About events that trigger workflows
Workflow triggers are events that cause a workflow to run. For more information about how to use workflow triggers, see Triggering a workflow.
Some events have multiple activity types. For these events, you can specify which activity types will trigger a workflow run. For more information about what each activity type means, see Webhook events and payloads.
Note
Not all webhook events trigger workflows.
branch_protection_rule
Webhook event payload | Activity types | GITHUB_SHA | GITHUB_REF |
---|---|---|---|
branch_protection_ | - created - edited - deleted | Last commit on default branch | Default branch |
Note
More than one activity type triggers this event. For information about each activity type, see Webhook events and payloads. By default, all activity types trigger workflows that run on this event. You can limit your workflow runs to specific activity types using the types
keyword. For more information, see Workflow syntax for GitHub Actions.
Note
This event will only trigger a workflow run if the workflow file exists on the default branch.
Runs your workflow when branch protection rules in the workflow repository are changed. For more information about branch protection rules, see About protected branches. For information about the branch protection rule APIs, see Objects in the GraphQL API documentation or REST API endpoints for branches and their settings.
For example, you can run a workflow when a branch protection rule has been created
or deleted
:
on:
branch_protection_rule:
types: [created, deleted]
check_run
Webhook event payload | Activity types | GITHUB_SHA | GITHUB_REF |
---|---|---|---|
check_run | - created - rerequested - completed - requested_action | Last commit on default branch | Default branch |
Note
More than one activity type triggers this event. For information about each activity type, see Webhook events and payloads. By default, all activity types trigger workflows that run on this event. You can limit your workflow runs to specific activity types using the types
keyword. For more information, see Workflow syntax for GitHub Actions.
Note
This event will only trigger a workflow run if the workflow file exists on the default branch.
Runs your workflow when activity related to a check run occurs. A check run is an individual test that is part of a check suite. For information, see Using the REST API to interact with checks. For information about the check run APIs, see Objects in the GraphQL API documentation or REST API endpoints for check runs.
For example, you can run a workflow when a check run has been rerequested
or completed
.
on:
check_run:
types: [rerequested, completed]
check_suite
Webhook event payload | Activity types | GITHUB_SHA | GITHUB_REF |
---|---|---|---|
check_suite | - completed | Last commit on default branch | Default branch |
Note
More than one activity type triggers this event. For information about each activity type, see Webhook events and payloads. Although only the completed
activity type is supported, specifying the activity type will keep your workflow specific if more activity types are added in the future. By default, all activity types trigger workflows that run on this event. You can limit your workflow runs to specific activity types using the types
keyword. For more information, see Workflow syntax for GitHub Actions.
Note
This event will only trigger a workflow run if the workflow file exists on the default branch.
Note
To prevent recursive workflows, this event does not trigger workflows if the check suite was created by GitHub Actions.
Runs your workflow when check suite activity occurs. A check suite is a collection of the check runs created for a specific commit. Check suites summarize the status and conclusion of the check runs that are in the suite. For information, see Using the REST API to interact with checks. For information about the check suite APIs, see Objects in the GraphQL API documentation or REST API endpoints for check suites.
For example, you can run a workflow when a check suite has been completed
.
on:
check_suite:
types: [completed]
create
Webhook event payload | Activity types | GITHUB_SHA | GITHUB_REF |
---|---|---|---|
create | Not applicable | Last commit on the created branch or tag | Branch or tag created |
Note
An event will not be created when you create more than three tags at once.
Runs your workflow when someone creates a Git reference (Git branch or tag) in the workflow's repository. For information about the APIs to create a Git reference, see Mutations in the GraphQL API documentation or REST API endpoints for Git references.
For example, you can run a workflow when the create
event occurs.
on:
create
delete
Webhook event payload | Activity types | GITHUB_SHA | GITHUB_REF |
---|---|---|---|
delete | Not applicable | Last commit on default branch | Default branch |
Note
This event will only trigger a workflow run if the workflow file exists on the default branch.
Note
An event will not be created when you delete more than three tags at once.
Runs your workflow when someone deletes a Git reference (Git branch or tag) in the workflow's repository. For information about the APIs to delete a Git reference, see Mutations in the GraphQL API documentation or REST API endpoints for Git references.
For example, you can run a workflow when the delete
event occurs.
on:
delete
deployment
Webhook event payload | Activity types | GITHUB_SHA | GITHUB_REF |
---|---|---|---|
deployment | Not applicable | Commit to be deployed | Branch or tag to be deployed (empty if created with a commit SHA) |
Runs your workflow when someone creates a deployment in the workflow's repository. Deployments created with a commit SHA may not have a Git ref. For information about the APIs to create a deployment, see Mutations in the GraphQL API documentation or REST API endpoints for repositories.
For example, you can run a workflow when the deployment
event occurs.
on:
deployment
deployment_status
Webhook event payload | Activity types | GITHUB_SHA | GITHUB_REF |
---|---|---|---|
deployment_status | Not applicable | Commit to be deployed | Branch or tag to be deployed (empty if commit) |
Note
When a deployment status's state is set to inactive
, a workflow run will not be triggered.
Runs your workflow when a third party provides a deployment status. Deployments created with a commit SHA may not have a Git ref. For information about the APIs to create a deployment status, see Mutations in the GraphQL API documentation or REST API endpoints for deployments.
For example, you can run a workflow when the deployment_status
event occurs.
on:
deployment_status
discussion
Webhook event payload | Activity types | GITHUB_SHA | GITHUB_REF |
---|---|---|---|
discussion | - created - edited - deleted - transferred - pinned - unpinned - labeled - unlabeled - locked - unlocked - category_changed - answered - unanswered | Last commit on default branch | Default branch |
Note
More than one activity type triggers this event. For information about each activity type, see Webhook events and payloads. By default, all activity types trigger workflows that run on this event. You can limit your workflow runs to specific activity types using the types
keyword. For more information, see Workflow syntax for GitHub Actions.
Note
This event will only trigger a workflow run if the workflow file exists on the default branch.
Note
Webhook events for GitHub Discussions are currently in public preview and subject to change.
Runs your workflow when a discussion in the workflow's repository is created or modified. For activity related to comments on a discussion, use the discussion_comment
event. For more information about discussions, see About discussions. For information about the GraphQL API, see Objects.
For example, you can run a workflow when a discussion has been created
, edited
, or answered
.
on:
discussion:
types: [created, edited, answered]
discussion_comment
Webhook event payload | Activity types | GITHUB_SHA | GITHUB_REF |
---|---|---|---|
discussion_comment | - created - edited - deleted | Last commit on default branch | Default branch |
Note
More than one activity type triggers this event. For information about each activity type, see Webhook events and payloads. By default, all activity types trigger workflows that run on this event. You can limit your workflow runs to specific activity types using the types
keyword. For more information, see Workflow syntax for GitHub Actions.
Note
This event will only trigger a workflow run if the workflow file exists on the default branch.
Note
Webhook events for GitHub Discussions are currently in public preview and subject to change.
Runs your workflow when a comment on a discussion in the workflow's repository is created or modified. For activity related to a discussion as opposed to comments on the discussion, use the discussion
event. For more information about discussions, see About discussions. For information about the GraphQL API, see Objects.
For example, you can run a workflow when a discussion comment has been created
or deleted
.
on:
discussion_comment:
types: [created, deleted]
fork
Webhook event payload | Activity types | GITHUB_SHA | GITHUB_REF |
---|---|---|---|
fork | Not applicable | Last commit on default branch | Default branch |
Note
This event will only trigger a workflow run if the workflow file exists on the default branch.
Runs your workflow when someone forks a repository. For information about the REST API, see REST API endpoints for forks.
For example, you can run a workflow when the fork
event occurs.
on:
fork
gollum
Webhook event payload | Activity types | GITHUB_SHA | GITHUB_REF |
---|---|---|---|
gollum | Not applicable | Last commit on default branch | Default branch |
Note
This event will only trigger a workflow run if the workflow file exists on the default branch.
Runs your workflow when someone creates or updates a Wiki page. For more information, see About wikis.
For example, you can run a workflow when the gollum
event occurs.
on:
gollum
issue_comment
Webhook event payload | Activity types | GITHUB_SHA | GITHUB_REF |
---|---|---|---|
issue_comment | - created - edited - deleted | Last commit on default branch | Default branch |
Note
More than one activity type triggers this event. For information about each activity type, see Webhook events and payloads. By default, all activity types trigger workflows that run on this event. You can limit your workflow runs to specific activity types using the types
keyword. For more information, see Workflow syntax for GitHub Actions.
Note
This event will only trigger a workflow run if the workflow file exists on the default branch.
Runs your workflow when an issue or pull request comment is created, edited, or deleted. For information about the issue comment APIs, see Objects in the GraphQL API documentation or Webhook events and payloads in the REST API documentation.
For example, you can run a workflow when an issue or pull request comment has been created
or deleted
.
on:
issue_comment:
types: [created, deleted]
issue_comment
on issues only or pull requests only
The issue_comment
event occurs for comments on both issues and pull requests. You can use the github.event.issue.pull_request
property in a conditional to take different action depending on whether the triggering object was an issue or pull request.
For example, this workflow will run the pr_commented
job only if the issue_comment
event originated from a pull request. It will run the issue_commented
job only if the issue_comment
event originated from an issue.
on: issue_comment
jobs:
pr_commented:
# This job only runs for pull request comments
name: PR comment
if: ${{ github.event.issue.pull_request }}
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
- run: |
echo A comment on PR $NUMBER
env:
NUMBER: ${{ github.event.issue.number }}
issue_commented:
# This job only runs for issue comments
name: Issue comment
if: ${{ !github.event.issue.pull_request }}
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
- run: |
echo A comment on issue $NUMBER
env:
NUMBER: ${{ github.event.issue.number }}
issues
Webhook event payload | Activity types | GITHUB_SHA | GITHUB_REF |
---|---|---|---|
issues | - opened - edited - deleted - transferred - pinned - unpinned - closed - reopened - assigned - unassigned - labeled - unlabeled - locked - unlocked - milestoned - demilestoned | Last commit on default branch | Default branch |
Note
More than one activity type triggers this event. For information about each activity type, see Webhook events and payloads. By default, all activity types trigger workflows that run on this event. You can limit your workflow runs to specific activity types using the types
keyword. For more information, see Workflow syntax for GitHub Actions.
Note
This event will only trigger a workflow run if the workflow file exists on the default branch.
Runs your workflow when an issue in the workflow's repository is created or modified. For activity related to comments in an issue, use the issue_comment
event. For more information about issues, see About issues. For information about the issue APIs, see Objects in the GraphQL API documentation or REST API endpoints for issues.
For example, you can run a workflow when an issue has been opened
, edited
, or milestoned
.
on:
issues:
types: [opened, edited, milestoned]
label
Webhook event payload | Activity types | GITHUB_SHA | GITHUB_REF |
---|---|---|---|
label | - created - edited - deleted | Last commit on default branch | Default branch |
Note
More than one activity type triggers this event. For information about each activity type, see Webhook events and payloads. By default, all activity types trigger workflows that run on this event. You can limit your workflow runs to specific activity types using the types
keyword. For more information, see Workflow syntax for GitHub Actions.
Note
This event will only trigger a workflow run if the workflow file exists on the default branch.
Runs your workflow when a label in your workflow's repository is created or modified. For more information about labels, see Managing labels. For information about the label APIs, see Objects in the GraphQL API documentation or REST API endpoints for labels.
If you want to run your workflow when a label is added to or removed from an issue, pull request, or discussion, use the labeled
or unlabeled
activity types for the issues
, pull_request
, pull_request_target
, or discussion
events instead.
For example, you can run a workflow when a label has been created
or deleted
.
on:
label:
types: [created, deleted]
merge_group
Webhook event payload | Activity types | GITHUB_SHA | GITHUB_REF |
---|---|---|---|
merge_group | checks_requested | SHA of the merge group | Ref of the merge group |
Note
- More than one activity type triggers this event. Although only the
checks_requested
activity type is supported, specifying the activity type will keep your workflow specific if more activity types are added in the future. For information about each activity type, see Webhook events and payloads. By default, all activity types trigger workflows that run on this event. You can limit your workflow runs to specific activity types using thetypes
keyword. For more information, see Workflow syntax for GitHub Actions. - If your repository uses GitHub Actions to perform required checks on pull requests in your repository, you need to update the workflows to include the
merge_group
event as an additional trigger. Otherwise, status checks will not be triggered when you add a pull request to a merge queue. The merge will fail as the required status check will not be reported. Themerge_group
event is separate from thepull_request
andpush
events.
Runs your workflow when a pull request is added to a merge queue, which adds the pull request to a merge group. For more information see Merging a pull request with a merge queue.
For example, you can run a workflow when the checks_requested
activity has occurred.
on:
pull_request:
branches: [ "main" ]
merge_group:
types: [checks_requested]
milestone
Webhook event payload | Activity types | GITHUB_SHA | GITHUB_REF |
---|---|---|---|
milestone | - created - closed - opened - edited - deleted | Last commit on default branch | Default branch |
Note
More than one activity type triggers this event. For information about each activity type, see Webhook events and payloads. By default, all activity types trigger workflows that run on this event. You can limit your workflow runs to specific activity types using the types
keyword. For more information, see Workflow syntax for GitHub Actions.
Note
This event will only trigger a workflow run if the workflow file exists on the default branch.
Runs your workflow when a milestone in the workflow's repository is created or modified. For more information about milestones, see About milestones. For information about the milestone APIs, see Objects in the GraphQL API documentation or REST API endpoints for milestones.
If you want to run your workflow when an issue is added to or removed from a milestone, use the milestoned
or demilestoned
activity types for the issues
event instead.
For example, you can run a workflow when a milestone has been opened
or deleted
.
on:
milestone:
types: [opened, deleted]
page_build
Webhook event payload | Activity types | GITHUB_SHA | GITHUB_REF |
---|---|---|---|
page_build | Not applicable | Last commit on default branch | Not applicable |
Note
This event will only trigger a workflow run if the workflow file exists on the default branch.
Runs your workflow when someone pushes to a branch that is the publishing source for GitHub Pages, if GitHub Pages is enabled for the repository. For more information about GitHub Pages publishing sources, see Configuring a publishing source for your GitHub Pages site. For information about the REST API, see REST API endpoints for repositories.
For example, you can run a workflow when the page_build
event occurs.
on:
page_build
public
Webhook event payload | Activity types | GITHUB_SHA | GITHUB_REF |
---|---|---|---|
public | Not applicable | Last commit on default branch | Default branch |
Note
This event will only trigger a workflow run if the workflow file exists on the default branch.
Runs your workflow when your workflow's repository changes from private to public. For information about the REST API, see REST API endpoints for repositories.
For example, you can run a workflow when the public
event occurs.
on:
public
pull_request
Webhook event payload | Activity types | GITHUB_SHA | GITHUB_REF |
---|---|---|---|
pull_request | - assigned - unassigned - labeled - unlabeled - opened - edited - closed - reopened - synchronize - converted_to_ - locked - unlocked - enqueued - dequeued - milestoned - demilestoned - ready_for_review - review_requested - review_request_ - auto_merge_enabled - auto_merge_disabled | Last merge commit on the GITHUB_REF branch | PR merge branch refs/ |
Note
- More than one activity type triggers this event. For information about each activity type, see Webhook events and payloads. By default, a workflow only runs when a
pull_request
event's activity type isopened
,synchronize
, orreopened
. To trigger workflows by different activity types, use thetypes
keyword. For more information, see Workflow syntax for GitHub Actions. - Workflows will not run on
pull_request
activity if the pull request has a merge conflict. The merge conflict must be resolved first. Conversely, workflows with thepull_request_target
event will run even if the pull request has a merge conflict. Before using thepull_request_target
trigger, you should be aware of the security risks. For more information, seepull_request_target
. - The
pull_request
webhook event payload is empty for merged pull requests and pull requests that come from forked repositories. - The value of
GITHUB_REF
varies for a closed pull request depending on whether the pull request has been merged or not. If a pull request was closed but not merged, it will berefs/pull/PULL_REQUEST_NUMBER/merge
. If a pull request was closed as a result of being merged, it will be the fully qualifiedref
of the branch it was merged into, for example/refs/heads/main
.
Runs your workflow when activity on a pull request in the workflow's repository occurs. For example, if no activity types are specified, the workflow runs when a pull request is opened or reopened or when the head branch of the pull request is updated. For activity related to pull request reviews, pull request review comments, or pull request comments, use the pull_request_review
, pull_request_review_comment
, or issue_comment
events instead. For information about the pull request APIs, see Objects in the GraphQL API documentation or REST API endpoints for pull requests.
Note that GITHUB_SHA
for this event is the last merge commit of the pull request merge branch. If you want to get the commit ID for the last commit to the head branch of the pull request, use github.event.pull_request.head.sha
instead.
For example, you can run a workflow when a pull request has been opened or reopened.
on:
pull_request:
types: [opened, reopened]
You can use the event context to further control when jobs in your workflow will run. For example, this workflow will run when a review is requested on a pull request, but the specific_review_requested
job will only run when a review by octo-team
is requested.
on:
pull_request:
types: [review_requested]
jobs:
specific_review_requested:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
if: ${{ github.event.requested_team.name == 'octo-team'}}
steps:
- run: echo 'A review from octo-team was requested'
Running your pull_request
workflow based on the head or base branch of a pull request
You can use the branches
or branches-ignore
filter to configure your workflow to only run on pull requests that target specific branches. For more information, see Workflow syntax for GitHub Actions.
For example, this workflow will run when someone opens a pull request that targets a branch whose name starts with releases/
:
on:
pull_request:
types:
- opened
branches:
- 'releases/**'
Note
If you use both the branches
filter and the paths
filter, the workflow will only run when both filters are satisfied. For example, the following workflow will only run when a pull request that includes a change to a JavaScript (.js
) file is opened on a branch whose name starts with releases/
:
on:
pull_request:
types:
- opened
branches:
- 'releases/**'
paths:
- '**.js'
To run a job based on the pull request's head branch name (as opposed to the pull request's base branch name), use the github.head_ref
context in a conditional. For example, this workflow will run whenever a pull request is opened, but the run_if
job will only execute if the head of the pull request is a branch whose name starts with releases/
:
on:
pull_request:
types:
- opened
jobs:
run_if:
if: startsWith(github.head_ref, 'releases/')
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
- run: echo "The head of this PR starts with 'releases/'"
Running your pull_request
workflow based on files changed in a pull request
You can also configure your workflow to run when a pull request changes specific files. For more information, see Workflow syntax for GitHub Actions.
For example, this workflow will run when a pull request includes a change to a JavaScript file (.js
):
on:
pull_request:
paths:
- '**.js'
Note
If you use both the branches
filter and the paths
filter, the workflow will only run when both filters are satisfied. For example, the following workflow will only run when a pull request that includes a change to a JavaScript (.js
) file is opened on a branch whose name starts with releases/
:
on:
pull_request:
types:
- opened
branches:
- 'releases/**'
paths:
- '**.js'
Running your pull_request
workflow when a pull request merges
When a pull request merges, the pull request is automatically closed. To run a workflow when a pull request merges, use the pull_request
closed
event type along with a conditional that checks the merged
value of the event. For example, the following workflow will run whenever a pull request closes. The if_merged
job will only run if the pull request was also merged.
on:
pull_request:
types:
- closed
jobs:
if_merged:
if: github.event.pull_request.merged == true
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
- run: |
echo The PR was merged
Workflows in forked repositories
Workflows don't run in forked repositories by default. You must enable GitHub Actions in the Actions tab of the forked repository.
With the exception of GITHUB_TOKEN
, secrets are not passed to the runner when a workflow is triggered from a forked repository. The GITHUB_TOKEN
has read-only permissions in pull requests from forked repositories. For more information, see Automatic token authentication.
Pull request events for forked repositories
For pull requests from a forked repository to the base repository, GitHub sends the pull_request
, issue_comment
, pull_request_review_comment
, pull_request_review
, and pull_request_target
events to the base repository. No pull request events occur on the forked repository.
When a first-time contributor submits a pull request to a public repository, a maintainer with write access may need to approve running workflows on the pull request. For more information, see Approving workflow runs from public forks.
For pull requests from a forked repository to a private repository, workflows only run when they are enabled, see Managing GitHub Actions settings for a repository.
Note
Workflows triggered by Dependabot pull requests are treated as though they are from a forked repository, and are also subject to these restrictions.
pull_request_comment
(use issue_comment
)
To run your workflow when a comment on a pull request (not on a pull request's diff) is created, edited, or deleted, use the issue_comment
event. For activity related to pull request reviews or pull request review comments, use the pull_request_review
or pull_request_review_comment
events.
pull_request_review
Webhook event payload | Activity types | GITHUB_SHA | GITHUB_REF |
---|---|---|---|
pull_request_ | - submitted - edited - dismissed | Last merge commit on the GITHUB_REF branch | PR merge branch refs/ |
Note
More than one activity type triggers this event. For information about each activity type, see Webhook events and payloads. By default, all activity types trigger workflows that run on this event. You can limit your workflow runs to specific activity types using the types
keyword. For more information, see Workflow syntax for GitHub Actions.
Runs your workflow when a pull request review is submitted, edited, or dismissed. A pull request review is a group of pull request review comments in addition to a body comment and a state. For activity related to pull request review comments or pull request comments, use the pull_request_review_comment
or issue_comment
events instead. For information about the pull request review APIs, see Objects in the GraphQL API documentation or REST API endpoints for pull requests.
For example, you can run a workflow when a pull request review has been edited
or dismissed
.
on:
pull_request_review:
types: [edited, dismissed]
Running a workflow when a pull request is approved
To run your workflow when a pull request has been approved, you can trigger your workflow with the submitted
type of pull_request_review
event, then check the review state with the github.event.review.state
property. For example, this workflow will run whenever a pull request review is submitted, but the approved
job will only run if the submitted review is an approving review:
on:
pull_request_review:
types: [submitted]
jobs:
approved:
if: github.event.review.state == 'approved'
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
- run: echo "This PR was approved"
Workflows in forked repositories
Workflows don't run in forked repositories by default. You must enable GitHub Actions in the Actions tab of the forked repository.
With the exception of GITHUB_TOKEN
, secrets are not passed to the runner when a workflow is triggered from a forked repository. The GITHUB_TOKEN
has read-only permissions in pull requests from forked repositories. For more information, see Automatic token authentication.
Pull request events for forked repositories
For pull requests from a forked repository to the base repository, GitHub sends the pull_request
, issue_comment
, pull_request_review_comment
, pull_request_review
, and pull_request_target
events to the base repository. No pull request events occur on the forked repository.
When a first-time contributor submits a pull request to a public repository, a maintainer with write access may need to approve running workflows on the pull request. For more information, see Approving workflow runs from public forks.
For pull requests from a forked repository to a private repository, workflows only run when they are enabled, see Managing GitHub Actions settings for a repository.
Note
Workflows triggered by Dependabot pull requests are treated as though they are from a forked repository, and are also subject to these restrictions.
pull_request_review_comment
Webhook event payload | Activity types | GITHUB_SHA | GITHUB_REF |
---|---|---|---|
pull_request_ | - created - edited - deleted | Last merge commit on the GITHUB_REF branch | PR merge branch refs/ |
Note
More than one activity type triggers this event. For information about each activity type, see Webhook events and payloads. By default, all activity types trigger workflows that run on this event. You can limit your workflow runs to specific activity types using the types
keyword. For more information, see Workflow syntax for GitHub Actions.
Runs your workflow when a pull request review comment is modified. A pull request review comment is a comment on a pull request's diff. For activity related to pull request reviews or pull request comments, use the pull_request_review
or issue_comment
events instead. For information about the pull request review comment APIs, see Objects in the GraphQL API documentation or REST API endpoints for pull requests.
For example, you can run a workflow when a pull request review comment has been created
or deleted
.
on:
pull_request_review_comment:
types: [created, deleted]
Workflows in forked repositories
Workflows don't run in forked repositories by default. You must enable GitHub Actions in the Actions tab of the forked repository.
With the exception of GITHUB_TOKEN
, secrets are not passed to the runner when a workflow is triggered from a forked repository. The GITHUB_TOKEN
has read-only permissions in pull requests from forked repositories. For more information, see Automatic token authentication.
Pull request events for forked repositories
For pull requests from a forked repository to the base repository, GitHub sends the pull_request
, issue_comment
, pull_request_review_comment
, pull_request_review
, and pull_request_target
events to the base repository. No pull request events occur on the forked repository.
When a first-time contributor submits a pull request to a public repository, a maintainer with write access may need to approve running workflows on the pull request. For more information, see Approving workflow runs from public forks.
For pull requests from a forked repository to a private repository, workflows only run when they are enabled, see Managing GitHub Actions settings for a repository.
Note
Workflows triggered by Dependabot pull requests are treated as though they are from a forked repository, and are also subject to these restrictions.
pull_request_target
Webhook event payload | Activity types | GITHUB_SHA | GITHUB_REF |
---|---|---|---|
pull_request | - assigned - unassigned - labeled - unlabeled - opened - edited - closed - reopened - synchronize - converted_to_ - ready_for_review - locked - unlocked - review_requested - review_request_ - auto_merge_enabled - auto_merge_disabled | Last commit on the PR base branch | PR base branch |
Note
More than one activity type triggers this event. For information about each activity type, see Webhook events and payloads. By default, a workflow only runs when a pull_request_target
event's activity type is opened
, synchronize
, or reopened
. To trigger workflows by different activity types, use the types
keyword. For more information, see Workflow syntax for GitHub Actions.
Runs your workflow when activity on a pull request in the workflow's repository occurs. For example, if no activity types are specified, the workflow runs when a pull request is opened or reopened or when the head branch of the pull request is updated.
This event runs in the context of the base of the pull request, rather than in the context of the merge commit, as the pull_request
event does. This prevents execution of unsafe code from the head of the pull request that could alter your repository or steal any secrets you use in your workflow. This event allows your workflow to do things like label or comment on pull requests from forks. Avoid using this event if you need to build or run code from the pull request.
To ensure repository security, branches with names that match certain patterns (such as those which look similar to SHAs) may not trigger workflows with the pull_request_target
event.
Warning
For workflows that are triggered by the pull_request_target
event, the GITHUB_TOKEN
is granted read/write repository permission unless the permissions
key is specified and the workflow can access secrets, even when it is triggered from a fork. Although the workflow runs in the context of the base of the pull request, you should make sure that you do not check out, build, or run untrusted code from the pull request with this event. Additionally, any caches share the same scope as the base branch. To help prevent cache poisoning, you should not save the cache if there is a possibility that the cache contents were altered. For more information, see Keeping your GitHub Actions and workflows secure: Preventing pwn requests on the GitHub Security Lab website.
For example, you can run a workflow when a pull request has been assigned
, opened
, synchronize
, or reopened
.
on:
pull_request_target:
types: [assigned, opened, synchronize, reopened]
Running your pull_request_target
workflow based on the head or base branch of a pull request
You can use the branches
or branches-ignore
filter to configure your workflow to only run on pull requests that target specific branches. For more information, see Workflow syntax for GitHub Actions.
For example, this workflow will run when someone opens a pull request that targets a branch whose name starts with releases/
:
on:
pull_request_target:
types:
- opened
branches:
- 'releases/**'
Note
If you use both the branches
filter and the paths
filter, the workflow will only run when both filters are satisfied. For example, the following workflow will only run when a pull request that includes a change to a JavaScript (.js
) file is opened on a branch whose name starts with releases/
:
on:
pull_request_target:
types:
- opened
branches:
- 'releases/**'
paths:
- '**.js'
To run a job based on the pull request's head branch name (as opposed to the pull request's base branch name), use the github.head_ref
context in a conditional. For example, this workflow will run whenever a pull request is opened, but the run_if
job will only execute if the head of the pull request is a branch whose name starts with releases/
:
on:
pull_request_target:
types:
- opened
jobs:
run_if:
if: startsWith(github.head_ref, 'releases/')
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
- run: echo "The head of this PR starts with 'releases/'"
Running your pull_request_target
workflow based on files changed in a pull request
You can use the paths
or paths-ignore
filter to configure your workflow to run when a pull request changes specific files. For more information, see Workflow syntax for GitHub Actions.
For example, this workflow will run when a pull request includes a change to a JavaScript file (.js
):
on:
pull_request_target:
paths:
- '**.js'
Note
If you use both the branches
filter and the paths
filter, the workflow will only run when both filters are satisfied. For example, the following workflow will only run when a pull request that includes a change to a JavaScript (.js
) file is opened on a branch whose name starts with releases/
:
on:
pull_request_target:
types:
- opened
branches:
- 'releases/**'
paths:
- '**.js'
Running your pull_request_target
workflow when a pull request merges
When a pull request merges, the pull request is automatically closed. To run a workflow when a pull request merges, use the pull_request_target
closed
event type along with a conditional that checks the merged
value of the event. For example, the following workflow will run whenever a pull request closes. The if_merged
job will only run if the pull request was also merged.
on:
pull_request_target:
types:
- closed
jobs:
if_merged:
if: github.event.pull_request.merged == true
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
- run: |
echo The PR was merged
push
Webhook event payload | Activity types | GITHUB_SHA | GITHUB_REF |
---|---|---|---|
push | Not applicable | Tip commit pushed to the ref. When you delete a branch, the SHA in the workflow run (and its associated refs) reverts to the default branch of the repository. | Updated ref |
Note
The webhook payload available to GitHub Actions does not include the added
, removed
, and modified
attributes in the commit
object. You can retrieve the full commit object using the API. For information, see Objects in the GraphQL API documentation or REST API endpoints for commits.
Note
Events will not be created if more than 5,000 branches are pushed at once. Events will not be created for tags when more than three tags are pushed at once.
Runs your workflow when you push a commit or tag, or when you create a repository from a template.
For example, you can run a workflow when the push
event occurs.
on:
push
Note
When a push
webhook event triggers a workflow run, the Actions UI's "pushed by" field shows the account of the pusher and not the author or committer. However, if the changes are pushed to a repository using SSH authentication with a deploy key, then the "pushed by" field will be the repository admin who verified the deploy key when it was added it to a repository.
Running your workflow only when a push to specific branches occurs
You can use the branches
or branches-ignore
filter to configure your workflow to only run when specific branches are pushed. For more information, see Workflow syntax for GitHub Actions.
For example, this workflow will run when someone pushes to main
or to a branch that starts with releases/
.
on:
push:
branches:
- 'main'
- 'releases/**'
Note
If you use both the branches
filter and the paths
filter, the workflow will only run when both filters are satisfied. For example, the following workflow will only run when a push that includes a change to a JavaScript (.js
) file is made to a branch whose name starts with releases/
:
on:
push:
branches:
- 'releases/**'
paths:
- '**.js'
Running your workflow only when a push of specific tags occurs
You can use the tags
or tags-ignore
filter to configure your workflow to only run when specific tags are pushed. For more information, see Workflow syntax for GitHub Actions.
For example, this workflow will run when someone pushes a tag that starts with v1.
.
on:
push:
tags:
- v1.**
Running your workflow only when a push affects specific files
You can use the paths
or paths-ignore
filter to configure your workflow to run when a push to specific files occurs. For more information, see Workflow syntax for GitHub Actions.
For example, this workflow will run when someone pushes a change to a JavaScript file (.js
):
on:
push:
paths:
- '**.js'
Note
If you use both the branches
filter and the paths
filter, the workflow will only run when both filters are satisfied. For example, the following workflow will only run when a push that includes a change to a JavaScript (.js
) file is made to a branch whose name starts with releases/
:
on:
push:
branches:
- 'releases/**'
paths:
- '**.js'
registry_package
Webhook event payload | Activity types | GITHUB_SHA | GITHUB_REF |
---|---|---|---|
registry_package | - published - updated | Commit of the published package | Branch or tag of the published package |
Note
More than one activity type triggers this event. For information about each activity type, see Webhook events and payloads. By default, all activity types trigger workflows that run on this event. You can limit your workflow runs to specific activity types using the types
keyword. For more information, see Workflow syntax for GitHub Actions.
Note
This event will only trigger a workflow run if the workflow file exists on the default branch.
Note
When pushing multi-architecture container images, this event occurs once per manifest, so you might observe your workflow triggering multiple times. To mitigate this, and only run your workflow job for the event that contains the actual image tag information, use a conditional:
jobs:
job_name:
if: $true
Runs your workflow when activity related to GitHub Packages occurs in your repository. For more information, see GitHub Packages Documentation.
For example, you can run a workflow when a new package version has been published
.
on:
registry_package:
types: [published]
release
Webhook event payload | Activity types | GITHUB_SHA | GITHUB_REF |
---|---|---|---|
release | - published - unpublished - created - edited - deleted - prereleased - released | Last commit in the tagged release | Tag ref of release refs/ |
Note
More than one activity type triggers this event. For information about each activity type, see Webhook events and payloads. By default, all activity types trigger workflows that run on this event. You can limit your workflow runs to specific activity types using the types
keyword. For more information, see Workflow syntax for GitHub Actions.
Note
Workflows are not triggered for the created
, edited
, or deleted
activity types for draft releases. When you create your release through the GitHub browser UI, your release may automatically be saved as a draft.
Note
The prereleased
type will not trigger for pre-releases published from draft releases, but the published
type will trigger. If you want a workflow to run when stable and pre-releases publish, subscribe to published
instead of released
and prereleased
.
Runs your workflow when release activity in your repository occurs. For information about the release APIs, see Objects in the GraphQL API documentation or REST API endpoints for releases and release assets in the REST API documentation.
For example, you can run a workflow when a release has been published
.
on:
release:
types: [published]
repository_dispatch
Webhook event payload | Activity types | GITHUB_SHA | GITHUB_REF |
---|---|---|---|
repository_dispatch | Custom | Last commit on default branch | Default branch |
Note
This event will only trigger a workflow run if the workflow file exists on the default branch.
You can use the GitHub API to trigger a webhook event called repository_dispatch
when you want to trigger a workflow for activity that happens outside of GitHub. For more information, see REST API endpoints for repositories.
When you make a request to create a repository_dispatch
event, you must specify an event_type
to describe the activity type. By default, all repository_dispatch
activity types trigger a workflow to run. You can use the types
keyword to limit your workflow to run when a specific event_type
value is sent in the repository_dispatch
webhook payload.
on:
repository_dispatch:
types: [test_result]
Note
The event_type
value is limited to 100 characters.
Any data that you send through the client_payload
parameter will be available in the github.event
context in your workflow. For example, if you send this request body when you create a repository dispatch event:
{
"event_type": "test_result",
"client_payload": {
"passed": false,
"message": "Error: timeout"
}
}
then you can access the payload in a workflow like this:
on:
repository_dispatch:
types: [test_result]
jobs:
run_if_failure:
if: ${{ !github.event.client_payload.passed }}
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
- env:
MESSAGE: ${{ github.event.client_payload.message }}
run: echo $MESSAGE
Note
- The maximum number of top-level properties in
client_payload
is 10. - The payload can contain a maximum of 65,535 characters.
schedule
Webhook event payload | Activity types | GITHUB_SHA | GITHUB_REF |
---|---|---|---|
Not applicable | Not applicable | Last commit on default branch | Default branch |
Note
-
The
schedule
event can be delayed during periods of high loads of GitHub Actions workflow runs. High load times include the start of every hour. If the load is sufficiently high enough, some queued jobs may be dropped. To decrease the chance of delay, schedule your workflow to run at a different time of the hour. -
This event will only trigger a workflow run if the workflow file is on the default branch.
-
Scheduled workflows will only run on the default branch.
-
In a public repository, scheduled workflows are automatically disabled when no repository activity has occurred in 60 days. For information on re-enabling a disabled workflow, see Disabling and enabling a workflow.
-
When the last user to commit to the cron schedule of a workflow is removed from the organization, the scheduled workflow will be disabled. If a user with
write
permissions to the repository makes a commit that changes the cron schedule, the scheduled workflow will be reactivated. Note that, in this situation, the workflow is not reactivated by any change to the workflow file; you must alter thecron
value and commit this change.Example:
on: schedule: - cron: "15 4,5 * * *" # <=== Change this value
The schedule
event allows you to trigger a workflow at a scheduled time.
You can schedule a workflow to run at specific UTC times using POSIX cron syntax. Scheduled workflows run on the latest commit on the default or base branch. The shortest interval you can run scheduled workflows is once every 5 minutes.
This example triggers the workflow every day at 5:30 and 17:30 UTC:
on:
schedule:
# * is a special character in YAML so you have to quote this string
- cron: '30 5,17 * * *'
A single workflow can be triggered by multiple schedule
events. You can access the schedule event that triggered the workflow through the github.event.schedule
context. This example triggers the workflow to run at 5:30 UTC every Monday-Thursday, but skips the Not on Monday or Wednesday
step on Monday and Wednesday.
on:
schedule:
- cron: '30 5 * * 1,3'
- cron: '30 5 * * 2,4'
jobs:
test_schedule:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
- name: Not on Monday or Wednesday
if: github.event.schedule != '30 5 * * 1,3'
run: echo "This step will be skipped on Monday and Wednesday"
- name: Every time
run: echo "This step will always run"
Cron syntax has five fields separated by a space, and each field represents a unit of time.
┌───────────── minute (0 - 59)
│ ┌───────────── hour (0 - 23)
│ │ ┌───────────── day of the month (1 - 31)
│ │ │ ┌───────────── month (1 - 12 or JAN-DEC)
│ │ │ │ ┌───────────── day of the week (0 - 6 or SUN-SAT)
│ │ │ │ │
│ │ │ │ │
│ │ │ │ │
* * * * *
You can use these operators in any of the five fields:
Operator | Description | Example |
---|---|---|
* | Any value | 15 * * * * runs at every minute 15 of every hour of every day. |
, | Value list separator | 2,10 4,5 * * * runs at minute 2 and 10 of the 4th and 5th hour of every day. |
- | Range of values | 30 4-6 * * * runs at minute 30 of the 4th, 5th, and 6th hour. |
/ | Step values | 20/15 * * * * runs every 15 minutes starting from minute 20 through 59 (minutes 20, 35, and 50). |
Note
GitHub Actions does not support the non-standard syntax @yearly
, @monthly
, @weekly
, @daily
, @hourly
, and @reboot
.
You can use crontab guru to help generate your cron syntax and confirm what time it will run. To help you get started, there is also a list of crontab guru examples.
Notifications for scheduled workflows are sent to the user who last modified the cron syntax in the workflow file. For more information, see Notifications for workflow runs.
status
Webhook event payload | Activity types | GITHUB_SHA | GITHUB_REF |
---|---|---|---|
status | Not applicable | Last commit on default branch | Not applicable |
Note
This event will only trigger a workflow run if the workflow file exists on the default branch.
Runs your workflow when the status of a Git commit changes. For example, commits can be marked as error
, failure
, pending
, or success
. If you want to provide more details about the status change, you may want to use the check_run
event. For information about the commit status APIs, see Objects in the GraphQL API documentation or REST API endpoints for commits.
For example, you can run a workflow when the status
event occurs.
on:
status
If you want to run a job in your workflow based on the new commit state, you can use the github.event.state
context. For example, the following workflow triggers when a commit status changes, but the if_error_or_failure
job only runs if the new commit state is error
or failure
.
on:
status
jobs:
if_error_or_failure:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
if: >-
github.event.state == 'error' ||
github.event.state == 'failure'
steps:
- env:
DESCRIPTION: ${{ github.event.description }}
run: |
echo The status is error or failed: $DESCRIPTION
watch
Webhook event payload | Activity types | GITHUB_SHA | GITHUB_REF |
---|---|---|---|
watch | - started | Last commit on default branch | Default branch |
Note
More than one activity type triggers this event. Although only the started
activity type is supported, specifying the activity type will keep your workflow specific if more activity types are added in the future. For information about each activity type, see Webhook events and payloads. By default, all activity types trigger workflows that run on this event. You can limit your workflow runs to specific activity types using the types
keyword. For more information, see Workflow syntax for GitHub Actions.
Note
This event will only trigger a workflow run if the workflow file exists on the default branch.
Runs your workflow when the workflow's repository is starred. For information about the pull request APIs, see Mutations in the GraphQL API documentation or REST API endpoints for starring.
For example, you can run a workflow when someone stars a repository, which is the started
activity type for a watch event.
on:
watch:
types: [started]
workflow_call
Webhook event payload | Activity types | GITHUB_SHA | GITHUB_REF |
---|---|---|---|
Same as the caller workflow | Not applicable | Same as the caller workflow | Same as the caller workflow |
workflow_call
is used to indicate that a workflow can be called by another workflow. When a workflow is triggered with the workflow_call
event, the event payload in the called workflow is the same event payload from the calling workflow. For more information see, Reusing workflows.
The example below only runs the workflow when it's called from another workflow:
on: workflow_call
workflow_dispatch
Webhook event payload | Activity types | GITHUB_SHA | GITHUB_REF |
---|---|---|---|
workflow_dispatch | Not applicable | Last commit on the GITHUB_REF branch or tag | Branch or tag that received dispatch |
Note
This event will only trigger a workflow run if the workflow file exists on the default branch.
To enable a workflow to be triggered manually, you need to configure the workflow_dispatch
event. You can manually trigger a workflow run using the GitHub API, GitHub CLI, or GitHub browser interface. For more information, see Manually running a workflow.
on: workflow_dispatch
Providing inputs
You can configure custom-defined input properties, default input values, and required inputs for the event directly in your workflow. When you trigger the event, you can provide the ref
and any inputs
. When the workflow runs, you can access the input values in the inputs
context. For more information, see Accessing contextual information about workflow runs.
Note
- The workflow will also receive the inputs in the
github.event.inputs
context. The information in theinputs
context andgithub.event.inputs
context is identical except that theinputs
context preserves Boolean values as Booleans instead of converting them to strings. Thechoice
type resolves to a string and is a single selectable option. - The maximum number of top-level properties for
inputs
is 10. - The maximum payload for
inputs
is 65,535 characters.
This example defines inputs called logLevel
, tags
, and environment
. You pass values for these inputs to the workflow when you run it. This workflow then prints the values to the log, using the inputs.logLevel
, inputs.tags
, and inputs.environment
context properties.
on:
workflow_dispatch:
inputs:
logLevel:
description: 'Log level'
required: true
default: 'warning'
type: choice
options:
- info
- warning
- debug
tags:
description: 'Test scenario tags'
required: false
type: boolean
environment:
description: 'Environment to run tests against'
type: environment
required: true
jobs:
log-the-inputs:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
- run: |
echo "Log level: $LEVEL"
echo "Tags: $TAGS"
echo "Environment: $ENVIRONMENT"
env:
LEVEL: ${{ inputs.logLevel }}
TAGS: ${{ inputs.tags }}
ENVIRONMENT: ${{ inputs.environment }}
If you run this workflow from a browser you must enter values for the required inputs manually before the workflow will run.
You can also pass inputs when you run a workflow from a script, or by using GitHub CLI. For example:
gh workflow run run-tests.yml -f logLevel=warning -f tags=false -f environment=staging
For more information, see the GitHub CLI information in Manually running a workflow.
workflow_run
Webhook event payload | Activity types | GITHUB_SHA | GITHUB_REF |
---|---|---|---|
workflow_run | - completed - requested - in_progress | Last commit on default branch | Default branch |
Note
More than one activity type triggers this event. The requested
activity type does not occur when a workflow is re-run. For information about each activity type, see Webhook events and payloads. By default, all activity types trigger workflows that run on this event. You can limit your workflow runs to specific activity types using the types
keyword. For more information, see Workflow syntax for GitHub Actions.
Note
This event will only trigger a workflow run if the workflow file exists on the default branch.
Note
You can't use workflow_run
to chain together more than three levels of workflows. For example, if you attempt to trigger five workflows (named B
to F
) to run sequentially after an initial workflow A
has run (that is: A
→ B
→ C
→ D
→ E
→ F
), workflows E
and F
will not be run.
This event occurs when a workflow run is requested or completed. It allows you to execute a workflow based on execution or completion of another workflow. The workflow started by the workflow_run
event is able to access secrets and write tokens, even if the previous workflow was not. This is useful in cases where the previous workflow is intentionally not privileged, but you need to take a privileged action in a later workflow.
In this example, a workflow is configured to run after the separate "Run Tests" workflow completes.
on:
workflow_run:
workflows: [Run Tests]
types:
- completed
If you specify multiple workflows
for the workflow_run
event, only one of the workflows needs to run. For example, a workflow with the following trigger will run whenever the "Staging" workflow or the "Lab" workflow completes.
on:
workflow_run:
workflows: [Staging, Lab]
types:
- completed
Running a workflow based on the conclusion of another workflow
A workflow run is triggered regardless of the conclusion of the previous workflow. If you want to run a job or step based on the result of the triggering workflow, you can use a conditional with the github.event.workflow_run.conclusion
property. For example, this workflow will run whenever a workflow named "Build" completes, but the on-success
job will only run if the "Build" workflow succeeded, and the on-failure
job will only run if the "Build" workflow failed:
on:
workflow_run:
workflows: [Build]
types: [completed]
jobs:
on-success:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
if: ${{ github.event.workflow_run.conclusion == 'success' }}
steps:
- run: echo 'The triggering workflow passed'
on-failure:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
if: ${{ github.event.workflow_run.conclusion == 'failure' }}
steps:
- run: echo 'The triggering workflow failed'
Limiting your workflow to run based on branches
You can use the branches
or branches-ignore
filter to specify what branches the triggering workflow must run on in order to trigger your workflow. For more information, see Workflow syntax for GitHub Actions. For example, a workflow with the following trigger will only run when the workflow named Build
runs on a branch named canary
.
on:
workflow_run:
workflows: [Build]
types: [requested]
branches: [canary]
Using data from the triggering workflow
You can access the workflow_run
event payload that corresponds to the workflow that triggered your workflow. For example, if your triggering workflow generates artifacts, a workflow triggered with the workflow_run
event can access these artifacts.
The following workflow uploads data as an artifact. (In this simplified example, the data is the pull request number.)
name: Upload data
on:
pull_request:
jobs:
upload:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
- name: Save PR number
env:
PR_NUMBER: ${{ github.event.number }}
run: |
mkdir -p ./pr
echo $PR_NUMBER > ./pr/pr_number
- uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
with:
name: pr_number
path: pr/
When a run of the above workflow completes, it triggers a run of the following workflow. The following workflow uses the github.event.workflow_run
context and the GitHub REST API to download the artifact that was uploaded by the above workflow, unzips the downloaded artifact, and comments on the pull request whose number was uploaded as an artifact.
name: Use the data
on:
workflow_run:
workflows: [Upload data]
types:
- completed
jobs:
download:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
- name: 'Download artifact'
uses: actions/github-script@v6
with:
script: |
let allArtifacts = await github.rest.actions.listWorkflowRunArtifacts({
owner: context.repo.owner,
repo: context.repo.repo,
run_id: context.payload.workflow_run.id,
});
let matchArtifact = allArtifacts.data.artifacts.filter((artifact) => {
return artifact.name == "pr_number"
})[0];
let download = await github.rest.actions.downloadArtifact({
owner: context.repo.owner,
repo: context.repo.repo,
artifact_id: matchArtifact.id,
archive_format: 'zip',
});
const fs = require('fs');
const path = require('path');
const temp = '${{ runner.temp }}/artifacts';
if (!fs.existsSync(temp)){
fs.mkdirSync(temp);
}
fs.writeFileSync(path.join(temp, 'pr_number.zip'), Buffer.from(download.data));
- name: 'Unzip artifact'
run: unzip pr_number.zip -d "${{ runner.temp }}/artifacts"
- name: 'Comment on PR'
uses: actions/github-script@v6
with:
github-token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
script: |
const fs = require('fs');
const path = require('path');
const temp = '${{ runner.temp }}/artifacts';
const issue_number = Number(fs.readFileSync(path.join(temp, 'pr_number')));
await github.rest.issues.createComment({
owner: context.repo.owner,
repo: context.repo.repo,
issue_number: issue_number,
body: 'Thank you for the PR!'
});