create-release

An Action to create releases via the GitHub Release API

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action-gh-release

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📦 :octocat: GitHub Action for creating GitHub Releases

release-drafter

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Drafts your next release notes as pull requests are merged into master.

release-action

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An action which manages a github release

Quick Overview

actions/create-release is a GitHub Action that automates the process of creating releases in GitHub repositories. It allows developers to easily create new releases with customizable titles, release notes, and attached assets as part of their continuous integration and deployment workflows.

Pros

Simplifies the release creation process, saving time and reducing manual errors
Integrates seamlessly with other GitHub Actions and workflows
Supports customization of release titles, notes, and attached assets
Can be triggered automatically based on various events (e.g., push to main branch, tag creation)

Cons

Limited to GitHub repositories and cannot be used with other version control systems
Requires some initial setup and configuration in the workflow file
May not be suitable for complex release processes that require additional steps or approvals
Dependent on GitHub's infrastructure and availability

Getting Started

To use the actions/create-release action in your GitHub workflow, add the following step to your workflow file (e.g., .github/workflows/release.yml):

name: Create Release

on:
  push:
    tags:
      - 'v*'

jobs:
  create_release:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Checkout code
        uses: actions/checkout@v3
      - name: Create Release
        id: create_release
        uses: actions/create-release@v1
        env:
          GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
        with:
          tag_name: ${{ github.ref }}
          release_name: Release ${{ github.ref }}
          body: |
            Changes in this Release:
            - First Change
            - Second Change
          draft: false
          prerelease: false

This workflow will create a new release whenever a new tag starting with 'v' is pushed to the repository. Customize the release name, body, and other options as needed for your project.

Competitor Comparisons

action-gh-release

4,853

📦 :octocat: GitHub Action for creating GitHub Releases

Pros of action-gh-release

Supports uploading multiple release assets
Allows customization of release notes using a template file
Provides more options for configuring the release, such as setting pre-release or draft status

Cons of action-gh-release

Requires more configuration for basic usage
May have a steeper learning curve for newcomers to GitHub Actions

Code Comparison

create-release:

- uses: actions/create-release@v1
  env:
    GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
  with:
    tag_name: ${{ github.ref }}
    release_name: Release ${{ github.ref }}
    body: |
      Changes in this Release
      - First Change
      - Second Change

action-gh-release:

- uses: softprops/action-gh-release@v1
  with:
    files: |
      dist/*.tar.gz
      dist/*.zip
    body_path: CHANGELOG.md
    draft: false
    prerelease: false
  env:
    GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}

Both actions serve the purpose of creating GitHub releases, but action-gh-release offers more flexibility and features. create-release is simpler to use for basic release creation, while action-gh-release provides advanced options for customizing releases and uploading multiple assets. The choice between the two depends on the specific requirements of your project and the level of control you need over the release process.

release-drafter

3,713

Drafts your next release notes as pull requests are merged into master.

Pros of Release Drafter

Automatically generates release notes based on pull request labels and titles
Allows customization of release note templates and categorization
Supports drafting releases without publishing, enabling review and editing

Cons of Release Drafter

Requires more initial setup and configuration
May not be suitable for projects with simple release processes
Depends on proper labeling of pull requests for accurate categorization

Code Comparison

Create Release:

- uses: actions/create-release@v1
  env:
    GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
  with:
    tag_name: ${{ github.ref }}
    release_name: Release ${{ github.ref }}
    body: |
      Changes in this Release
      - First Change
      - Second Change

Release Drafter:

- uses: release-drafter/release-drafter@v5
  env:
    GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
  with:
    config-name: release-drafter.yml
    publish: false

Create Release is simpler to set up and use, requiring minimal configuration. It's suitable for projects with straightforward release processes. Release Drafter offers more advanced features and customization options, making it ideal for projects with complex release note requirements and those seeking automated categorization of changes. However, Release Drafter requires more initial setup and ongoing maintenance of pull request labels to function effectively.

release-action

1,559

An action which manages a github release

Pros of release-action

Supports uploading multiple assets to the release
Allows customization of release name and body using templates
Provides options for creating draft releases and pre-releases

Cons of release-action

May require more configuration for basic use cases
Less integrated with GitHub's ecosystem compared to create-release

Code Comparison

create-release:

- uses: actions/create-release@v1
  env:
    GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
  with:
    tag_name: ${{ github.ref }}
    release_name: Release ${{ github.ref }}
    body: |
      Changes in this Release
      - First Change
      - Second Change

release-action:

- uses: ncipollo/release-action@v1
  with:
    artifacts: "release.tar.gz,foo/*.txt"
    bodyFile: "body.md"
    token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
    tag: ${{ github.ref }}
    name: Release ${{ github.ref }}

Both actions serve the purpose of creating GitHub releases, but release-action offers more flexibility in terms of asset uploading and release customization. create-release is more straightforward for simple use cases and integrates seamlessly with GitHub's ecosystem. The choice between the two depends on the specific requirements of your project and the level of customization needed for your release process.

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README

GitHub Action - Releases API

Please note: This repository is currently unmaintained by a team of developers at GitHub. The repository is here and you can use it as an example, or in Actions. However please be aware that we are not going to be updating issues or pull requests on this repository.

Maintained Actions:

To reflect this state weâve marked this repository as Archived.

If you are having an issue or question about GitHub Actions then please contact customer support.

If you have found a security issue please submit it here.

This GitHub Action (written in JavaScript) wraps the GitHub Release API, specifically the Create a Release endpoint, to allow you to leverage GitHub Actions to create releases.

Usage

Pre-requisites

Create a workflow .yml file in your .github/workflows directory. An example workflow is available below. For more information, reference the GitHub Help Documentation for Creating a workflow file.

Inputs

For more information on these inputs, see the API Documentation

tag_name: The name of the tag for this release
release_name: The name of the release
body: Text describing the contents of the release. Optional, and not needed if using body_path.
body_path: A file with contents describing the release. Optional, and not needed if using body.
draft: true to create a draft (unpublished) release, false to create a published one. Default: false
prerelease: true to identify the release as a prerelease. false to identify the release as a full release. Default: false
commitish : Any branch or commit SHA the Git tag is created from, unused if the Git tag already exists. Default: SHA of current commit
owner: The name of the owner of the repo. Used to identify the owner of the repository. Used when cutting releases for external repositories. Default: Current owner
repo: The name of the repository. Used to identify the repository on which to release. Used when cutting releases for external repositories. Default: Current repository

`body_path`

The body_path is valuable for dynamically creating a .md within code commits and even within the Github Action steps leading up to the create-release.

Outputs

For more information on these outputs, see the API Documentation for an example of what these outputs look like

id: The release ID
html_url: The URL users can navigate to in order to view the release. i.e. https://github.com/octocat/Hello-World/releases/v1.0.0
upload_url: The URL for uploading assets to the release, which could be used by GitHub Actions for additional uses, for example the @actions/upload-release-asset GitHub Action

Example workflow - create a release

On every push to a tag matching the pattern v*, create a release:

on:
  push:
    # Sequence of patterns matched against refs/tags
    tags:
      - 'v*' # Push events to matching v*, i.e. v1.0, v20.15.10

name: Create Release

jobs:
  build:
    name: Create Release
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Checkout code
        uses: actions/checkout@v2
      - name: Create Release
        id: create_release
        uses: actions/create-release@v1
        env:
          GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }} # This token is provided by Actions, you do not need to create your own token
        with:
          tag_name: ${{ github.ref }}
          release_name: Release ${{ github.ref }}
          body: |
            Changes in this Release
            - First Change
            - Second Change
          draft: false
          prerelease: false

This will create a Release, as well as a release event, which could be handled by a third party service, or by GitHub Actions for additional uses, for example the @actions/upload-release-asset GitHub Action. This uses the GITHUB_TOKEN provided by the virtual environment, so no new token is needed.

Contributing

We would love you to contribute to @actions/create-release, pull requests are welcome! Please see the CONTRIBUTING.md for more information.

License

The scripts and documentation in this project are released under the MIT License

Top Related Projects

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