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https://github.com/karlhorky/github-tricks
A collection of useful GitHub tricks
https://github.com/karlhorky/github-tricks
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A collection of useful GitHub tricks
- Host: GitHub
- URL: https://github.com/karlhorky/github-tricks
- Owner: karlhorky
- Created: 2019-06-18T12:27:02.000Z (over 5 years ago)
- Default Branch: main
- Last Pushed: 2024-09-29T16:03:30.000Z (5 months ago)
- Last Synced: 2024-11-29T22:45:29.867Z (3 months ago)
- Topics: github
- Homepage:
- Size: 893 KB
- Stars: 22
- Watchers: 4
- Forks: 4
- Open Issues: 1
-
Metadata Files:
- Readme: readme.md
Awesome Lists containing this project
README
# GitHub Tricks
A collection of useful GitHub tricks
## GitHub Actions: Configure `actions/cache` to Skip Cache Restoration on Changes in Directory
To configure [`actions/cache`](https://github.com/actions/cache) to skip cache restoration on modification of any files or directories inside a Git-tracked directory, configure [`actions/checkout`](https://github.com/actions/checkout) to fetch all commits in all branches and tags (warning: may be expensive) and use a `key` based on the last Git commit hash which modified anything contained in the directory:
```yaml
name: Skip cache restoration on changes in directory
on: [push]
jobs:
build:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
timeout-minutes: 10
steps:
- name: Checkout repository
uses: actions/checkout@v4
with:
# Fetch all commits in all branches and tags
fetch-depth: 0
- name: Get last Git commit hash modifying packages/abc
run: |
echo "ABC_HASH=$(git log -1 --pretty=format:%H -- packages/abc)" >> $GITHUB_ENV
- name: Cache packages/abc
uses: actions/cache@v4
with:
path: packages/abc
key: abc-build-cache-${{ env.ABC_HASH }}
- name: Build packages/abc
run: |
pnpm --filter=abc build
```
## GitHub Actions: Configure `actions/cache` to Skip Cache Restoration on Re-runs
To configure [`actions/cache`](https://github.com/actions/cache) to skip cache restoration on any re-runs of the workflow (to avoid having to manually delete flaky caches), use [an `if` conditional](https://docs.github.com/en/actions/using-jobs/using-conditions-to-control-job-execution) on the workflow step to check that [`github.run_attempt`](https://docs.github.com/en/actions/learn-github-actions/contexts#github-context:~:text=the%20workflow%20run.-,github.run_attempt,-string) is set to `1`, indicating that it is the first attempt to run the workflow:
```yaml
name: Skip cache restoration on re-runs
on: [push]
jobs:
build:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
timeout-minutes: 10
steps:
- name: Checkout repository
uses: actions/checkout@v4
- name: Cache packages/abc
# Only restore cache on first run attempt
if: ${{ github.run_attempt == 1 }}
uses: actions/cache@v4
with:
path: packages/abc
key: abc-build-cache
- name: Build packages/abc
run: |
pnpm --filter=abc build
```
## GitHub Actions: Correct Broken `actions/setup-node` Version Resolution
[Version resolution of Node.js aliases like `lts/*` in `actions/setup-node` is broken as of Aug 2024](https://github.com/actions/setup-node/issues/940#issuecomment-2029638604) (and will probably continue to be broken).
To resolve this, switch off `actions/setup-node` and instead use the preinstalled `nvm` to install the correct Node.js version based on the alias:
```yaml
# Use nvm because actions/setup-node does not install latest versions
# https://github.com/actions/setup-node/issues/940
- name: Install latest LTS with nvm
run: |
nvm install 'lts/*'
echo "$(dirname $(nvm which node))" >> $GITHUB_PATH
shell: bash -l {0}
```
If you also need caching for pnpm (replacement for the `cache` setting of `actions/setup-node`), follow with this config of [`actions/cache`](https://github.com/actions/cache):
```yaml
- name: Get pnpm store directory
shell: bash
run: |
echo "STORE_PATH=$(pnpm store path --silent)" >> $GITHUB_ENV
- uses: actions/cache@v4
name: Setup pnpm cache
with:
path: ${{ env.STORE_PATH }}
key: ${{ runner.os }}-pnpm-store-${{ hashFiles('**/pnpm-lock.yaml') }}
restore-keys: |
${{ runner.os }}-pnpm-store-
```
## GitHub Actions: Create Release from `CHANGELOG.md` on New Tag
Create a new GitHub Release with contents from `CHANGELOG.md` every time a new tag is pushed.
**`.github/workflows/release.yml`**
```yml
name: Release
on:
push:
tags:
- '*'
permissions:
contents: write
jobs:
release:
name: Release On Tag
if: startsWith(github.ref, 'refs/tags/')
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
- name: Checkout the repository
uses: actions/checkout@v4
- name: Extract the changelog
id: changelog
run: |
TAG_NAME=${GITHUB_REF/refs\/tags\//}
READ_SECTION=false
CHANGELOG_CONTENT=""
while IFS= read -r line; do
if [[ "$line" =~ ^#+\ +(.*) ]]; then
if [[ "${BASH_REMATCH[1]}" == "$TAG_NAME" ]]; then
READ_SECTION=true
elif [[ "$READ_SECTION" == true ]]; then
break
fi
elif [[ "$READ_SECTION" == true ]]; then
CHANGELOG_CONTENT+="$line"$'\n'
fi
done < "CHANGELOG.md"
CHANGELOG_CONTENT=$(echo "$CHANGELOG_CONTENT" | awk '/./ {$1=$1;print}')
echo "changelog_content<> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
echo "$CHANGELOG_CONTENT" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
echo "EOF" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
- name: Create the release
if: steps.changelog.outputs.changelog_content != ''
uses: softprops/action-gh-release@v1
with:
name: ${{ github.ref_name }}
body: '${{ steps.changelog.outputs.changelog_content }}'
draft: false
prerelease: false
```
Credit: @edloidas in https://github.com/nanostores/nanostores/pull/267
## GitHub Actions: Edit `.json`, `.yml` and `.csv` Files Without Installing Anything
`yq` (similar to `jq`) is preinstalled on GitHub Actions runners, which means you can edit a `.json`, `.yml` or `.csv` file very easily without installing any software.
For example, the following workflow file would use `yq` to copy all `"resolutions"` to `"overrides"` in a `package.json` file (and then commit the result using `stefanzweifel/git-auto-commit-action`.
**`.github/workflows/copy-resolutions-to-overrides.yml`**
```yml
name: Copy Yarn Resolutions to npm Overrides
on:
push:
branches:
# Match every branch except for main
- '**'
- '!main'
jobs:
build:
name: Copy Yarn Resolutions to npm Overrides
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v3
# To trigger further `on: [push]` workflow runs
# Ref: https://github.com/peter-evans/create-pull-request/blob/main/docs/concepts-guidelines.md#triggering-further-workflow-runs
# Ref: https://github.com/peter-evans/create-pull-request/blob/main/docs/concepts-guidelines.md#push-using-ssh-deploy-keys
with:
ssh-key: ${{ secrets.SSH_PRIVATE_KEY }}
- name: Use Node.js
uses: actions/setup-node@v4
with:
node-version: 'lts/*'
- name: Copy "resolutions" object to "overrides" in package.json
run: yq --inplace --output-format=json '.overrides = .resolutions' package.json
- name: Install any updated dependencies
run: npm install
- uses: stefanzweifel/git-auto-commit-action@v4
with:
commit_message: Update Overrides from Resolutions
```
Or, to copy all `@types/*` and `typescript` packages from `devDependencies` to `dependencies` (eg. for a production build):
```bash
yq --inplace --output-format=json '.dependencies = .dependencies * (.devDependencies | to_entries | map(select(.key | test("^(typescript|@types/*)"))) | from_entries)' package.json
```
## GitHub Actions: Free Disk Space
On GitHub Actions, [runners are only guaranteed 14GB of storage space (disk space)](https://github.com/actions/runner-images/issues/9344#issuecomment-1942811369) ([docs](https://docs.github.com/en/actions/using-github-hosted-runners/using-github-hosted-runners/about-github-hosted-runners#standard-github-hosted-runners-for-public-repositories)), which can lead to the following errors if your workflow uses more than that:
```
System.IO.IOException: No space left on device
```
or
```
You are running out of disk space. The runner will stop working when the machine runs out of disk space. Free space left: 72 MB
```
OR
```
ENOSPC: no space left on device, write
```
To free up disk space for your workflow, use [the Free Disk Space (Ubuntu) action](https://github.com/marketplace/actions/free-disk-space-ubuntu) ([GitHub repo](https://github.com/jlumbroso/free-disk-space)):
```yaml
- name: Free Disk Space (Ubuntu)
uses: jlumbroso/[email protected]
with:
# Avoid slow clearing of large packages
large-packages: false
```
You may need to disable some of the clearing options, if your workflow relies upon features or programs which are being removed:
```yaml
- name: Free Disk Space (Ubuntu)
uses: jlumbroso/[email protected]
with:
# Re-enable swap storage for processes which use more memory
# than available and start using swap
swap-storage: false
# Avoid slow clearing of large packages
large-packages: false
```
## GitHub Actions: Only Run When Certain Files Changed
Only run a GitHub Actions workflow when files matching a pattern have been changed, for example on an update to a pull request:
```yaml
name: Fix Excalidraw SVG Fonts
on:
pull_request:
paths:
# All .excalidraw.svg files in any folder at any level inside `packages/content-items`
- 'packages/content-items/**/*.excalidraw.svg'
# All .excalidraw.svg files directly inside `packages/database/.readme/`
- 'packages/database/.readme/*.excalidraw.svg'
```
For example, the following workflow uses `sed` to add default fonts to Excalidraw diagrams ([no longer needed](https://github.com/excalidraw/excalidraw/issues/4855#issuecomment-2259189107)):
```yaml
# Workaround to fix fonts in Excalidraw SVGs
# https://github.com/excalidraw/excalidraw/issues/4855#issuecomment-1513014554
#
# Temporary workaround until the following PR is merged:
# https://github.com/excalidraw/excalidraw/pull/6479
#
# TODO: If the PR above is merged, this file can be removed
name: Fix Excalidraw SVG Fonts
on:
pull_request:
# Run only when Excalidraw SVG files are added or changed
paths:
- 'packages/content-items/contentItems/documentation/*.excalidraw.svg'
- 'packages/database/.readme/*.excalidraw.svg'
jobs:
build:
# Only run on Pull Requests within the same repository, and not from forks
if: github.event.pull_request.head.repo.full_name == github.repository
name: Fix Excalidraw SVG Fonts
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
timeout-minutes: 30
steps:
- name: Checkout Repo
uses: actions/checkout@v4
with:
ref: ${{ github.head_ref }}
- name: Fix fonts in Excalidraw SVGs
run: |
find packages/content-items/contentItems/documentation packages/database/.readme -type f -iname '*.excalidraw.svg' | while read file; do
echo "Fixing fonts in $file"
sed -i.bak 's/Virgil, Segoe UI Emoji/Virgil, '"'"'Comic Sans MS'"'"', '"'"'Segoe Print'"'"', '"'"'Bradley Hand'"'"', '"'"'Lucida Handwriting'"'"', '"'"'Marker Felt'"'"', cursive/g' "$file"
sed -i.bak 's/Helvetica, Segoe UI Emoji/Helvetica, -apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont, '"'"'Segoe UI'"'"', '"'"'Noto Sans'"'"', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, '"'"'Apple Color Emoji'"'"', '"'"'Segoe UI Emoji'"'"'/g' "$file"
sed -i.bak 's/Cascadia, Segoe UI Emoji/Cascadia, ui-monospace, SFMono-Regular, '"'"'SF Mono'"'"', Menlo, Consolas, '"'"'Liberation Mono'"'"', monospace/g' "$file"
rm "${file}.bak"
done
- name: Commit files
run: |
git config user.email github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com
git config user.name github-actions[bot]
git add packages/content-items/contentItems/documentation/*.excalidraw.svg
git add packages/database/.readme/*.excalidraw.svg
if [ -z "$(git status --porcelain)" ]; then
exit 0
fi
git commit -m "Fix fonts in Excalidraw SVGs"
git push origin HEAD:${{ github.head_ref }}
env:
GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.EXCALIDRAW_FONT_FIX_GITHUB_TOKEN }}
```
## GitHub Actions: Push to Pull Request and Re-Run Workflows
It can be useful to commit and push to a pull request in a GitHub Actions workflow, eg. an automated script that fixes something like [upgrading pnpm patch versions on automatic Renovate dependency upgrades](https://github.com/pnpm/pnpm/issues/5686#issuecomment-1669538653).
Once your script makes the commit and pushes to the PR, it can also be useful to re-run the workflows on that commit, eg. linting the new commit, so that [GitHub auto-merge](https://docs.github.com/en/pull-requests/collaborating-with-pull-requests/incorporating-changes-from-a-pull-request/automatically-merging-a-pull-request) can run also on [protected branches with required status checks](https://docs.github.com/en/repositories/configuring-branches-and-merges-in-your-repository/managing-protected-branches/about-protected-branches#require-status-checks-before-merging).
‼️ WARNING: Make sure that you do not create a loop! Once your script creates a commit, the workflow will run your script again on the new commit. On the 2nd run, it **should not** create a new commit, or you will have an endless loop of GitHub Actions workflow runs. 😬 We will revisit this in the script below.
1. First, create a GitHub fine-grained personal access token:
1. Visit https://github.com/settings/personal-access-tokens/new
2. Fill out **Token name** (repository name + a short reminder), **Expiration** (longest available, 1 year), **Description** (a reminder of the purpose)
3. Under **Repository access**, choose **Only select repositories** and then choose the repository where the workflow will run
4. Under **Permissions**, expand **Repository permissions**, locate **Contents** and choose **Access: Read and write**
This will also by default set **Metadata** to **Access: Read-only**
5. Review your settings under **Overview** - it should be set to "2 permissions for 1 of your repositories" and "0 Account permissions"
6. If you are satisfied with this, click on **Generate token**.
7. This will show you the token on your screen only once, so be careful to copy the token.
2. Add a repository secret
1. In the repository where the workflow will run, visit **Settings** -> **Secrets and variables** -> **Actions** and click on **New repository secret**
2. For **Name**, enter a `SCREAMING_SNAKE_CASE` name that makes it clear that it's a GitHub token (eg. `PNPM_PATCH_UPDATE_GITHUB_TOKEN`) and for **Secret** paste in the token that you copied at the end of step 1 above. Click **Add secret**.
3. Adjust your workflow for the token
1. Under `uses: actions/checkout`, add a `with:` block including `persist-credentials: false`
```yaml
- uses: actions/checkout@v4
with:
# Disable configuring $GITHUB_TOKEN in local git config
persist-credentials: false
```
2. ‼️ IMPORTANT: As mentioned above, make sure that you don't create a loop! Make sure that your script which alters files includes some kind of way to exit early, for example checking `git status --porcelain` and running `exit 0` to exit the script early without errors or [by skipping steps based on the last commits](https://joht.github.io/johtizen/build/2022/01/20/github-actions-push-into-repository.html#skip-push-on-auto-commit)
```yaml
- name: Fix `pnpm patch` not upgrading patch versions automatically
run: |
#
git add package.json pnpm-lock.yaml patches
if [ -z "$(git status --porcelain)" ]; then
echo "No changes to commit, exiting"
exit 0
fi
#
#
```
3. Set your Git `user.email` and `user.name` credentials to the GitHub Actions bot and commit:
```yaml
- name: Fix `pnpm patch` not upgrading patch versions automatically
run: |
#
#
git config user.email github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com
git config user.name github-actions[bot]
git commit -m "Upgrade versions for \`pnpm patch\`"
#
```
4. Use the token via `secrets.` in your Git origin in your workflow (credit: [`ad-m/github-push-action`](https://github.com/ad-m/github-push-action/blob/d91a481090679876dfc4178fef17f286781251df/start.sh#L43-L55))
```yaml
- name: Fix `pnpm patch` not upgrading patch versions automatically
run: |
#
#
#
# Credit for oauth2 syntax is the ad-m/github-push-action GitHub Action:
# https://github.com/ad-m/github-push-action/blob/d91a481090679876dfc4178fef17f286781251df/start.sh#L43-L5
git push https://oauth2:${{ secrets.PNPM_PATCH_UPDATE_GITHUB_TOKEN }}@github.com/${{ github.repository }}.git HEAD:${{ github.ref }}
```
### Example
```yaml
name: Fix pnpm patches
on: push
jobs:
fix-pnpm-patches:
name: Fix pnpm patches
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v4
with:
# Disable configuring $GITHUB_TOKEN in local git config
persist-credentials: false
- uses: pnpm/action-setup@v3
with:
version: 'latest'
- uses: actions/setup-node@v4
with:
node-version: 'lts/*'
cache: 'pnpm'
# Fix `pnpm patch` not upgrading patch versions automatically
# https://github.com/pnpm/pnpm/issues/5686#issuecomment-1669538653
- name: Fix `pnpm patch` not upgrading patch versions automatically
run: |
# Exit if no patches/ directory in root
if [ ! -d patches ]; then
echo "No patches/ directory found in root"
exit 0
fi
./scripts/fix-pnpm-patches.sh
git add package.json pnpm-lock.yaml patches
if [ -z "$(git status --porcelain)" ]; then
echo "No changes to commit, exiting"
exit 0
fi
git config user.email github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com
git config user.name github-actions[bot]
git commit -m "Upgrade versions for \`pnpm patch\`"
# Credit for oauth2 syntax is the ad-m/github-push-action GitHub Action:
# https://github.com/ad-m/github-push-action/blob/d91a481090679876dfc4178fef17f286781251df/start.sh#L43-L55
git push https://oauth2:${{ secrets.PNPM_PATCH_UPDATE_GITHUB_TOKEN }}@github.com/${{ github.repository }}.git HEAD:${{ github.ref }}
```
Pull request with automatic PR commit including workflow checks: https://github.com/karlhorky/archive-webpage-browser-extension/pull/47
Screenshot of a GitHub PR showing two commits, the first by Renovate bot upgrading dependencies and the second by the automated script shown above. Both commits have status icons to the right of them (one red X and one green checkmark), indicating that the workflows have run on both of them. At the bottom, the PR auto-merge added by the Renovate bot is carried out because the last commit has a green checkmark.
## GitHub Actions: Create PostgreSQL databases on Windows, macOS and Linux
PostgreSQL databases can be created and used cross-platform on GitHub Actions, either by using the preinstalled PostgreSQL installation or installing PostgreSQL:
- [`windows-latest` and `ubuntu-latest` runners](https://github.com/actions/runner-images#available-images) have PostgreSQL preinstalled
- [`macos-latest` runners](https://github.com/actions/runner-images#available-images) [don't have PostgreSQL preinstalled (as of May 2024)](https://github.com/actions/runner-images/issues/9029#issuecomment-1856487621)
To conditionally install PostgreSQL, initialize a cluster, create a user and database and start PostgreSQL cross-platform, use the following GitHub Actions workflow steps (change `database_name`, `username` and `password` to whatever you want):
```yaml
name: CI
on: push
jobs:
ci:
name: CI
runs-on: ${{ matrix.os }}
strategy:
matrix:
os: [windows-latest, macos-latest, ubuntu-latest]
timeout-minutes: 15
env:
PGHOST: localhost
PGDATABASE: database_name
PGUSERNAME: username
PGPASSWORD: password
steps:
- name: Install PostgreSQL on macOS
if: runner.os == 'macOS'
run: |
brew install postgresql@16
# --overwrite: Overwrite pre-installed GitHub Actions PostgreSQL binaries
brew link --overwrite postgresql@16
- name: Add PostgreSQL binaries to PATH
shell: bash
run: |
if [ "$RUNNER_OS" == "Windows" ]; then
echo "$PGBIN" >> $GITHUB_PATH
elif [ "$RUNNER_OS" == "Linux" ]; then
echo "$(pg_config --bindir)" >> $GITHUB_PATH
fi
- name: Start preinstalled PostgreSQL
shell: bash
run: |
echo "Initializing database cluster..."
# Convert backslashes to forward slashes in RUNNER_TEMP for Windows Git Bash
export PGHOST="${RUNNER_TEMP//\\//}/postgres"
export PGDATA="$PGHOST/pgdata"
mkdir -p "$PGDATA"
# initdb requires file for password in non-interactive mode
export PWFILE="$RUNNER_TEMP/pwfile"
echo "postgres" > "$PWFILE"
initdb --pgdata="$PGDATA" --username="postgres" --pwfile="$PWFILE"
echo "Starting PostgreSQL..."
echo "unix_socket_directories = '$PGHOST'" >> "$PGDATA/postgresql.conf"
pg_ctl start
echo "Creating user..."
psql --host "$PGHOST" --username="postgres" --dbname="postgres" --command="CREATE USER $PGUSERNAME PASSWORD '$PGPASSWORD'" --command="\du"
echo "Creating database..."
createdb --owner="$PGUSERNAME" --username="postgres" "$PGDATABASE"
```
Example PR: https://github.com/upleveled/preflight-test-project-next-js-passing/pull/152/
## GitHub Flavored Markdown Formatted Table Width
Use ` ` entities to give a table column a width:
```markdown
| property | description |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------- |
| `border-bottom-right-radius` | Defines the shape of the bottom-right |
```
Demo:
| property | description |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------- |
| `border-bottom-right-radius` | Defines the shape of the bottom-right |
## GitHub Flavored Markdown Linking to Anchors in Other Markdown Files
Linking to an anchor in a relative Markdown file path in the same repo (eg. `./windows.md#user-content-xxx`) doesn't currently work on GitHub (Mar 2023). Probably another bug in GitHub's client-side router, maybe fixed sometime.
A workaround is to link to the full GitHub URL with a `www.` subdomain - this will cause a redirect to the non-`www.` version, and scroll to the anchor:
```diff
-[Expo + React Native](./windows.md#user-content-expo-react-native)
+[Expo + React Native](https://www.github.com/upleveled/system-setup/blob/main/windows.md#user-content-expo-react-native)
```
## README Symlinks
When in a particular folder (such as the root directory), GitHub displays content from README files underneath the files in that folder:
However, these README files need to be named `README.md`, `readme.md`, `README.mdx` or `readme.mdx` in order to be recognized. GitHub doesn't display the content of certain common Markdown index filenames such as `index.md` or `index.mdx` ([❓MDX file extension](https://github.com/mdx-js/mdx)) ([as of 18 June 2019](https://twitter.com/karlhorky/status/1140962752858677249)).
GitHub does however follow symlinks named `README.md`, `readme.md`, `README.mdx` and `readme.mdx`. See example here: [mdx-deck root folder](https://github.com/jxnblk/mdx-deck), [mdx-deck symlink README.md](https://github.com/jxnblk/mdx-deck/blob/master/README.md)
So if you want to use another file (also in a subdirectory) as the contents displayed within a directory, create a symlink pointing at it:
```sh
ln -s index.md README.md
```
### Shell Script: Create README Symlinks
If you have many directories with `index.mdx` files that you want to display as the readme content when you enter those directories on the web version of GitHub, you can run this script in the containing directory.
```sh
# Create symlinks for all directories within the current directory that
# do not yet have README.mdx files.
find . -mindepth 1 -maxdepth 1 -type d '!' -exec test -e "{}/README.mdx" ';' -print0 | while IFS= read -r -d $'\0' line; do
cd $line && ln -s index.mdx README.mdx && cd ..
done
```