Email Notifications in GitHub Actions

Email notifications in GitHub Actions allow you to inform stakeholders about important events in your CI/CD pipeline. This lesson will guide you through the setup process to ensure your team stays updated.

• GitHub Actions: A continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD) service that automates your workflow.
• Actions: Custom applications that can be combined to create workflows.
• Workflows: Defined processes that automate tasks, triggered by events like push, pull request, etc.
• Notifications: Alerts sent via email when specific conditions are met in a workflow.

3.1 Create a Workflow File

Start by creating a new workflow file in your GitHub repository:

name: Notify on Push

on:
  push:
    branches:
      - main

jobs:
  notify:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Send Notification
        uses: dawidd6/action-send-mail@v3
        with:
          server_address: smtp.gmail.com
          server_port: 465
          username: ${{ secrets.EMAIL_USERNAME }}
          password: ${{ secrets.EMAIL_PASSWORD }}
          subject: 'New push to main branch'
          body: 'A new commit has been pushed to main.'
          to: 'recipient@example.com'
          from: 'sender@example.com'
          secure: true
        

This YAML file configures a GitHub Action that sends an email notification whenever a push is made to the main branch.

3.2 Configure Secrets in GitHub

Store your email credentials as secrets in your GitHub repository settings:

3.3 Testing Your Workflow

Push a change to your main branch to trigger the workflow. Check the recipient's inbox for the notification.

• Use environment variables for sensitive data.
• Limit email notifications to significant events to avoid spamming users.
• Test your email sending in a safe environment before deploying.
• Customize email content to include useful information for recipients.