Events that trigger workflows

Configuring workflow events

You can configure workflows to run for one or more events using the on workflow syntax. For more information, see "Workflow syntax for GitHub Actions."

Example: Using a single event

# Triggered when code is pushed to any branch in a repository
on: push

Example: Using a list of events

# Triggers the workflow on push or pull request events
on: [push, pull_request]

Example: Using multiple events with activity types or configuration

If you need to specify activity types or configuration for an event, you must configure each event separately. You must append a colon (:) to all events, including events without configuration.

on:
  # Trigger the workflow on push or pull request,
  # but only for the main branch
  push:
    branches:
      - main
  pull_request:
    branches:
      - main
  # Also trigger on page_build, as well as release created events
  page_build:
  release:
    types: # This configuration does not affect the page_build event above
      - created

The following steps occur to trigger a workflow run:

1. An event occurs on your repository, and the resulting event has an associated commit SHA and Git ref.

2. The .github/workflows directory in your repository is searched for workflow files at the associated commit SHA or Git ref. The workflow files must be present in that commit SHA or Git ref to be considered.

   For example, if the event occurred on a particular repository branch, then the workflow files must be present in the repository on that branch.

3. The workflow files for that commit SHA and Git ref are inspected, and a new workflow run is triggered for any workflows that have on: values that match the triggering event.

   The workflow runs on your repository's code at the same commit SHA and Git ref that triggered the event. When a workflow runs, GitHub Enterprise Server sets the GITHUB_SHA (commit SHA) and GITHUB_REF (Git ref) environment variables in the runner environment. For more information, see "Using environment variables."

Scheduled events

The schedule event allows you to trigger a workflow at a scheduled time.

schedule

Webhook event payload	Activity types	GITHUB_SHA	GITHUB_REF
n/a	n/a	Last commit on default branch	Default branch

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 * * *'

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	* * * * * runs every minute 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	0 4-6 * * * runs at minute 0 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).

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, please see "Notifications for workflow runs."

Manual events

You can manually trigger workflow runs. To trigger specific workflows in a repository, use the workflow_dispatch event. To trigger more than one workflow in a repository and create custom events and event types, use the repository_dispatch event.

workflow_dispatch

Webhook event payload	Activity types	GITHUB_SHA	GITHUB_REF
workflow_dispatch	n/a	Last commit on the GITHUB_REF branch	Branch that received dispatch

You can configure custom-defined input properties, default input values, and required inputs for the event directly in your workflow. When the workflow runs, you can access the input values in the github.event.inputs context. For more information, see "Contexts."

You can manually trigger a workflow run using the GitHub Enterprise Server API and from GitHub Enterprise Server. For more information, see "Manually running a workflow."

When you trigger the event on GitHub, you can provide the ref and any inputs directly on GitHub. For more information, see "Using inputs and outputs with an action."

To trigger the custom workflow_dispatch webhook event using the REST API, you must send a POST request to a GitHub Enterprise Server API endpoint and provide the ref and any required inputs. For more information, see the "Create a workflow dispatch event" REST API endpoint.

Example

To use the workflow_dispatch event, you need to include it as a trigger in your GitHub Actions workflow file. The example below only runs the workflow when it's manually triggered:

on: workflow_dispatch

Example workflow configuration

This example defines the name and home inputs and prints them using the github.event.inputs.name and github.event.inputs.home contexts. If a home isn't provided, the default value 'The Octoverse' is printed.

name: Manually triggered workflow
on:
  workflow_dispatch:
    inputs:
      name:
        description: 'Person to greet'
        required: true
        default: 'Mona the Octocat'
      home:
        description: 'location'
        required: false
        default: 'The Octoverse'

jobs:
  say_hello:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - run: |
          echo "Hello ${{ github.event.inputs.name }}!"
          echo "- in ${{ github.event.inputs.home }}!"

repository_dispatch

Webhook event payload	Activity types	GITHUB_SHA	GITHUB_REF
repository_dispatch	n/a	Last commit on default branch	Default branch

You can use the GitHub Enterprise Server 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 "Create a repository dispatch event."

To trigger the custom repository_dispatch webhook event, you must send a POST request to a GitHub Enterprise Server API endpoint and provide an event_type name to describe the activity type. To trigger a workflow run, you must also configure your workflow to use the repository_dispatch event.

Example

By default, all event_types trigger a workflow to run. You can limit your workflow to run when a specific event_type value is sent in the repository_dispatch webhook payload. You define the event types sent in the repository_dispatch payload when you create the repository dispatch event.

on:
  repository_dispatch:
    types: [opened, deleted]

Webhook events

You can configure your workflow to run when webhook events are generated on GitHub Enterprise Server. Some events have more than one activity type that triggers the event. If more than one activity type triggers the event, you can specify which activity types will trigger the workflow to run. For more information, see "Webhooks."

Not all webhook events trigger workflows. For the complete list of available webhook events and their payloads, see "Webhook events and payloads."

check_run

Runs your workflow anytime the check_run event occurs. More than one activity type triggers this event. For information about the REST API, see "Check runs."

Webhook event payload	Activity types	GITHUB_SHA	GITHUB_REF
check_run	- created - rerequested - completed	Last commit on default branch	Default branch

By default, all activity types trigger a workflow to run. You can limit your workflow runs to specific activity types using the types keyword. For more information, see "Workflow syntax for GitHub Actions."

For example, you can run a workflow when a check run has been rerequested or completed.

on:
  check_run:
    types: [rerequested, completed]

check_suite

Runs your workflow anytime the check_suite event occurs. More than one activity type triggers this event. For information about the REST API, see "Check suites."

Webhook event payload	Activity types	GITHUB_SHA	GITHUB_REF
check_suite	- completed - requested - rerequested	Last commit on default branch	Default branch

By default, all activity types trigger a workflow to run. You can limit your workflow runs to specific activity types using the types keyword. For more information, see "Workflow syntax for GitHub Actions."

For example, you can run a workflow when a check suite has been rerequested or completed.

on:
  check_suite:
    types: [rerequested, completed]

create

Runs your workflow anytime someone creates a branch or tag, which triggers the create event. For information about the REST API, see "Create a reference."

Webhook event payload	Activity types	GITHUB_SHA	GITHUB_REF
create	n/a	Last commit on the created branch or tag	Branch or tag created

For example, you can run a workflow when the create event occurs.

on:
  create

delete

Runs your workflow anytime someone deletes a branch or tag, which triggers the delete event. For information about the REST API, see "Delete a reference."

Webhook event payload	Activity types	GITHUB_SHA	GITHUB_REF
delete	n/a	Last commit on default branch	Default branch

For example, you can run a workflow when the delete event occurs.

on:
  delete

deployment

Runs your workflow anytime someone creates a deployment, which triggers the deployment event. Deployments created with a commit SHA may not have a Git ref. For information about the REST API, see "Deployments."

Webhook event payload	Activity types	GITHUB_SHA	GITHUB_REF
deployment	n/a	Commit to be deployed	Branch or tag to be deployed (empty if commit)

For example, you can run a workflow when the deployment event occurs.

on:
  deployment

deployment_status

Runs your workflow anytime a third party provides a deployment status, which triggers the deployment_status event. Deployments created with a commit SHA may not have a Git ref. For information about the REST API, see "Create a deployment status."

Webhook event payload	Activity types	GITHUB_SHA	GITHUB_REF
deployment_status	n/a	Commit to be deployed	Branch or tag to be deployed (empty if commit)

For example, you can run a workflow when the deployment_status event occurs.

on:
  deployment_status

fork

Runs your workflow anytime when someone forks a repository, which triggers the fork event. For information about the REST API, see "Create a fork."

Webhook event payload	Activity types	GITHUB_SHA	GITHUB_REF
fork	n/a	Last commit on default branch	Default branch

For example, you can run a workflow when the fork event occurs.

on:
  fork

gollum

Runs your workflow when someone creates or updates a Wiki page, which triggers the gollum event.

Webhook event payload	Activity types	GITHUB_SHA	GITHUB_REF
gollum	n/a	Last commit on default branch	Default branch

For example, you can run a workflow when the gollum event occurs.

on:
  gollum

issue_comment

Runs your workflow anytime the issue_comment event occurs. More than one activity type triggers this event. For information about the REST API, see "Issue comments."

Webhook event payload	Activity types	GITHUB_SHA	GITHUB_REF
issue_comment	- created - edited - deleted	Last commit on default branch	Default branch

By default, all activity types trigger a workflow to run. You can limit your workflow runs to specific activity types using the types keyword. For more information, see "Workflow syntax for GitHub Actions."

For example, you can run a workflow when an issue comment has been created or deleted.

on:
  issue_comment:
    types: [created, deleted]

The issue_comment event occurs for comments on both issues and pull requests. To determine whether the issue_comment event was triggered from an issue or pull request, you can check the event payload for the issue.pull_request property and use it as a condition to skip a job.

For example, you can choose to run the pr_commented job when comment events occur in a pull request, and the issue_commented job when comment events occur in an issue.

on: issue_comment

jobs:
  pr_commented:
    # This job only runs for pull request comments
    name: PR comment
    if: ${{ github.event.issue.pull_request }}
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - run: |
          echo "Comment on PR #${{ github.event.issue.number }}"

  issue_commented:
    # This job only runs for issue comments
    name: Issue comment
    if: ${{ !github.event.issue.pull_request }}
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - run: |
          echo "Comment on issue #${{ github.event.issue.number }}"

issues

Runs your workflow anytime the issues event occurs. More than one activity type triggers this event. For information about the REST API, see "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

By default, all activity types trigger a workflow to run. You can limit your workflow runs to specific activity types using the types keyword. For more information, see "Workflow syntax for GitHub Actions."

For example, you can run a workflow when an issue has been opened, edited, or milestoned.

on:
  issues:
    types: [opened, edited, milestoned]

label

Runs your workflow anytime the label event occurs. More than one activity type triggers this event. For information about the REST API, see "Labels."

Webhook event payload	Activity types	GITHUB_SHA	GITHUB_REF
label	- created - edited - deleted	Last commit on default branch	Default branch

By default, all activity types trigger a workflow to run. You can limit your workflow runs to specific activity types using the types keyword. For more information, see "Workflow syntax for GitHub Actions."

For example, you can run a workflow when a label has been created or deleted.

on:
  label:
    types: [created, deleted]

milestone

Runs your workflow anytime the milestone event occurs. More than one activity type triggers this event. For information about the REST API, see "Milestones."

Webhook event payload	Activity types	GITHUB_SHA	GITHUB_REF
milestone	- created - closed - opened - edited - deleted	Last commit on default branch	Default branch

By default, all activity types trigger a workflow to run. You can limit your workflow runs to specific activity types using the types keyword. For more information, see "Workflow syntax for GitHub Actions."

For example, you can run a workflow when a milestone has been opened or deleted.

on:
  milestone:
    types: [opened, deleted]

page_build

Runs your workflow anytime someone pushes to a GitHub Enterprise Server Pages-enabled branch, which triggers the page_build event. For information about the REST API, see "Pages."

Webhook event payload	Activity types	GITHUB_SHA	GITHUB_REF
page_build	n/a	Last commit on default branch	n/a

For example, you can run a workflow when the page_build event occurs.

on:
  page_build

project

Runs your workflow anytime the project event occurs. More than one activity type triggers this event. For information about the REST API, see "Projects."

Webhook event payload	Activity types	GITHUB_SHA	GITHUB_REF
project	- created - updated - closed - reopened - edited - deleted	Last commit on default branch	Default branch

By default, all activity types trigger a workflow to run. You can limit your workflow runs to specific activity types using the types keyword. For more information, see "Workflow syntax for GitHub Actions."

For example, you can run a workflow when a project has been created or deleted.

on:
  project:
    types: [created, deleted]

project_card

Runs your workflow anytime the project_card event occurs. More than one activity type triggers this event. For information about the REST API, see "Project cards."

Webhook event payload	Activity types	GITHUB_SHA	GITHUB_REF
project_card	- created - moved - converted to an issue - edited - deleted	Last commit on default branch	Default branch

By default, all activity types trigger a workflow to run. You can limit your workflow runs to specific activity types using the types keyword. For more information, see "Workflow syntax for GitHub Actions."

For example, you can run a workflow when a project card has been opened or deleted.

on:
  project_card:
    types: [created, deleted]

project_column

Runs your workflow anytime the project_column event occurs. More than one activity type triggers this event. For information about the REST API, see "Project columns."

Webhook event payload	Activity types	GITHUB_SHA	GITHUB_REF
project_column	- created - updated - moved - deleted	Last commit on default branch	Default branch

By default, all activity types trigger a workflow to run. You can limit your workflow runs to specific activity types using the types keyword. For more information, see "Workflow syntax for GitHub Actions."

For example, you can run a workflow when a project column has been created or deleted.

on:
  project_column:
    types: [created, deleted]

public

Runs your workflow anytime someone makes a private repository public, which triggers the public event. For information about the REST API, see "Edit repositories."

Webhook event payload	Activity types	GITHUB_SHA	GITHUB_REF
public	n/a	Last commit on default branch	Default branch

For example, you can run a workflow when the public event occurs.

on:
  public

pull_request

Runs your workflow anytime the pull_request event occurs. More than one activity type triggers this event. For information about the REST API, see "Pull requests."

Webhook event payload	Activity types	GITHUB_SHA	GITHUB_REF
pull_request	- assigned - unassigned - labeled - unlabeled - opened - edited - closed - reopened - synchronize - converted_to_draft - ready_for_review - locked - unlocked - review_requested - review_request_removed	Last merge commit on the GITHUB_REF branch	PR merge branch refs/pull/:prNumber/merge

You extend or limit the default activity types using the types keyword. For more information, see "Workflow syntax for GitHub Actions."

For example, you can run a workflow when a pull request has been assigned, opened, synchronize, or reopened.

on:
  pull_request:
    types: [assigned, opened, synchronize, reopened]

Pull request events for forked repositories

When you create a pull request from a forked repository to the base repository, GitHub sends the pull_request event to the base repository and no pull request events occur on the forked repository.

Workflows don't run on 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 permissions for the GITHUB_TOKEN in forked repositories is read-only. For more information, see "Authenticating with the GITHUB_TOKEN."

pull_request_review

Runs your workflow anytime the pull_request_review event occurs. More than one activity type triggers this event. For information about the REST API, see "Pull request reviews."

Webhook event payload	Activity types	GITHUB_SHA	GITHUB_REF
pull_request_review	- submitted - edited - dismissed	Last merge commit on the GITHUB_REF branch	PR merge branch refs/pull/:prNumber/merge

By default, all activity types trigger a workflow to run. You can limit your workflow runs to specific activity types using the types keyword. For more information, see "Workflow syntax for GitHub Actions."

For example, you can run a workflow when a pull request review has been edited or dismissed.

on:
  pull_request_review:
    types: [edited, dismissed]

Pull request events for forked repositories

When you create a pull request from a forked repository to the base repository, GitHub sends the pull_request event to the base repository and no pull request events occur on the forked repository.

Workflows don't run on 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 permissions for the GITHUB_TOKEN in forked repositories is read-only. For more information, see "Authenticating with the GITHUB_TOKEN."

pull_request_review_comment

Runs your workflow anytime a comment on a pull request's unified diff is modified, which triggers the pull_request_review_comment event. More than one activity type triggers this event. For information about the REST API, see Review comments.

Webhook event payload	Activity types	GITHUB_SHA	GITHUB_REF
pull_request_review_comment	- created - edited - deleted	Last merge commit on the GITHUB_REF branch	PR merge branch refs/pull/:prNumber/merge

By default, all activity types trigger a workflow to run. You can limit your workflow runs to specific activity types using the types keyword. For more information, see "Workflow syntax for GitHub Actions."

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]

Pull request events for forked repositories

When you create a pull request from a forked repository to the base repository, GitHub sends the pull_request event to the base repository and no pull request events occur on the forked repository.

Workflows don't run on 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 permissions for the GITHUB_TOKEN in forked repositories is read-only. For more information, see "Authenticating with the GITHUB_TOKEN."

push

Runs your workflow when someone pushes to a repository branch, which triggers the push event.

Webhook event payload	Activity types	GITHUB_SHA	GITHUB_REF
push	n/a	Commit pushed, unless deleting a branch (when it's the default branch)	Updated ref

For example, you can run a workflow when the push event occurs.

on:
  push

registry_package

Runs your workflow anytime a package is published or updated. For more information, see "Managing packages with GitHub Packages."

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

By default, all activity types trigger a workflow to run. You can limit your workflow runs to specific activity types using the types keyword. For more information, see "Workflow syntax for GitHub Actions."

For example, you can run a workflow when a package has been published.

on:
  registry_package:
    types: [published]

release

Runs your workflow anytime the release event occurs. More than one activity type triggers this event. For information about the REST API, see "Releases."

Webhook event payload	Activity types	GITHUB_SHA	GITHUB_REF
release	- published - unpublished - created - edited - deleted - prereleased - released	Last commit in the tagged release	Tag of release

By default, all activity types trigger a workflow to run. You can limit your workflow runs to specific activity types using the types keyword. For more information, see "Workflow syntax for GitHub Actions."

For example, you can run a workflow when a release has been published.

on:
  release:
    types: [published]

status

Runs your workflow anytime the status of a Git commit changes, which triggers the status event. For information about the REST API, see Statuses.

Webhook event payload	Activity types	GITHUB_SHA	GITHUB_REF
status	n/a	Last commit on default branch	n/a

For example, you can run a workflow when the status event occurs.

on:
  status

watch

Runs your workflow anytime the watch event occurs. More than one activity type triggers this event. For information about the REST API, see "Starring."

Webhook event payload	Activity types	GITHUB_SHA	GITHUB_REF
watch	- started	Last commit on default branch	Default branch

By default, all activity types trigger a workflow to run. You can limit your workflow runs to specific activity types using the types keyword. For more information, see "Workflow syntax for GitHub Actions."

For example, you can run a workflow when someone stars a repository, which is the started activity type that triggers the watch event.

on:
  watch:
    types: [started]

To run a workflow job conditionally based on the result of the previous workflow run, you can use the jobs.<job_id>.if or jobs.<job_id>.steps[*].if conditional combined with the conclusion of the previous run. For example:

on:
  workflow_run:
    workflows: ["Build"]
    types: [completed]

jobs:
  on-success:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    if: ${{ github.event.workflow_run.conclusion == 'success' }}
    steps:
      ...
  on-failure:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    if: ${{ github.event.workflow_run.conclusion == 'failure' }}
    steps:
      ...

Triggering new workflows using a personal access token

When you use the repository's GITHUB_TOKEN to perform tasks on behalf of the GitHub Actions app, events triggered by the GITHUB_TOKEN will not create a new workflow run. This prevents you from accidentally creating recursive workflow runs. For example, if a workflow run pushes code using the repository's GITHUB_TOKEN, a new workflow will not run even when the repository contains a workflow configured to run when push events occur. For more information, see "Authenticating with the GITHUB_TOKEN."

If you would like to trigger a workflow from a workflow run, you can trigger the event using a personal access token. You'll need to create a personal access token and store it as a secret. To minimize your GitHub Actions usage costs, ensure that you don't create recursive or unintended workflow runs. For more information on storing a personal access token as a secret, see "Creating and storing encrypted secrets."