Dispatch remote workflow sync

Created with:

• https://github.com/actions/typescript-action

Based on:

• https://github.com/Codex-/return-dispatch
• https://github.com/Codex-/await-remote-run

Usage

Ensure you have configured your remote action correctly, see below for an example.

Dispatching Repository Action

steps:
  - name: Dispatch an action and get the run ID
    uses: stephdotnet/dispatch-remote-workflow-sync@main
    id: dispatch-sync
    with:
      token: ${{ secrets.TOKEN }} # Note this is NOT GITHUB_TOKEN but a PAT
      ref: target_branch # or refs/heads/target_branch
      repo: repository-name
      owner: repository-owner
      workflow: automation-test.yml
      workflow_inputs: '{ "some_input": "value" }' # Optional
      workflow_timeout_seconds: 120 # Default: 300

  - name: Use the output run ID
    run: echo ${{steps.return_dispatch.outputs.run_id}}

Receiving Repository Action

In the earliest possible stage for the Action, add the input into the name.

As every step needs a uses or run, simply echo the ID or similar to satisfy this requirement.

name: action-test
on:
  workflow_dispatch:
    inputs:
      distinct_id:

jobs:
  test:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: echo distinct ID ${{ github.event.inputs.distinct_id }}
        run: echo ${{ github.event.inputs.distinct_id }}

Token

To be able to use dispatch we need to use a token which has repo permissions. GITHUB_TOKEN currently does not allow adding permissions for repo level permissions currently so a Personal Access Token (PAT) must be used.

Permissions Required

The permissions required for this action to function correctly are:

• repo scope
  • You may get away with simply having repo:public_repo
  • repo is definitely needed if the repository is private.
• actions:read
• actions:write

Additional notes

See:

• https://github.com/Codex-/return-dispatch/blob/main/README.md
• https://github.com/Codex-/await-remote-run/blob/main/README.md

Publishing a New Release

This project includes a helper script, script/release designed to streamline the process of tagging and pushing new releases for GitHub Actions.

GitHub Actions allows users to select a specific version of the action to use, based on release tags. This script simplifies this process by performing the following steps:

1. Retrieving the latest release tag: The script starts by fetching the most recent release tag by looking at the local data available in your repository.
2. Prompting for a new release tag: The user is then prompted to enter a new release tag. To assist with this, the script displays the latest release tag and provides a regular expression to validate the format of the new tag.
3. Tagging the new release: Once a valid new tag is entered, the script tags the new release.
4. Pushing the new tag to the remote: Finally, the script pushes the new tag to the remote repository. From here, you will need to create a new release in GitHub and users can easily reference the new tag in their workflows.