fix(pr-validation): run the advisory checks even when a blocking one fails

.github/workflows/pr-validation.yml

@@ -402,11 +402,20 @@ jobs:
           commit-signatures-outcome: ${{ steps.commit-signatures.outcome || 'skipped' }}
 
   # ----------------- Tier 2: Advisory Checks (shared checkout, depends on Tier 1) -----------------
+  # Advisory by definition, so a blocking failure must not take them with it.
+  # They used to be gated on `needs.blocking-checks.result == 'success'`, from
+  # the 2-tier fail-fast model, which saved a runner at the cost of the exact
+  # pull request that needed the help: a wrong title or a missing signature
+  # meant no size label, no auto-labels and no assignee either. Those three are
+  # cheap, none of them can block, and they are most useful on a pull request
+  # that is already in trouble.
+  #
+  # `needs:` stays for ordering only. The verdict is no longer consulted.
   advisory-checks:
     name: Advisory Checks
     runs-on: ${{ vars.GENERAL_RUNNERS || inputs.runner_type }}
     needs: [blocking-checks]
-    if: always() && github.event_name == 'pull_request' && needs.blocking-checks.result == 'success' && github.event.pull_request.draft != true
+    if: always() && github.event_name == 'pull_request' && github.event.pull_request.draft != true
     outputs:
       metadata-result: ${{ steps.collect.outputs.metadata }}
       size-result: ${{ steps.collect.outputs.size }}

docs/pr-validation.md

@@ -225,6 +225,19 @@ For every non-draft live run, including detector failure or cancellation, the wo
 feat fix docs style refactor perf test chore ci build revert
 ```
 
+### Advisory checks always run
+
+PR Size, Auto Labels and PR Metadata are advisory — none of them can block a
+merge. They are therefore **not** gated on the blocking tier passing.
+
+They used to be. The 2-tier fail-fast model skipped them whenever a blocking
+check failed, which saved a runner at the cost of the pull request that most
+needed the help: a wrong title or a missing signature also meant no size label,
+no auto-labels and no assignee. A pull request already in trouble is exactly
+where that information is worth having.
+
+They still skip on drafts, and on anything that is not a `pull_request` event.
+
 ## Breaking change approval
 
 The author-acknowledgement guard above asks the author to declare the break. The
@@ -271,7 +284,7 @@ Full detail: [`breaking-change-approval.md`](breaking-change-approval.md).
 |-----|------|------------|-----------|
 | `breaking-change-guard` | mandatory detection | `breaking-change-guard@v1` | always, including drafts |
 | `blocking-checks` | 1 (fail-fast) | guard enforcement, `pr-source-branch`, `pr-title`, `pr-description`, `pr-commit-signatures` | always; drafts run guard enforcement only |
-| `advisory-checks` | 2 (informational) | `pr-metadata`, `pr-size`, `pr-labels` | non-draft, blocking-checks passed |
+| `advisory-checks` | 2 (informational) | `pr-metadata`, `pr-size`, `pr-labels` | non-draft, regardless of the blocking result |
 | `pr-checks-summary` | — | `pr-checks-summary` | always (writes to step summary) |
 | `breaking-change-comment` | — | `actions/github-script` | every non-draft live run, including detector failure or cancellation |
 | `pr-validation-report` | — | `pr-validation-reporter` | non-draft (upserts single PR comment) |
@@ -282,7 +295,7 @@ Full detail: [`breaking-change-approval.md`](breaking-change-approval.md).
 - Always enforce both the guard job state and its normalized output, including on drafts
 - Skip existing source branch, title, description, commit signature, and collector steps on drafts; their non-draft behavior is unchanged
 - On non-drafts, every validation runs even if one fails (`continue-on-error` per step)
-- Job fails if the guard job, normalized guard output, or **any** existing blocking check fails, preventing advisory checks from running
+- Job fails if the guard job, normalized guard output, or **any** existing blocking check fails. Advisory checks run either way
 - In dry-run mode, guard state is logged but does not fail `Blocking Checks`
 
 ### Fail-closed detection
@@ -325,7 +338,9 @@ The step runs with read-only permissions and emits no commit metadata beyond wha
 
 ### Advisory checks (Tier 2)
 - Share a single `checkout` with `fetch-depth: 0`
-- Only run if all blocking checks passed
+- Run on every non-draft pull request, **regardless of the blocking result** — a
+  pull request that failed a blocking check still gets its size label, its
+  auto-labels and its assignee
 - Never block merge — informational only
 
 ## Dry Run Behavior

src/validate/breaking-change-guard/test-workflow.py

@@ -778,6 +778,43 @@ def test_analysis_workflows_expose_scoped_test_runner_overrides(self):
                 )
 
 
+class AdvisoryChecksTests(unittest.TestCase):
+    def test_advisory_checks_do_not_cascade_off_a_blocking_failure(self):
+        job = extract_job(WORKFLOW, "advisory-checks")
+        condition = next(
+            line for line in job.splitlines() if line.strip().startswith("if:")
+        )
+        # Advisory by definition: a wrong title or a missing signature must not
+        # also cost the pull request its size label, its auto-labels and its
+        # assignee. Those are most useful precisely on a pull request that is
+        # already in trouble.
+        self.assertNotIn("needs.blocking-checks.result", condition)
+        self.assertIn("always()", condition)
+        self.assertIn("github.event.pull_request.draft != true", condition)
+
+    def test_advisory_checks_cannot_become_a_new_blocker(self):
+        job = extract_job(WORKFLOW, "advisory-checks")
+        # Running them unconditionally is only safe while none of them can fail
+        # the job — otherwise this change would turn three advisory checks into
+        # a blocking one.
+        for step_name in ("Check PR metadata", "Check PR size", "Auto-label PR"):
+            with self.subTest(step=step_name):
+                self.assertIn("continue-on-error: true", extract_step(job, step_name))
+
+    def test_the_reports_survive_an_advisory_failure(self):
+        # The checkout in advisory-checks has no continue-on-error, so the job
+        # can still fail. Everything that reports must run anyway.
+        #
+        # Read from the parsed job, not from its text: `assertIn` over the whole
+        # job body is satisfied by a step, or even by this comment, while the
+        # job-level `needs` and `if` say something else entirely.
+        jobs = yaml.safe_load(WORKFLOW)["jobs"]
+        for job_id in ("pr-checks-summary", "pr-validation-report"):
+            with self.subTest(job=job_id):
+                self.assertIn("advisory-checks", jobs[job_id]["needs"])
+                self.assertIn("always()", jobs[job_id]["if"])
+
+
 class ApprovalGateStructureTests(unittest.TestCase):
     """The human approval gate — wiring that must not drift.