 2025 20:54

spboyer requested a review from a team as a code owner December 18, 2025 20:54

spboyer requested review from cschleiden and thyeggman and removed request for Copilot December 18, 2025 20:54

Copilot started reviewing on behalf of spboyer December 18, 2025 20:54 View session

Fix lint errors: await promise, remove non-null assertion, fix templa…

a65e12f

…te expression

Copilot AI review requested due to automatic review settings December 19, 2025 15:45

Copilot started reviewing on behalf of spboyer December 19, 2025 15:45 View session

Fix prettier formatting

a08153a

Copilot AI reviewed Dec 19, 2025

View reviewed changes

spboyer and others added 2 commits December 19, 2025 10:51

Update src/commands/triggerWorkflowRun.ts

c358f6e

Co-authored-by: Copilot <175728472+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

Update src/treeViews/treeViews.ts

a909e59

Co-authored-by: Copilot <175728472+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

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Fix automatic workflow run updates with improved polling mechanism #541

Fix automatic workflow run updates with improved polling mechanism #541

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		// Poll every 4 seconds for up to 15 minutes (225 attempts)
		this.store.pollRun(workflowRun.run.id, gitHubRepoContext, 4000, 225);

Fix automatic workflow run updates with improved polling mechanism #541

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Fix automatic workflow run updates with improved polling mechanism #541

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spboyer commented Dec 18, 2025

Description

Changes

Enhanced Polling Mechanism

Key Improvements

Related Issues

Testing

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