Run workflow, step, or job based on file changes GitHub Actions
There are options for conditionally running GitHub actions at the workflow, job, or step level based on file changes.
Trigger GitHub Action workflow on file changes
GitHub actions natively support triggering workflows based on file changes:
1on:
2 push:
3 paths:
4 - 'src/**'
5
6jobs:
7 job1:
8 steps:
9 - uses: actions/checkout@v3
10 - name: tests
11 run: ...On a push to any file within the src/** directory, this workflow will execute job1 and its steps.
Run job based on file changes in GitHub Actions
GitHub actions do not natively support triggering jobs based on file changes; however, there is a marketplace action that supports this use-case named dorny/paths-filter.
1on:
2 push:
3 branches:
4 - main
5
6jobs:
7 changes:
8 runs-on: ubuntu-latest
9 outputs:
10 src: ${{ steps.changes.outputs.src }}
11 infra: ${{ steps.changes.outputs.infra }}
12 steps:
13 - uses: actions/checkout@v3
14 - uses: dorny/paths-filter@v2
15 id: changes
16 with:
17 filters: |
18 src:
19 - 'src/**'
20 infra:
21 - 'infra/**'
22
23 src:
24 needs: changes
25 if: ${{ needs.changes.outputs.src == 'true' }}
26 runs-on: ubuntu-latest
27 steps:
28 - uses: actions/checkout@v3
29 - run: ...
30
31 infra:
32 needs: changes
33 if: ${{ needs.changes.outputs.infra == 'true' }}
34 runs-on: ubuntu-latest
35 steps:
36 - uses: actions/checkout@v3
37 - run: ...On a push to the main branch, this workflow will execute; however, the first action checks where changes occurred and outputs true or false for the specified filtered paths.
Run step based on file changes in GitHub Actions
Similarly to jobs, GitHub actions to not natively support triggering individual steps based on file changes. dorny/paths-filter supports this use-case as well.
1on:
2 push:
3 branches:
4 - main
5
6jobs:
7 job1:
8 steps:
9 - uses: actions/checkout@v3
10 - uses: dorny/paths-filter@v2
11 id: changes
12 with:
13 filters: |
14 src:
15 - 'src/**'
16 infra:
17 - 'infra/**'
18
19 - name: src deploy
20 if: steps.changes.outputs.src == 'true'
21 run: ...
22
23 - name: infra deploy
24 if: steps.changes.outputs.infra == 'true'
25 run: ...
26
27 - name: e2e
28 if: steps.changes.outputs.src == 'true' || steps.changes.outputs.infra == 'true'
29 run: ...Pull requests
On a side note, dorny/paths-filter does not need the checkout action for pull request triggered actions.
1on:
2 pull_request:
3 branches:
4 - main
5
6jobs:
7 build:
8 runs-on: ubuntu-latest
9 # For pull requests, it's not necessary to checkout code
10 permissions:
11 pull-requests: read
12 steps:
13 - uses: dorny/paths-filter@v2
14 id: filter
15 with:
16 filters: ... # Configure your filters