fix-ci-workflow-path-triggers

name	fix-ci-workflow-path-triggers
description	Fix CI workflows not triggering on PRs when new directories are added (backends/**, tests/**, etc.)
source	auto-skill
extracted_at	2026-06-02T11:08:13.174Z

Fix CI Workflow Path Triggers

Problem

When adding new source directories (e.g., backends/, bindings/, demos/), CI workflows with paths: filters in their pull_request: trigger may not fire on PRs that modify files in the new directory.

The push: trigger often has more paths than pull_request:. When a PR only touches backends/cuda/kernels/signal/, workflows missing backends/** in their pull_request.paths won't run.

Root Cause

GitHub Actions paths: filters use glob patterns. If a workflow has:

on:
  push:
    paths: ['bindings/**', 'include/**', 'src/**', 'backends/**']
  pull_request:
    paths: ['bindings/**', 'include/**', 'src/**']  # ← missing backends/**

A PR modifying backends/cuda/kernels/signal/windows/hann.cu will trigger on push (after merge) but NOT on pull_request (during review).

Fix

Ensure pull_request.paths matches push.paths for all workflows:

on:
  push:
    branches: [main]
    paths:
      - 'bindings/**'
      - 'include/**'
      - 'src/**'
      - 'backends/**'
      - 'CMakeLists.txt'
      - '.github/workflows/THIS_FILE.yml'
  pull_request:
    branches: [main]
    paths:
      - 'bindings/**'
      - 'include/**'
      - 'src/**'
      - 'backends/**'
      - 'CMakeLists.txt'
      - '.github/workflows/THIS_FILE.yml'

Key: Always include .github/workflows/THIS_FILE.yml in both triggers so changes to the workflow itself are tested.

Workflows to Check

When adding a new top-level directory, audit ALL workflow files:

grep -l "pull_request:" .github/workflows/*.yml

For each, compare push.paths vs pull_request.paths and add any missing entries.

Common Missing Paths

New Directory	Workflows to Update
backends/**	cpu_tests, language_bindings, demo_tests
tests/**	cpu_tests, language_bindings
demos/**	demo_tests
patches/**	plot_tests
cmake/**	cpu_tests, plot_tests

Verification

After fixing, the workflow should show in the PR's "Checks" tab. If it doesn't appear, the path filter is still wrong.