Workflow Dispatch in GitHub Actions

Workflow dispatch in GitHub Actions allows you to manually trigger workflows from the GitHub interface. This feature can be particularly useful for workflows that need to be run under specific circumstances, such as deployments or testing scenarios.

• Workflow: A configurable automated process that runs one or more jobs.
• Dispatch Event: A GitHub event that allows you to manually trigger a workflow.
• Inputs: Parameters that can be passed to a workflow when it is triggered manually.

To set up a workflow that can be manually triggered, you need to define it in your YAML file. Below is a step-by-step guide:

1. Create a workflow file in the `.github/workflows` directory of your repository.
2. Define the `on` trigger with `workflow_dispatch`:

name: Manual Trigger Workflow
on:
  workflow_dispatch:

3. Optionally, define inputs for the workflow:

inputs:
    example_input:
      description: 'An example input'
      required: true
      default: 'default value'

4. Add jobs that you want to run when the workflow is triggered.

jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Checkout code
        uses: actions/checkout@v2
      - name: Run a script
        run: echo "Input value is ${{ github.event.inputs.example_input }}"

• Use meaningful names for your workflows and inputs to improve clarity.
• Test your workflows regularly to ensure they function correctly when triggered.
• Limit the number of required inputs to reduce user error during manual triggering.
• Utilize default values for inputs when possible to simplify the triggering process.