remove always_on support in v6 (#123)

* remove always_on branch deployments and docs references

* chore: sync wiki docs submodule pointer

* chore(dist): update bundled pullpreview binary

* chore: remove always_on references from workflows/docs

* chore(dist): update bundled pullpreview binary

* chore: restore historical changelog entry

* chore(dist): update bundled pullpreview binary

* docs: direct changelog and AGENTS guidance to releases

* chore(dist): update bundled pullpreview binary

* test: speed up hetzner SSH retry loops in slow lifecycle tests

* chore(dist): update bundled pullpreview binary

* test: import time for hetzner retry delay tests

* chore(dist): update bundled pullpreview binary

* docs: require make test before push in AGENTS

* chore(dist): update bundled pullpreview binary

Author: crohr

.github/workflows/pullpreview.yml

@@ -30,7 +30,6 @@ jobs:
         uses: "./"
         with:
           admins: "@collaborators/push"
-          always_on: master,v6
           app_path: ./examples/workflow-smoke
           instance_type: micro
           max_domain_length: 30
@@ -100,7 +99,6 @@ jobs:
         uses: "./"
         with:
           admins: "@collaborators/push"
-          always_on: master,v6
           app_path: ./examples/workflow-smoke
           instance_type: micro
           max_domain_length: 30
@@ -154,7 +152,6 @@ jobs:
         uses: "./"
         with:
           admins: "@collaborators/push"
-          always_on: master,v6
           app_path: ./examples/workflow-smoke
           provider: hetzner
           region: ash

AGENTS.md

@@ -15,6 +15,8 @@ This repository ships a GitHub Action implemented in Go.
   - `make dist`
   - `mise exec -- go test ./...`
   - `mise exec -- go run ./cmd/pullpreview up examples/example-app`
+- Run `make test` before any push.
+- Changelog updates are maintained in GitHub Releases; `CHANGELOG.md` does not need to be amended for routine release notes.
 - Always run `make dist` before pushing source changes so the bundled CLI binary stays in sync.
 - `make dist` builds the prebuilt Linux binary under `dist/` and auto-commits only that directory via the repo’s `dist-commit` target.
 - Dist workflow:
@@ -55,7 +57,6 @@ Supported commands:
 
 ## GitHub sync behavior (`github-sync`)
 - Handles PR labeled/opened/reopened/synchronize/unlabeled/closed events.
-- Handles push events for `always_on` branches.
 - Handles scheduled cleanup of dangling labeled preview instances.
 - Updates marker-based PR status comments.
 - For `admins: "@collaborators/push"`:

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
+The changelog is published on the project releases page and is the canonical source for release notes: https://github.com/pullpreview/action/releases
+
 ## v6.0.0
 
 ### Breaking changes

README.md

@@ -1,21 +1,20 @@
 # <img width="25" height="25" alt="pullpreview" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/3aeb0f94-cac5-44b2-9f8e-abdb12be9cfe" /> PullPreview
 
-A GitHub Action that starts live environments for your pull requests and branches.
+A GitHub Action that starts live environments for your pull requests.
 
 [![pullpreview](https://github.com/pullpreview/action/actions/workflows/pullpreview.yml/badge.svg)](https://github.com/pullpreview/action/actions/workflows/pullpreview.yml)
 <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23221471"><img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/Hacker%20News-83-%23FF6600" alt="Hacker News"></a>
 
 ## Spin environments in one click
 
 Once installed in your repository, this action is triggered any time a change
-is made to Pull Requests labelled with the `pullpreview` label, or one of the
-_always-on_ branches.
+is made to Pull Requests labelled with the `pullpreview` label.
 
 When triggered, it will:
 
 1. Check out the repository code
 2. Provision a preview instance (Lightsail by default, or Hetzner with `provider: hetzner`), with docker and docker-compose set up
-3. Continuously deploy the specified pull requests and branches, using your docker-compose file(s)
+3. Continuously deploy the specified pull requests using your docker-compose file(s)
 4. Report the preview instance URL in the GitHub UI
 
 It is designed to be the **no-nonsense, cheap, and secure** alternative to
@@ -61,9 +60,7 @@ Preview environments that:
   docker-compose, it can be deployed to preview environments with PullPreview.
 
 - can be **started and destroyed easily**: You can manage preview environments
-  by adding or removing the `pullpreview` label on your Pull Requests. You can
-  set specific branches as always on, for instance to continuously deploy your
-  master branch.
+  by adding or removing the `pullpreview` label on your Pull Requests.
 
 - are **cheap too run**: Preview environments are launched on AWS Lightsail
   instances, which are both very cheap (10USD per month, proratized to the
@@ -110,7 +107,6 @@ All supported `with:` inputs from `action.yml`:
 | Input | Default | Description |
 | --- | --- | --- |
 | `app_path` | `.` | Path to your application containing Docker Compose files (relative to `${{ github.workspace }}`). |
-| `always_on` | `""` | Comma-separated branch names that should always be deployed. |
 | `dns` | `my.preview.run` | DNS suffix used for generated preview hostnames. Built-in alternatives: `rev1.click` through `rev9.click` (see note below). |
 | `max_domain_length` | `62` | Maximum generated FQDN length (cannot exceed 62 for Let's Encrypt). |
 | `label` | `pullpreview` | Label that triggers preview deployments. |
@@ -150,7 +146,7 @@ ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 3072 -m PEM -N "" -f hetzner_ca_key
 
 ## Example
 
-Workflow file with the `master` branch always on:
+Workflow file for pullpreview-driven deployments:
 
 ```yaml
 # .github/workflows/pullpreview.yml
@@ -176,8 +172,6 @@ jobs:
         with:
           # Those GitHub users will have SSH access to the servers
           admins: crohr,other-github-user
-          # A preview environment will always exist for the main branch
-          always_on: main
           # Use the cidrs option to restrict access to the live environments to specific IP ranges
           cidrs: "0.0.0.0/0"
           # PullPreview will use those 2 files when running docker-compose up
@@ -220,7 +214,6 @@ jobs:
       - uses: pullpreview/action@v6
         with:
           admins: "@collaborators/push"
-          always_on: master
           app_path: ./examples/workflow-smoke
           provider: hetzner
           # optional Hetzner runtime options

action.yml

@@ -9,9 +9,6 @@ inputs:
     description: "The path to your application containing a docker-compose file"
     default: "."
     required: false
-  always_on:
-    description: "List of always-on branches, irrespective of whether they correspond to an open Pull Request, comma-separated"
-    default: ""
   dns:
     description: "Which DNS suffix to use"
     default: "my.preview.run"
@@ -164,7 +161,6 @@ runs:
           --label "${{ inputs.label }}" \
           --ports "${{ inputs.ports }}" \
           --default-port "${{ inputs.default_port }}" \
-          --always-on "${{ inputs.always_on }}" \
           --instance-type "${{ inputs.instance_type }}" \
           --region "${{ inputs.region }}" \
           --image "${{ inputs.image }}" \

cmd/pullpreview/main.go

@@ -115,7 +115,6 @@ func runGithubSync(ctx context.Context, args []string, logger *pullpreview.Logge
 	verbose := fs.Bool("verbose", false, "Enable verbose mode")
 	label := fs.String("label", "pullpreview", "Label to use for triggering preview deployments")
 	deploymentVariant := fs.String("deployment-variant", "", "Deployment variant (4 chars max)")
-	alwaysOn := fs.String("always-on", "", "List of branches to always deploy")
 	ttl := fs.String("ttl", "infinite", "Maximum time to live for deployments (e.g. 10h, 5d, infinite)")
 	commonFlags := registerCommonFlags(fs)
 	leadingPath, parseArgs := splitLeadingPositional(args)
@@ -136,7 +135,6 @@ func runGithubSync(ctx context.Context, args []string, logger *pullpreview.Logge
 	opts := pullpreview.GithubSyncOptions{
 		AppPath:           appPath,
 		Label:             *label,
-		AlwaysOn:          splitCommaList(*alwaysOn),
 		DeploymentVariant: *deploymentVariant,
 		TTL:               *ttl,
 		Context:           ctx,

dist/pullpreview-linux-amd64

@@ -229,6 +229,8 @@ type Provider struct {
 	caSigner        ssh.Signer
 	caPublicKey     string
 	sshKeysCacheDir string
+	sshRetryCount   int
+	sshRetryDelay   time.Duration
 	logger          *pullpreview.Logger
 }
 
@@ -263,6 +265,8 @@ func newProviderWithContext(ctx context.Context, cfg Config, logger *pullpreview
 		caSigner:        caSigner,
 		caPublicKey:     caPublicKey,
 		sshKeysCacheDir: cfg.SSHKeysCacheDir,
+		sshRetryCount:   defaultHetznerSSHRetries,
+		sshRetryDelay:   defaultHetznerSSHInterval,
 		logger:          logger,
 	}, nil
 }
@@ -511,7 +515,15 @@ func (p *Provider) createServer(name string, opts pullpreview.LaunchOptions) (pu
 
 func (p *Provider) validateSSHAccessWithRetry(server *hcloud.Server, privateKey, certKey string, attempts int) error {
 	if attempts <= 0 {
-		attempts = 1
+		if p.sshRetryCount > 0 {
+			attempts = p.sshRetryCount
+		} else {
+			attempts = 1
+		}
+	}
+	delay := p.sshRetryDelay
+	if delay <= 0 {
+		delay = defaultHetznerSSHInterval
 	}
 	var lastErr error
 	for i := 0; i < attempts; i++ {
@@ -524,7 +536,7 @@ func (p *Provider) validateSSHAccessWithRetry(server *hcloud.Server, privateKey,
 			if p.logger != nil {
 				p.logger.Warnf("SSH access validation failed for %q (attempt %d/%d): %v", strings.TrimSpace(server.Name), i+1, attempts, lastErr)
 			}
-			time.Sleep(defaultHetznerSSHInterval)
+			time.Sleep(delay)
 		}
 	}
 	return fmt.Errorf("ssh access validation failed for %q after %d attempts: %w", strings.TrimSpace(server.Name), attempts, lastErr)

internal/providers/hetzner/hetzner.go

@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import (
 	"path/filepath"
 	"strings"
 	"testing"
+	"time"
 
 	"github.com/hetznercloud/hcloud-go/v2/hcloud"
 	"github.com/pullpreview/action/internal/pullpreview"
@@ -502,6 +503,8 @@ func TestHetznerLaunchLifecycleRecreateWhenCacheMissing(t *testing.T) {
 		}
 		return []byte("ok"), nil
 	}
+	provider.sshRetryCount = 1
+	provider.sshRetryDelay = 1 * time.Millisecond
 
 	_, err := provider.Launch(instance, pullpreview.LaunchOptions{})
 	if err != nil {
@@ -579,6 +582,8 @@ func TestHetznerCreateLifecycleRecreateWhenSSHPrecheckFails(t *testing.T) {
 	runSSHCommand = func(context.Context, string, string, string, string) ([]byte, error) {
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("ssh unavailable")
 	}
+	provider.sshRetryCount = 1
+	provider.sshRetryDelay = 1 * time.Millisecond
 
 	_, err := provider.Launch(instance, pullpreview.LaunchOptions{})
 	if err == nil {

internal/providers/hetzner/hetzner_test.go

@@ -196,12 +196,6 @@ func clearDanglingDeployments(repo string, opts GithubSyncOptions, provider Prov
 			logger.Warnf("[clear_dangling_deployments] Unable to remove %s label for PR#%d: %v", opts.Label, number, err)
 		}
 	}
-	alwaysOn := map[string]struct{}{}
-	alwaysOnNormalized := map[string]struct{}{}
-	for _, branch := range uniqueStrings(opts.AlwaysOn) {
-		alwaysOn[branch] = struct{}{}
-		alwaysOnNormalized[NormalizeName(branch)] = struct{}{}
-	}
 	activeInstanceNames := []string{}
 	removedInstanceNames := []string{}
 	for _, inst := range instances {
@@ -223,12 +217,8 @@ func clearDanglingDeployments(repo string, opts GithubSyncOptions, provider Prov
 				detail = fmt.Sprintf("PR#%s not active/labeled", ref.PRNumber)
 			}
 		} else {
-			_, exact := alwaysOn[ref.Branch]
-			_, normalized := alwaysOnNormalized[ref.BranchNormalized]
-			if !exact && !normalized {
-				dangling = true
-				detail = fmt.Sprintf("branch %q not always_on", ref.Branch)
-			}
+			dangling = true
+			detail = fmt.Sprintf("branch %q not linked to an active PR", ref.Branch)
 		}
 		if !dangling {
 			activeInstanceNames = append(activeInstanceNames, inst.Name)
@@ -482,7 +472,7 @@ func (g *GithubSync) Sync() error {
 		}
 		_ = g.updateGitHubStatus(statusDestroyed, "")
 		g.writeStepSummary(statusDestroyed, action, "", nil)
-	case actionPRUp, actionPRPush, actionBranchPush:
+	case actionPRUp, actionPRPush:
 		_ = g.updateGitHubStatus(statusDeploying, "")
 		instance := g.buildInstance()
 		var upInstance *Instance
@@ -511,7 +501,6 @@ const (
 	actionBranchDown actionType = "branch_down"
 	actionPRUp       actionType = "pr_up"
 	actionPRPush     actionType = "pr_push"
-	actionBranchPush actionType = "branch_push"
 )
 
 type deploymentStatus string
@@ -526,10 +515,6 @@ const (
 
 func (g *GithubSync) guessAction() actionType {
 	if g.prNumber() == 0 {
-		branch := strings.TrimPrefix(g.ref(), "refs/heads/")
-		if containsString(g.opts.AlwaysOn, branch) {
-			return actionBranchPush
-		}
 		return actionBranchDown
 	}
 
@@ -1151,12 +1136,3 @@ func instanceToCommon(inst *Instance) CommonOptions {
 		PreScript:       inst.PreScript,
 	}
 }
-
-func containsString(list []string, value string) bool {
-	for _, v := range list {
-		if v == value {
-			return true
-		}
-	}
-	return false
-}