---
title: Uploading a SARIF file to GitHub
shortTitle: Uploading a SARIF file
intro: '{{ site.data.reusables.code-scanning.you-can-upload-third-party-analysis }}'
permissions: 'People with write permissions to a repository can upload {{ site.data.variables.product.prodname_code_scanning }} data generated outside {{ site.data.variables.product.prodname_dotcom }}.'
product: '{{ site.data.reusables.gated-features.code-scanning }}'
redirect_from:
  - /github/managing-security-vulnerabilities/uploading-a-code-scanning-analysis-to-github
versions:
  free-pro-team: '*'
  enterprise-server: '>=2.22'
---

{{ site.data.reusables.code-scanning.beta }}
{{ site.data.reusables.code-scanning.enterprise-enable-code-scanning }}

### About SARIF file uploads for {{ site.data.variables.product.prodname_code_scanning }}

{{ site.data.variables.product.prodname_dotcom }} creates {{ site.data.variables.product.prodname_code_scanning }} alerts in a repository using information from Static Analysis Results Interchange Format (SARIF) files. SARIF files can be uploaded to a repository using the API or {{ site.data.variables.product.prodname_actions }}. For more information, see "[Managing {{ site.data.variables.product.prodname_code_scanning }} alerts for your repository](/github/finding-security-vulnerabilities-and-errors-in-your-code/managing-code-scanning-alerts-for-your-repository)."

You can generate SARIF files using many static analysis security testing tools, including {{ site.data.variables.product.prodname_codeql }}. The results must use SARIF version 2.1.0. For more information, see "[About SARIF support for {{ site.data.variables.product.prodname_code_scanning }}](/github/finding-security-vulnerabilities-and-errors-in-your-code/about-sarif-support-for-code-scanning)."

You can upload the results using {{ site.data.variables.product.prodname_actions }}{% if currentVersion == "enterprise-server@2.22" %} (available if your organization is taking part in the beta program){% endif %}, the {{ site.data.variables.product.prodname_code_scanning }} API, or the {{ site.data.variables.product.prodname_codeql_runner }}. The best upload method will depend on how you generate the SARIF file, for example, if you use:

- {{ site.data.variables.product.prodname_actions }} to run the {{ site.data.variables.product.prodname_codeql }} action, there is no further action required. The {{ site.data.variables.product.prodname_codeql }} action uploads the SARIF file automatically when it completes analysis.
- {{ site.data.variables.product.prodname_actions }} to run a SARIF-compatible analysis tool, you could update the workflow to include a final step that uploads the results (see below).
- The {{ site.data.variables.product.prodname_codeql_runner }}, to run {{ site.data.variables.product.prodname_code_scanning }} in your CI system, by default the runner automatically uploads results to {{ site.data.variables.product.prodname_dotcom }} on completion. If you block the automatic upload, when you are ready to upload results you can use the `upload` command (for more information, see "[Running {{ site.data.variables.product.prodname_code_scanning }} in your CI system](/github/finding-security-vulnerabilities-and-errors-in-your-code/running-code-scanning-in-your-ci-system)").
- A tool that generates results as an artifact outside of your repository, you can use the {{ site.data.variables.product.prodname_code_scanning }} API to upload the file (for more information, see "[Upload a SARIF file](/rest/reference/code-scanning#upload-a-sarif-file)").

### Uploading a {{ site.data.variables.product.prodname_code_scanning }} analysis with {{ site.data.variables.product.prodname_actions }}

To use {{ site.data.variables.product.prodname_actions }} to upload a third-party SARIF file to a repository, you'll need a  workflow. For more information, see "[Learn {{ site.data.variables.product.prodname_actions }}](/actions/getting-started-with-github-actions/about-github-actions)" and "[Learn {{ site.data.variables.product.prodname_actions }}](/actions/learn-github-actions)."

Your workflow will need to use the `upload-sarif` action, which is part of the `github/codeql-action` repository. It has input parameters that you can use to configure the upload. The main input parameter you'll use is `sarif-file`, which configures the file or directory of SARIF files to be uploaded. The directory or file path is relative to the root of the repository. For more information see the [`upload-sarif` action](https://github.com/github/codeql-action/tree/HEAD/upload-sarif).

The `upload-sarif` action can be configured to run when the `push` and `scheduled` event occur. For more information about {{ site.data.variables.product.prodname_actions }}  events, see "[Events that trigger workflows](/actions/reference/events-that-trigger-workflows)."

If your SARIF file doesn't include `partialFingerprints`, the `upload-sarif` action will calculate the `partialFingerprints` field for you and attempt to prevent duplicate alerts. {{ site.data.variables.product.prodname_dotcom }} can only create `partialFingerprints` when the repository contains both the SARIF file and the source code used in the static analysis. For more information about preventing duplicate alerts, see "[About SARIF support for code scanning](/github/finding-security-vulnerabilities-and-errors-in-your-code/about-sarif-support-for-code-scanning#preventing-duplicate-alerts-using-fingerprints)."

#### Example workflow for SARIF files generated outside of a repository

You can create a new workflow that uploads SARIF files after you commit them to your repository. This is useful when the SARIF file is generated as an artifact outside of your repository.

This example workflow runs anytime commits are pushed to the repository. The action uses the `partialFingerprints` property to determine if changes have occurred. In addition to running when commits are pushed, the workflow is scheduled to run once per week. For more information, see "[Events that trigger workflows](/actions/reference/events-that-trigger-workflows)." 

This workflow uploads the `results.sarif` file located in the root of the repository. For more information about creating a workflow file, see "[Learn {{ site.data.variables.product.prodname_actions }}](/actions/learn-github-actions)."

Alternatively, you could modify this workflow to upload a directory of SARIF files. For example, you could place all SARIF files in a directory in the root of your repository called `sarif-output` and set the action's input parameter `sarif_file` to `sarif-output`.

```yaml
name: "Upload SARIF"

# Run workflow each time code is pushed to your repository and on a schedule.
# The scheduled workflow runs every at 00:00 on Sunday UTC time.
on:
  push:
  schedule:
  - cron: '0 0 * * 0'

jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
    # This step checks out a copy of your repository.
    - name: Checkout repository
      uses: actions/checkout@v2
    - name: Upload SARIF file
      uses: github/codeql-action/upload-sarif@v1
      with:
        # Path to SARIF file relative to the root of the repository
        sarif_file: results.sarif
```

#### Example workflow that runs the ESLint analysis tool

If you generate your third-party SARIF file as part of a continuous integration (CI) workflow, you can add the `upload-sarif` action as a step after running your CI tests. If you don't already have a CI workflow, you can create one using a {{ site.data.variables.product.prodname_actions }} template. For more information, see the "[{{ site.data.variables.product.prodname_actions }} quickstart](/actions/quickstart)."

This example workflow runs anytime commits are pushed to the repository. The action uses the `partialFingerprints` property to determine if changes have occurred. In addition to running when commits are pushed, the workflow is scheduled to run once per week. For more information, see "[Events that trigger workflows](/actions/reference/events-that-trigger-workflows)." 

The workflow shows an example of running the ESLint static analysis tool as a step in a workflow. The `Run ESLint` step runs the ESLint tool and outputs the `results.sarif` file. The workflow then uploads the `results.sarif` file to {{ site.data.variables.product.prodname_dotcom }} using the `upload-sarif` action. For more information about creating a workflow file, see "[Introduction to GitHub Actions](/actions/learn-github-actions/introduction-to-github-actions)."

```yml
name: "ESLint analysis"

# Run workflow each time code is pushed to your repository and on a schedule.
# The scheduled workflow runs every at 00:00 on Sunday UTC time.
on:
  push:
  schedule:
  - cron: '0 0 * * 0'

jobs:
  build:
    steps:
    - uses: actions/checkout@v2
    - name: Run npm install
      run: npm install
    # Runs the ESlint code analysis
    - name: Run ESLint
      # eslint exits 1 if it finds anything to report
      run: node_modules/.bin/eslint build docs lib script spec-main -f node_modules/@microsoft/eslint-formatter-sarif/sarif.js -o results.sarif || true
    # Uploads results.sarif to GitHub repository using the upload-sarif action
    - uses: github/codeql-action/upload-sarif@v1
      with:
        # Path to SARIF file relative to the root of the repository
        sarif_file: results.sarif
```

### Further reading

- "[Workflow syntax for {{ site.data.variables.product.prodname_actions }}](/actions/reference/workflow-syntax-for-github-actions)"
- "[Viewing your workflow history](/actions/managing-workflow-runs/viewing-workflow-run-history)"
- "[Running {{ site.data.variables.product.prodname_code_scanning }} in your CI system](/github/finding-security-vulnerabilities-and-errors-in-your-code/running-code-scanning-in-your-ci-system)"
- "[Upload a SARIF file](/rest/reference/code-scanning#upload-a-sarif-file)"