GitHub Create Release Action

Overview

The actions/github/createRelease action creates GitHub releases with automated changelog generation and configurable release options. This Docker-based action provides comprehensive release management capabilities including pre-release flags, draft releases, and Dependabot PR inclusion control.

Language/Tool Support

• GitHub: Release management and API integration
• Docker: Containerized execution for consistent behavior
• Changelog: Automated release notes generation
• Semantic Versioning: Tag-based release naming

Features

• Automated Release Creation: Creates GitHub releases from tags
• Release Notes Generation: Automatically generates changelog from commits
• Pre-release Support: Mark releases as pre-release versions
• Draft Releases: Create draft releases for review before publishing
• Dependabot Integration: Option to include/exclude Dependabot PRs from notes
• Docker-based: Consistent execution environment

Usage

- name: Create github Release
  uses: ./actions/github/createRelease
  with:
    token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
    repository: ${{ github.repository }}
    tagName: ${{ github.ref_name }}
    preRelease: false
    generateReleaseNotes: true
    isDraft: false
    includeDependabot: false

Inputs

Input	Type	Required	Default	Description
token	string	✅	-	GitHub token with repository write permissions
repository	string	✅	-	GitHub repository in format "owner/repo"
tagName	string	✅	-	Git tag name for the release
preRelease	boolean	❌	false	Mark release as pre-release
generateReleaseNotes	boolean	❌	true	Generate automatic release notes
isDraft	boolean	❌	false	Create release as draft
includeDependabot	boolean	❌	false	Include Dependabot PRs in release notes

Action Implementation

This action runs in a Docker container:

• Image: ghcr.io/encoredigitalgroup/gh-action-create-github-release:latest
• Environment: All inputs are passed as environment variables
• Execution: Containerized Go application

Usage Examples

Basic Release Creation

name: Create Release
on:
  push:
    tags:
      - 'v*'

jobs:
  release:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    permissions:
      contents: write
    steps:
      - name: Create Release
        uses: ./actions/github/createRelease
        with:
          token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
          repository: ${{ github.repository }}
          tagName: ${{ github.ref_name }}

Pre-release Creation

name: Create Pre-release
on:
  push:
    tags:
      - 'v*-rc*'
      - 'v*-beta*'
      - 'v*-alpha*'

jobs:
  prerelease:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    permissions:
      contents: write
    steps:
      - name: Create Pre-release
        uses: ./actions/github/createRelease
        with:
          token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
          repository: ${{ github.repository }}
          tagName: ${{ github.ref_name }}
          preRelease: true
          generateReleaseNotes: true

Draft Release for Review

name: Create Draft Release
on:
  workflow_dispatch:
    inputs:
      tag:
        description: 'Release tag'
        required: true
        type: string

jobs:
  draft-release:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    permissions:
      contents: write
    steps:
      - name: Create Draft Release
        uses: ./actions/github/createRelease
        with:
          token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
          repository: ${{ github.repository }}
          tagName: ${{ inputs.tag }}
          isDraft: true
          generateReleaseNotes: true
          includeDependabot: false

Release with Dependabot Changes

name: Release with Dependencies
on:
  push:
    tags:
      - 'v*'

jobs:
  release:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    permissions:
      contents: write
    steps:
      - name: Create Release with Dependabot
        uses: ./actions/github/createRelease
        with:
          token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
          repository: ${{ github.repository }}
          tagName: ${{ github.ref_name }}
          generateReleaseNotes: true
          includeDependabot: true

Integration Patterns

Automated Release Pipeline

name: Release Pipeline
on:
  push:
    tags:
      - 'v[0-9]+.[0-9]+.[0-9]+'

jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Build Application
        run: echo "Building..."

  test:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Run Tests
        run: echo "Testing..."

  release:
    needs: [build, test]
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    permissions:
      contents: write
    steps:
      - name: Create Release
        uses: ./actions/github/createRelease
        with:
          token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
          repository: ${{ github.repository }}
          tagName: ${{ github.ref_name }}

  deploy:
    needs: release
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Deploy to Production
        run: echo "Deploying..."

Multi-Environment Release

name: Multi-Environment Release
on:
  push:
    tags:
      - 'v*'

jobs:
  determine-release-type:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    outputs:
      is-prerelease: ${{ steps.check.outputs.prerelease }}
    steps:
      - id: check
        run: |
          if [[ "${{ github.ref_name }}" =~ (alpha|beta|rc) ]]; then
            echo "prerelease=true" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
          else
            echo "prerelease=false" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
          fi

  create-release:
    needs: determine-release-type
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    permissions:
      contents: write
    steps:
      - name: Create Release
        uses: ./actions/github/createRelease
        with:
          token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
          repository: ${{ github.repository }}
          tagName: ${{ github.ref_name }}
          preRelease: ${{ needs.determine-release-type.outputs.is-prerelease }}

Release Notes Generation

The action automatically generates release notes when generateReleaseNotes: true:

Generated Content Includes

• All Pull Requests: All pull requests are automatically included.
• Dependencies: Dependabot updates (if includeDependabot: true), otherwise dependabot PR's are excluded.
• Contributors: List of contributors to the release

Required Permissions

The GitHub token must have the following permissions:

permissions:
  contents: write      # Required for creating releases
  pull-requests: read  # Required for generating release notes

Use Cases

Version Release Management

# Semantic version releases
on:
  push:
    tags:
      - 'v[0-9]+.[0-9]+.[0-9]+'
      - '!v[0-9]+.[0-9]+.[0-9]+-*'  # Exclude pre-releases

Hotfix Releases

# Hotfix releases
on:
  push:
    tags:
      - 'hotfix-*'

jobs:
  hotfix-release:
    steps:
      - uses: ./actions/github/createRelease
        with:
          token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
          repository: ${{ github.repository }}
          tagName: ${{ github.ref_name }}
          generateReleaseNotes: false  # Manual notes for hotfixes

Feature Branch Releases

# Feature preview releases
on:
  workflow_dispatch:
    inputs:
      branch:
        description: 'Feature branch'
        required: true

jobs:
  feature-release:
    steps:
      - name: Create Feature Tag
        run: git tag "feature-${{ inputs.branch }}-$(date +%s)"

      - uses: ./actions/github/createRelease
        with:
          token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
          repository: ${{ github.repository }}
          tagName: "feature-${{ inputs.branch }}-$(date +%s)"
          preRelease: true
          isDraft: true

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Release Creation Fails

• Verify token has contents: write permission
• Ensure tag exists and is accessible
• Check repository exists and is accessible

Release Notes Generation Issues

• Verify token has pull-requests: read permission
• Check if repository has sufficient commit history
• Ensure pull requests are properly labeled

Error Resolution

Permission Denied

# Ensure proper permissions
permissions:
  contents: write
  pull-requests: read

Tag Not Found

# Verify tag exists
git tag -l
git push origin --tags

Release Already Exists

The action will fail if a release for the tag already exists. Consider:

• Using different tag names
• Deleting existing releases if recreating
• Implementing idempotent release logic

Best Practices

Tag Management

1. Semantic Versioning: Use consistent version tagging (v1.2.3)
2. Tag Protection: Protect release tags from deletion
3. Automated Tagging: Use workflow automation for tag creation
4. Tag Validation: Validate tag format before release creation

Security Considerations

1. Token Security: Use repository secrets for tokens
2. Permission Minimization: Use minimal required permissions
3. Audit Trail: Monitor release creation activities
4. Access Control: Limit who can create releases