Question

How to Create a reusable workflow of github Actions?

Answer 1

Reusable workflows are YAML-formatted files, very similar to any other workflow file. As with other workflow files, you locate reusable workflows in the .github/workflows directory of a repository. Subdirectories of the workflows directory are not supported.

For a workflow to be reusable, the values for on must include workflow_call:

on:
  workflow_call:

Using inputs and secrets in a reusable workflow

You can define inputs and secrets, which can be passed from the caller workflow and then used within the called workflow. There are three stages to using an input or a secret in a reusable workflow.

1. In the reusable workflow, use the inputs and secrets keywords to define inputs or secrets that will be passed from a caller workflow.

on:
  workflow_call:
    inputs:
      config-path:
        required: true
        type: string
    secrets:
      envPAT:
        required: true

For details of the syntax for defining inputs and secrets, see on.workflow_call.inputs and on.workflow_call.secrets.

1. In the reusable workflow, reference the input or secret that you defined in the on key in the previous step.

   Note: If the secrets are inherited by using secrets: inherit in the calling workflow, you can reference them even if they are not explicitly defined in the on key. For more information, see "Workflow syntax for GitHub Actions."

jobs:
  reusable_workflow_job:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    environment: production
    steps:
    - uses: actions/labeler@v4
      with:
        repo-token: ${{ secrets.envPAT }}
        configuration-path: ${{ inputs.config-path }}

In the example above, envPAT is an environment secret that's been added to the production environment. This environment is therefore referenced within the job.

Note: Environment secrets are encrypted strings that are stored in an environment that you've defined for a repository. Environment secrets are only available to workflow jobs that reference the appropriate environment. For more information, see "Using environments for deployment."

1. Pass the input or secret from the caller workflow.

   To pass named inputs to a called workflow, use the with keyword in a job. Use the secrets keyword to pass named secrets. For inputs, the data type of the input value must match the type specified in the called workflow (either boolean, number, or string).

   jobs:
     call-workflow-passing-data:
       uses: octo-org/example-repo/.github/workflows/reusable-workflow.yml@main
       with:
         config-path: .github/labeler.yml
       secrets:
         envPAT: ${{ secrets.envPAT }}
   

   Workflows that call reusable workflows in the same organization or enterprise can use the inherit keyword to implicitly pass the secrets.

   jobs:
     call-workflow-passing-data:
       uses: octo-org/example-repo/.github/workflows/reusable-workflow.yml@main
       with:
         config-path: .github/labeler.yml
       secrets: inherit