docs/content/actions/examples/using-the-github-cli-on-a-runner.md

title, shortTitle, intro, versions, type, topics

title	shortTitle	intro	versions	type	topics
Using the GitHub CLI on a runner	Use the GitHub CLI on a runner	How to use advanced {% data variables.product.prodname_actions %} features for continuous integration (CI).	fpt ghes ghae ghec * > 3.1 * *	how_to	Workflows

{% data reusables.actions.enterprise-github-hosted-runners %}

Example overview

{% data reusables.actions.example-workflow-intro-ci %} When this workflow is triggered, it automatically runs a script that checks whether the {% data variables.product.prodname_dotcom %} Docs site has any broken links. If any broken links are found, the workflow uses the {% data variables.product.prodname_dotcom %} CLI to create a {% data variables.product.prodname_dotcom %} issue with the details.

{% data reusables.actions.example-diagram-intro %}

Features used in this example

{% data reusables.actions.example-table-intro %}

Feature	Implementation
{% data reusables.actions.cron-table-entry %}
{% data reusables.actions.permissions-table-entry %}
{% data reusables.actions.if-conditions-table-entry %}
{% data reusables.actions.secrets-table-entry %}
{% data reusables.actions.checkout-action-table-entry %}
{% data reusables.actions.setup-node-table-entry %}
Using a third-party action	peter-evans/create-issue-from-file
Running shell commands on the runner	run
Running a script on the runner	Using script/check-english-links.js
Generating an output file	Piping the output using the > operator
Checking for existing issues using {% data variables.product.prodname_cli %}	gh issue list
Commenting on an issue using {% data variables.product.prodname_cli %}	gh issue comment

Example workflow

{% data reusables.actions.example-docs-engineering-intro %} check-all-english-links.yml.

{% data reusables.actions.note-understanding-example %}

name: Check all English links

# **What it does**: This script once a day checks all English links and reports in issues.
# **Why we have it**: We want to know if any links break.
# **Who does it impact**: Docs content.

on:
  workflow_dispatch:
  schedule:
    - cron: '40 19 * * *' # once a day at 19:40 UTC / 11:40 PST

permissions:
  contents: read
  issues: write

jobs:
  check_all_english_links:
    name: Check all links
    if: github.repository == 'github/docs-internal'
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    env:
      GITHUB_TOKEN: {% raw %}${{ secrets.DOCUBOT_READORG_REPO_WORKFLOW_SCOPES }}{% endraw %}
      FIRST_RESPONDER_PROJECT: Docs content first responder
      REPORT_AUTHOR: docubot
      REPORT_LABEL: broken link report
      REPORT_REPOSITORY: github/docs-content
    steps:
      - name: Check out repo's default branch
        uses: {% data reusables.actions.action-checkout %}
      - name: Setup Node
        uses: {% data reusables.actions.action-setup-node %}
        with:
          node-version: 16.13.x
          cache: npm
      - name: npm ci
        run: npm ci
      - name: npm run build
        run: npm run build
      - name: Run script
        run: |
          script/check-english-links.js > broken_links.md

      # check-english-links.js returns 0 if no links are broken, and 1 if any links
      # are broken. When an Actions step's exit code is 1, the action run's job status
      # is failure and the run ends. The following steps create an issue for the
      # broken link report only if any links are broken, so {% raw %}`if: ${{ failure() }}`{% endraw %}
      # ensures the steps run despite the previous step's failure of the job.

      - if: {% raw %}${{ failure() }}{% endraw %}
        name: Get title for issue
        id: check
{%- ifversion actions-save-state-set-output-envs %}
        run: echo "title=$(head -1 broken_links.md)" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
{%- else %}
        run: echo "::set-output name=title::$(head -1 broken_links.md)"
{%- endif %}
      - if: {% raw %}${{ failure() }}{% endraw %}
        name: Create issue from file
        id: broken-link-report
        uses: peter-evans/create-issue-from-file@ceef9be92406ace67ab5421f66570acf213ec395
        with:
          token: {% raw %}${{ env.GITHUB_TOKEN }}{% endraw %}

          title: {% raw %}${{ steps.check.outputs.title }}{% endraw %}
          content-filepath: ./broken_links.md
          repository: {% raw %}${{ env.REPORT_REPOSITORY }}{% endraw %}
          labels: {% raw %}${{ env.REPORT_LABEL }}{% endraw %}
      - if: {% raw %}${{ failure() }}{% endraw %}
        name: Close and/or comment on old issues
        env:
          {% raw %}NEW_REPORT_URL: 'https://github.com/${{ env.REPORT_REPOSITORY }}/issues/${{ steps.broken-link-report.outputs.issue-number }}'{% endraw %}
        run: |
          gh alias set list-reports "issue list \
                                       --repo {% raw %}${{ env.REPORT_REPOSITORY }} \{% endraw %}
                                       --author {% raw %}${{ env.REPORT_AUTHOR }} \{% endraw %}
                                       --label {% raw %}'${{ env.REPORT_LABEL }}'"{% endraw %}

          # Link to the previous report from the new report that triggered this
          # workflow run.

          previous_report_url=$(gh list-reports \
                                  --state all \
                                  --limit 2 \
                                  --json url \
                                  --jq '.[].url' \
                                  | grep -v {% raw %}${{ env.NEW_REPORT_URL }}{% endraw %} | head -1)

          gh issue comment {% raw %}${{ env.NEW_REPORT_URL }}{% endraw %} --body "⬅️ [Previous report]($previous_report_url)"

          # If an old report is open and assigned to someone, link to the newer
          # report without closing the old report.

          for issue_url in $(gh list-reports \
                                  --json assignees,url \
                                  --jq '.[] | select (.assignees != []) | .url'); do
            if [ "$issue_url" != {% raw %}"${{ env.NEW_REPORT_URL }}"{% endraw %} ]; then
              gh issue comment $issue_url --body "➡️ [Newer report]({% raw %}${{ env.NEW_REPORT_URL }}{% endraw %})"
            fi
          done

          # Link to the newer report from any older report that is still open,
          # then close the older report and remove it from the first responder's
          # project board.

          for issue_url in $(gh list-reports \
                                  --search 'no:assignee' \
                                  --json url \
                                  --jq '.[].url'); do
            if [ "$issue_url" != {% raw %}"${{ env.NEW_REPORT_URL }}"{% endraw %} ]; then
              gh issue comment $issue_url --body "➡️ [Newer report]({% raw %}${{ env.NEW_REPORT_URL }})"{% endraw %}
              gh issue close $issue_url
              gh issue edit $issue_url --remove-project "{% raw %}${{ env.FIRST_RESPONDER_PROJECT }}"{% endraw %}
            fi
          done

Understanding the example

{% data reusables.actions.example-explanation-table-intro %}

Code	Explanation
name: Check all English links	{% data reusables.actions.explanation-name-key %}
on: workflow_dispatch: schedule: - cron: '40 20 * * *' # once a day at 20:40 UTC / 12:40 PST	Defines the workflow_dispatch and scheduled as triggers for the workflow: The workflow_dispatch lets you manually run this workflow from the UI. For more information, see workflow_dispatch. The schedule event lets you use cron syntax to define a regular interval for automatically triggering the workflow. For more information, see schedule.
permissions: contents: read issues: write	Modifies the default permissions granted to GITHUB_TOKEN. This will vary depending on the needs of your workflow. For more information, see "AUTOTITLE."
jobs:	Groups together all the jobs that run in the workflow file.
check_all_english_links: name: Check all links	Defines a job with the ID check_all_english_links, and the name Check all links, that is stored within the jobs key.
if: github.repository == 'github/docs-internal'	Only run the check_all_english_links job if the repository is named docs-internal and is within the github organization. Otherwise, the job is marked as skipped.
runs-on: ubuntu-latest	Configures the job to run on an Ubuntu Linux runner. This means that the job will execute on a fresh virtual machine hosted by {% data variables.product.prodname_dotcom %}. For syntax examples using other runners, see "AUTOTITLE."
env: GITHUB_TOKEN: {% raw %}${{ secrets.DOCUBOT_READORG_REPO_WORKFLOW_SCOPES }}{% endraw %} REPORT_AUTHOR: docubot REPORT_LABEL: broken link report REPORT_REPOSITORY: github/docs-content	Creates custom environment variables, and redefines the built-in GITHUB_TOKEN variable to use a custom secret. These variables will be referenced later in the workflow.
steps:	Groups together all the steps that will run as part of the check_all_english_links job. Each job in the workflow has its own steps section.
- name: Check out repo's default branch uses: {% data reusables.actions.action-checkout %}	The uses keyword tells the job to retrieve the action named actions/checkout. This is an action that checks out your repository and downloads it to the runner, allowing you to run actions against your code (such as testing tools). You must use the checkout action any time your workflow will run against the repository's code or you are using an action defined in the repository.
- name: Setup Node uses: {% data reusables.actions.action-setup-node %} with: node-version: 16.8.x cache: npm	This step uses the actions/setup-node action to install the specified version of the node software package on the runner, which gives you access to the npm command.
- name: Run the "npm ci" command run: npm ci - name: Run the "npm run build" command run: npm run build	The run keyword tells the job to execute a command on the runner. In this case, the npm ci and npm run build commands are run as separate steps to install and build the Node.js application in the repository.
- name: Run script run: | script/check-english-links.js > broken_links.md	This run command executes a script that is stored in the repository at script/check-english-links.js, and pipes the output to a file called broken_links.md.
- if: {% raw %}${{ failure() }}{% endraw %} name: Get title for issue id: check {%- ifversion actions-save-state-set-output-envs %} run: echo "title=$(head -1 broken_links.md)" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT {%- else %} run: echo "::set-output name=title::$(head -1 broken_links.md)" {%- endif %}	If the check-english-links.js script detects broken links and returns a non-zero (failure) exit status, then use a workflow command to set an output that has the value of the first line of the broken_links.md file (this is used the next step).
- if: {% raw %}${{ failure() }}{% endraw %} name: Create issue from file id: broken-link-report uses: peter-evans/create-issue-from-file@ceef9be92406ace67ab5421f66570acf213ec395 with: token: {% raw %}${{ env.GITHUB_TOKEN }}{% endraw %} title: {% raw %}${{ steps.check.outputs.title }}{% endraw %} content-filepath: ./broken_links.md repository: {% raw %}${{ env.REPORT_REPOSITORY }}{% endraw %} labels: {% raw %}${{ env.REPORT_LABEL }}{% endraw %}	Uses the peter-evans/create-issue-from-file action to create a new {% data variables.product.prodname_dotcom %} issue. This example is pinned to a specific version of the action, using the ceef9be92406ace67ab5421f66570acf213ec395 SHA.
- if: {% raw %}${{ failure() }}{% endraw %} name: Close and/or comment on old issues env: NEW_REPORT_URL: 'https://github.com/{% raw %}${{ env.REPORT_REPOSITORY }}{% endraw %}/issues/{% raw %}${{ steps.broken-link-report.outputs.issue-number }}{% endraw %}' run: | gh alias set list-reports "issue list \ --repo {% raw %}${{ env.REPORT_REPOSITORY }}{% endraw %} \ --author {% raw %}${{ env.REPORT_AUTHOR }}{% endraw %} \ --label '{% raw %}${{ env.REPORT_LABEL }}{% endraw %}'" previous_report_url=$(gh list-reports \ --state all \ --limit 2 \ --json url \ --jq '.[].url' \ | grep -v {% raw %}${{ env.NEW_REPORT_URL }}{% endraw %} | head -1) gh issue comment {% raw %}${{ env.NEW_REPORT_URL }}{% endraw %} --body "⬅️ [Previous report]($previous_report_url)"	Uses gh issue list to locate the previously created issue from earlier runs. This is aliased to gh list-reports for simpler processing in later steps. To get the issue URL, the jq expression processes the resulting JSON output. gh issue comment is then used to add a comment to the new issue that links to the previous one.
for issue_url in $(gh list-reports \ --json assignees,url \ --jq '.[] | select (.assignees != []) | .url'); do if [ "$issue_url" != "${{ env.NEW_REPORT_URL }}" ]; then gh issue comment $issue_url --body "➡️ [Newer report](${{ env.NEW_REPORT_URL }})" fi done	If an issue from a previous run is open and assigned to someone, then use gh issue comment to add a comment with a link to the new issue.
for issue_url in $(gh list-reports \ --search 'no:assignee' \ --json url \ --jq '.[].url'); do if [ "$issue_url" != "{% raw %}${{ env.NEW_REPORT_URL }}{% endraw %}" ]; then gh issue comment $issue_url --body "➡️ [Newer report]({% raw %}${{ env.NEW_REPORT_URL }}{% endraw %})" gh issue close $issue_url gh issue edit $issue_url --remove-project "{% raw %}${{ env.FIRST_RESPONDER_PROJECT }}{% endraw %}" fi done	If an issue from a previous run is open and is not assigned to anyone, then: Use gh issue comment to add a comment with a link to the new issue. Use gh issue close to close the old issue. Use gh issue edit to edit the old issue to remove it from a specific {% data variables.product.prodname_dotcom %} project board.

Next steps

{% data reusables.actions.learning-actions %}