Fix PRs blocked by skipped build-and-test check

.github/workflows/build-and-test.yaml

@@ -1,39 +1,85 @@
-# This runs on every commit/PR to test that we are properly building binaries that work
-# we test this on each commit/PR to catch build problems early
+# This runs on every PR to test that we are properly building binaries that work.
+# Branch protection should require the "build-and-test-gate" job.
 name: Build and test HolmesGPT
 
 on:
-  push:
-    branches:
-      - master
-    paths:
-      - '**'
-      - '!docs/**'
-      - '!**/*.md'
-      - '!mkdocs.yml'
-      - 'docs/reference/http-api.md'
   pull_request:
-    paths:
-      - '**'
-      - '!docs/**'
-      - '!**/*.md'
-      - '!mkdocs.yml'
-      - 'docs/reference/http-api.md'
   workflow_dispatch:
 
 jobs:
+  check-changes:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    outputs:
+      should_test: ${{ steps.changes.outputs.should_test }}
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+        with:
+          fetch-depth: 0
+
+      - name: Check for source changes
+        id: changes
+        run: |
+          # Paths that do NOT require tests (docs-only changes)
+          SKIP_PATTERNS=(
+            "docs/*"
+            "*.md"
+            "mkdocs.yml"
+          )
+
+          # Exceptions: paths matching skip patterns that STILL require tests
+          ALWAYS_TEST=(
+            "docs/reference/http-api.md"   # contains curl tests validated by tests/test_http_docs.py
+          )
+
+          if [ "${{ github.event_name }}" = "workflow_dispatch" ]; then
+            echo "should_test=true" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+            exit 0
+          fi
+
+          CHANGED_FILES=$(git diff --name-only ${{ github.event.pull_request.base.sha }}...${{ github.sha }})
+
+          SHOULD_TEST=false
+          while IFS= read -r file; do
+            [ -z "$file" ] && continue
+
+            # Check always-test exceptions first
+            for pattern in "${ALWAYS_TEST[@]}"; do
+              if [ "$file" = "$pattern" ]; then
+                SHOULD_TEST=true
+                break 2
+              fi
+            done
+
+            # Check if file matches any skip pattern
+            SKIP=false
+            for pattern in "${SKIP_PATTERNS[@]}"; do
+              case "$file" in
+                $pattern) SKIP=true; break ;;
+              esac
+            done
+
+            if [ "$SKIP" = false ]; then
+              SHOULD_TEST=true
+              break
+            fi
+          done <<< "$CHANGED_FILES"
+
+          echo "should_test=$SHOULD_TEST" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+
   build:
+    needs: check-changes
+    if: needs.check-changes.outputs.should_test == 'true'
     strategy:
       matrix:
         python-version: ["3.10", "3.11", "3.12"]
 
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
 
     steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v2
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
 
       - name: Set up Python ${{ matrix.python-version }}
-        uses: actions/setup-python@v2
+        uses: actions/setup-python@v5
         with:
           python-version: ${{ matrix.python-version }}
 
@@ -111,3 +157,27 @@ jobs:
             exit 1
           fi
           echo "Binary test passed"
+
+  # Gate job for branch protection — always runs and reports the correct status.
+  # Require this check ("Build and test HolmesGPT / build-and-test-gate") in
+  # branch protection instead of the individual build matrix jobs.
+  build-and-test-gate:
+    needs: [check-changes, build]
+    if: always()
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - name: Check results
+        run: |
+          if [ "${{ needs.check-changes.result }}" != "success" ]; then
+            echo "check-changes job failed!"
+            exit 1
+          fi
+          if [ "${{ needs.check-changes.outputs.should_test }}" != "true" ]; then
+            echo "No source changes detected (docs-only) - skipping tests"
+            exit 0
+          fi
+          if [ "${{ needs.build.result }}" != "success" ]; then
+            echo "Build and test failed!"
+            exit 1
+          fi
+          echo "Build and test passed!"