Implementation:Testtimescaling Testtimescaling github io Actions Checkout V3

Metadata
Page Type	Implementation
Implementation Type	External Tool Doc
Domain	CI_CD, Version_Control
Namespace	Testtimescaling_Testtimescaling_github_io
Workflow	Automated_Citation_Tracking
Date Created	2026-02-14
Principle	Principle:Testtimescaling_Testtimescaling_github_io_Repository_Checkout
Knowledge Source	actions/checkout

Overview

This implementation uses the actions/checkout@v3 action to clone the repository into the CI runner workspace with credential persistence disabled.

Description

The checkout step uses the official actions/checkout@v3 GitHub Action to create a working copy of the repository in the runner's workspace. The key configuration choice is persist-credentials: false, which prevents the GITHUB_TOKEN from being stored in the local git configuration. This means that subsequent steps requiring git push access must explicitly configure authentication (as done in the "Configure git" step later in the pipeline).

This step runs immediately after the workflow is triggered and before any scripts or git operations are executed. It provides the foundation for all subsequent pipeline steps by making the repository files available on disk.

Usage

This checkout step is used as the first step in the update-citations job. It must run before:

• The update_arxiv_citations.py script (which needs to read/write arxiv_citations.json).
• The git configure/commit/push steps (which need a git working directory).

Code Reference

Source Location

File	.github/workflows/update_citations.yml
Lines	L15-18
Repository	testtimescaling.github.io

Signature

      - name: Checkout
        uses: actions/checkout@v3
        with:
          persist-credentials: false

Import

Not applicable. GitHub Actions resolves the actions/checkout@v3 reference automatically by pulling the action from the actions/checkout repository at the v3 tag.

Key Parameters

Parameter	Value	Description
persist-credentials	false	Prevents the GITHUB_TOKEN from being persisted in the local git config. Forces explicit credential management for push operations.

I/O Contract

Inputs

Input	Type	Description
Repository reference	github.repository context	The repository to check out (automatically resolved from the workflow's repository context)
Branch/ref	github.ref context	The branch or ref to check out (defaults to the triggering ref; for scheduled runs, this is the default branch)

Outputs

Output	Type	Description
Working copy	Filesystem directory	The full repository contents checked out in the runner's workspace directory ($GITHUB_WORKSPACE)
.git directory	Git metadata	The git metadata directory, enabling subsequent git operations (status, add, commit, push)

Usage Examples

Example 1: Default usage (as in this workflow)

      - name: Checkout
        uses: actions/checkout@v3
        with:
          persist-credentials: false

Example 2: Checkout with full history (for changelog generation)

      - name: Checkout with full history
        uses: actions/checkout@v3
        with:
          persist-credentials: false
          fetch-depth: 0

Example 3: Checkout a specific branch

      - name: Checkout specific branch
        uses: actions/checkout@v3
        with:
          persist-credentials: false
          ref: develop

Related Pages

• Principle:Testtimescaling_Testtimescaling_github_io_Repository_Checkout
• Environment:Testtimescaling_Testtimescaling_github_io_GitHub_Actions_Runner
• Heuristic:Testtimescaling_Testtimescaling_github_io_Persist_Credentials_False
• Implementation:Testtimescaling_Testtimescaling_github_io_GitHub_Actions_Cron_Schedule -- The trigger that initiates the workflow before this step
• Implementation:Testtimescaling_Testtimescaling_github_io_Fetch_Arxiv_Citation_Count -- The script step that runs after checkout
• Implementation:Testtimescaling_Testtimescaling_github_io_Git_Commit_Push_Workflow -- Requires explicit credential setup because persist-credentials: false