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Manually running a workflow

When a workflow is configured to run on the workflow_dispatch event, you can run the workflow using the Actions tab on GitHub, GitHub CLI, or the REST API.

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Configuring a workflow to run manually

To run a workflow manually, the workflow must be configured to run on the workflow_dispatch event.

To trigger the workflow_dispatch event, your workflow must be in the default branch. For more information about configuring the workflow_dispatch event, see Events that trigger workflows.

Write access to the repository is required to perform these steps.

Running a workflow

  1. On GitHub, navigate to the main page of the repository.

  2. Under your repository name, click Actions.

    Screenshot of the tabs for the "github/docs" repository. The "Actions" tab is highlighted with an orange outline.

  3. In the left sidebar, click the name of the workflow you want to run.

    Screenshot of the "Actions" page. In the left sidebar, a workflow name is highlighted with an outline in dark orange.

  4. Above the list of workflow runs, click the Run workflow button.

    Note

    To see the Run workflow button, your workflow file must use the workflow_dispatch event trigger. Only workflow files that use the workflow_dispatch event trigger will have the option to run the workflow manually using the Run workflow button. For more information about configuring the workflow_dispatch event, see Events that trigger workflows.

    Screenshot of a workflow page. Above the list of workflow runs, a button, labeled "Run workflow", is outlined in dark orange.

  5. Select the Branch dropdown menu and click a branch to run the workflow on.

  6. If the workflow requires input, fill in the fields.

  7. Click Run workflow.

Running a workflow using the REST API

When using the REST API, you configure the inputs and ref as request body parameters. If the inputs are omitted, the default values defined in the workflow file are used.

Note

You can define up to 10 inputs for a workflow_dispatch event.

For more information about using the REST API, see REST API endpoints for workflows.