---
title: "⏳ Main Branch: The One Where Your CI History Gets Shorter - Issue #38"
date: 2026-08-30
author: Andrea Griffiths
language: en
issue: 38
excerpt: "GitHub Actions retention, push rule path exceptions and the rule insights dashboard, plus a Silicon Valley satire worth watching and an MCP server I wrote."
tags: ["github-actions", "retention", "rulesets", "rule-insights", "ci", "mcp", "developer-tools", "devops-days", "newsletter"]
---

[Leer en Español](https://mainbranch.beehiiv.com/p/boletin-en-espanol) · [阅读中文版](https://mainbranch.dev/newsletter/zh/)

Hiya friends,

On October 1, checks, workflow runs, and statuses start following your [GitHub Actions retention setting](https://github.blog/changelog/2026-08-27-actions-retention-will-cover-checks-workflow-runs-and-statuses). Right now they hang around for 400 days or more regardless of what that setting says; after October 1 they get cleaned up on the same clock as your artifacts and logs, which defaults to 90 days.

Most repos won't notice. The ones that will are the repos where somebody dropped retention to cut Actions storage costs, because that field has read artifact and log retention this whole time, so setting it to 30 days was about storage and nothing else. Now it governs CI history too. GitHub is renaming the field to `Check, workflow run, status, artifact and log retention`.

It's also not retroactive in the direction you'd want it to be. Raising the number later won't bring any data back.

If you've built anything on run history through the API, go check it. Flaky test dashboards, or the query where you work out when a check first started failing. Public repos cap at 90 days; everywhere else you get whatever your org and enterprise caps allow.

Go look at the setting before October 1. Takes a minute.

## 🚢 What shipped

### [Push rules finally take path exceptions](https://github.blog/changelog/2026-08-25-push-rules-in-rulesets-now-support-path-exceptions)

Public preview. You used to have two bad options: relax the rule for everyone, or enforce the exception outside GitHub. Now `Restrict file paths` and `Restrict file size` have an Allowed exceptions box. Block JARs everywhere except `**/gradle/wrapper/*.jar`. Put a size cap in place without first rewriting the files that already blow it. GitHub validates the patterns when you save.

### [Rule insights dashboard is GA](https://github.blog/changelog/2026-08-25-rule-insights-dashboard-generally-available)

Repo and org level both. Successes, failures, and bypasses over time, your top bypassers, CSV export at either level. Every chart deep-links back to the insights page with the filters already applied, so you land on the rows instead of rebuilding the query.

## 📺 What I'm watching

**The Audacity**, created by Jonathan Glatzer, on Netflix now

I've rewatched Silicon Valley many times. The first time I watched it I wasn't in tech, and every rewatch since has gotten funnier. The Audacity did the opposite to me. I'm invested in the story so I'll watch next season, but this one wasn't funny. It's brilliantly written, and the best way I can describe it is the Dr. Pimple Popper of tech shows. It's disgusting and you kind of want to see what oozes out.

Worth your time if: you want the Valley written honestly.

## 🔧 What I'm using

[machine-mcp](https://github.com/AndreaGriffiths11/machine-mcp) is a laptop-side MCP server so an agent can run tools on the machine already signed into Copilot CLI. `run` uses `shlex.split` (no `shell=True`), sandboxes execution to a workspace root, enforces a 30-second default timeout, and redacts `github_pat_` tokens and AWS key patterns from any output.

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "machine-mcp": {
      "command": "path/to/.venv/bin/machine-mcp"
    }
  }
}
```

## ✨ This week

Back home from DevOps Days Lima. The Lima team did an amazing job organizing, and I had a great time meeting so many talented people in person. I also spent a lot of it listening to your frustrations. I am a GitHub user too, and yes, it has been rough around these parts. All I can say is I give it time and grace, I know there are folks who truly care, but we have to do better. Full stop.

Also recorded a [Cafe con Mito](https://www.youtube.com/@MitoCode) episode while I was in Peru. That one drops mid September and I am really looking forward to it.

*Here's a pic from DevOps Days. What a wonderful crowd.*

![Andrea Griffiths with the DevOps Days Lima audience](/images/issue-38-devops-days-lima.jpeg)

With gratitude, I'll see you next week.

Andrea

## 📌 P.S.

I'll be at [WeAreDevelopers World Congress North America](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/world-congress-north-america/tickets), September 23 to 25 in San Jose. If a ticket is the thing standing in the way, reply and let me know.

## 💛 Support

If Main Branch is useful to you, [subscribe](https://mainbranch.beehiiv.com/) or [sponsor me on GitHub](https://github.com/sponsors/AndreaGriffiths11).