GitHub Actions: Manual Workflow Deployment

by Alex Johnson 43 views

The Challenge: API Restrictions and Manual Workflows

So, you're trying to automate your GitHub Pages deployment using GitHub Actions, but you've hit a snag. You've found out that you can't create workflow files like .github/workflows/deploy.yml directly through the API – a common hurdle, especially with newer organizations. This means we need a manual approach to get that deployment pipeline up and running. Don't worry, it's not as complicated as it sounds, and once it's set up, it'll work like a charm. We'll walk through exactly how to add this crucial workflow file by hand, ensuring your site gets deployed smoothly.

Why the API Restriction?

GitHub sometimes implements these restrictions for security and consistency. By preventing direct API manipulation of workflow files, they aim to reduce the risk of accidental misconfigurations or malicious injections into your CI/CD pipelines. It's a safety net, ensuring that critical automation logic is intentionally added and reviewed by developers. While it adds an extra step, it promotes a more secure and controlled development environment. For us, this means we need to take a slightly more hands-on approach to set up our deployment process.

Your Manual Deployment Workflow: .github/workflows/deploy.yml

This is the heart of our manual deployment. You'll need to create a file named deploy.yml inside the .github/workflows/ directory in your repository. Here's the code you'll need to paste into it. This workflow is designed to build your site and then deploy it to GitHub Pages.

name: Deploy to GitHub Pages

on:
  push:
    branches: [main]
  workflow_dispatch:

permissions:
  contents: read
  pages: write
  id-token: write

concurrency:
  group: "pages"
  cancel-in-progress: false

jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Checkout
        uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Setup pnpm
        uses: pnpm/action-setup@v2
        with:
          version: 9

      - name: Setup Node
        uses: actions/setup-node@v4
        with:
          node-version: "20"
          cache: "pnpm"

      - name: Install dependencies
        run: pnpm install

      - name: Build
        run: pnpm run build

      - name: Upload artifact
        uses: actions/upload-pages-artifact@v3
        with:
          path: "./dist"

  deploy:
    environment:
      name: github-pages
      url: ${{ steps.deployment.outputs.page_url }}
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    needs: build
    steps:
      - name: Deploy to GitHub Pages
        id: deployment
        uses: actions/deploy-pages@v4

Breaking Down the Workflow

Let's take a moment to understand what this deploy.yml file does:

  • name: Deploy to GitHub Pages: This is simply the name that will appear in your Actions tab. It's good practice to give your workflows descriptive names.
  • on:: This section defines when the workflow will run. Here, it's set to trigger on any push to the main branch and also allows manual triggering via workflow_dispatch (which you'll see in the Actions tab).
  • permissions:: This is crucial for security. It specifies the minimum permissions your workflow needs. contents: read allows it to check out your code, pages: write grants permission to deploy to GitHub Pages, and id-token: write is often needed for authentication with external services if your deployment involves them.
  • concurrency:: This prevents multiple deployment jobs from running simultaneously for the pages group, ensuring that only the latest push is deployed.
  • jobs:: This contains the actual tasks. We have two main jobs:
    • build: This job runs on an ubuntu-latest virtual machine. It checks out your code, sets up Node.js and pnpm (a package manager, similar to npm), installs dependencies, and builds your project (likely using a command like pnpm run build). Finally, it uploads the built artifacts (your website's static files, usually in a dist folder) as an artifact for the next job.
    • deploy: This job also runs on ubuntu-latest and needs: build means it will only run after the build job successfully completes. It's configured to use the github-pages environment. The key step here is actions/deploy-pages@v4, which takes the artifact uploaded by the build job and deploys it to GitHub Pages. The id: deployment allows us to reference the output of this step, such as the final URL of your deployed site.

This setup ensures that your site is built in a clean environment and then deployed, making your deployment process robust and repeatable.

Essential Configuration in GitHub Settings

Creating the workflow file is only half the battle. You also need to tell GitHub to use it for deploying your site. Here’s how you do that:

  1. Navigate to your repository on GitHub.
  2. Go to Settings (usually found in the top navigation bar).
  3. In the left-hand sidebar, click on Pages.
  4. Under the Source section, you'll see options for how your site is deployed. Select GitHub Actions from the dropdown menu.
  5. Click the Save button. This confirms your selection and tells GitHub to look for a workflow that handles the deployment.

By selecting "GitHub Actions" as the source, you're telling GitHub Pages to use the deployment jobs defined in your .yml files, like the deploy.yml we just created, to build and serve your website. This is a critical step that links your automated workflow to the actual hosting service.

Current Status: Almost There!

It's great to see how much progress has been made! Let's recap where things stand:

  • ✅ package.json has been corrected.
  • ✅ astro.config.mjs has been simplified.
  • ✅ tailwind.config.mjs has been fixed.
  • ✅ Layout.astro has been successfully created.
  • ✅ global.css has been streamlined.
  • ✅ index.astro now features the marketing page.
  • ✅ docs/index.astro has been set up.
  • ✅ Unnecessary files (dashboard, login, BaseLayout, components, lib) have been removed.
  • ⏳ Workflow Pending (API Restriction): This is the final piece of the puzzle we've just addressed by manually adding the deploy.yml file and configuring the GitHub Pages settings.

With the manual workflow in place and the settings configured, your GitHub Actions deployment should now be fully operational. This manual step, while sometimes a bit inconvenient, ensures that your deployment pipeline is robust and adheres to any organizational policies.

Next Steps and Further Learning

Once your deployment is up and running, you might want to explore more advanced GitHub Actions features or delve deeper into optimizing your build and deployment processes. For instance, understanding different triggers, managing secrets securely, or even setting up more complex deployment strategies can significantly enhance your workflow. Remember, continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD) are powerful tools for modern software development, and mastering them can save you a lot of time and effort.

For more in-depth information on GitHub Actions and best practices for CI/CD, I highly recommend checking out the official documentation:

  • GitHub Docs on Actions: You can find comprehensive guides, tutorials, and API references for all things GitHub Actions here: GitHub Actions Documentation.
  • GitHub Docs on Pages: Learn more about deploying your site with GitHub Pages, including advanced configuration options: GitHub Pages Documentation.