require-workflow-concurrency

Rule catalog ID: R004

Targeted pattern scope

Workflows that listen for push, pull_request, pull_request_target, workflow_dispatch, or merge_group by default.

What this rule reports

This rule reports workflows that should define top-level concurrency but do not, as well as concurrency blocks that omit group or cancel-in-progress.

Why this rule exists

Concurrency helps cancel superseded runs so repeated pushes and pull request updates do not create long backlogs of redundant workflow executions.

❌ Incorrect

on:
  pull_request:

jobs:
  test:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest

concurrency:
  group: ci

✅ Correct

on:
  pull_request:

concurrency:
  group: ci-${{ github.ref }}
  cancel-in-progress: true

Additional examples

For larger repositories, this rule is often enabled together with one of the published presets so violations are caught in pull requests before workflow changes are merged.

ESLint flat config example

import githubActions from "eslint-plugin-github-actions-2";

export default [
  {
    files: ["**/*.{yml,yaml}"],
    plugins: {
      "github-actions": githubActions,
    },
    rules: {
      "github-actions/require-workflow-concurrency": "error",
    },
  },
];

When not to use it

You can disable this rule when its policy does not match your repository standards, or when equivalent enforcement is already handled by another policy tool.

Targeted pattern scope​

What this rule reports​

Why this rule exists​

❌ Incorrect​

✅ Correct​

Additional examples​

ESLint flat config example​

When not to use it​

Further reading​