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zentron merged 2 commits into from
Sep 16, 2026
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Use pull request safe git_ref and git_commit in GitHub Actions examples #3462

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Use pull request safe git_ref and git_commit in GitHub Actions examples
zentron Sep 15, 2026
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Keep the inputs table within its existing column width
zentron Sep 16, 2026
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18 changes: 11 additions & 7 deletions src/pages/docs/packaging-applications/build-servers/github-actions.mdx
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Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
---
layout: src/layouts/Default.astro
pubDate: 2023-01-01
modDate: 2024-11-21
modDate: 2026-09-15
title: GitHub Actions
description: Integrating Octopus Deploy into your GitHub Action workflows
icon: fa-brands fa-github
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -79,8 +79,8 @@ jobs:
with:
project: 'MyProject'
release_number: '1.0.0'
git_ref: ${{ github.ref }}
git_commit: ${{ github.sha }}
git_ref: ${{ github.head_ref || github.ref }}
git_commit: ${{ github.event.pull_request.head.sha || github.sha }}

# Action to Deploy a Release
- name: Deploy a release in Octopus Deploy 🐙
Expand All @@ -96,6 +96,10 @@ jobs:
Fizz: Buzz
```

:::div{.hint}
On a pull request, `github.ref` is `refs/pull/<number>/merge` and `github.sha` is the merge commit that GitHub creates for the pull request. That commit does not exist on any branch, so a release pinned to it can fail to deploy later. Use `github.head_ref` and `github.event.pull_request.head.sha` instead, as shown above. Both fall back to the push values on every other event.
:::

### ✍️ Environment variables

| Name | Description |
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -183,8 +187,8 @@ jobs:
with:
project: 'MyProject'
release_number: '1.0.0'
git_ref: ${{ github.ref }}
git_commit: ${{ github.sha }}
git_ref: ${{ github.head_ref || github.ref }}
git_commit: ${{ github.event.pull_request.head.sha || github.sha }}
packages: |
HelloPackage:1.0.0
```
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -267,8 +271,8 @@ jobs:
with:
project: 'MyProject'
release_number: '1.0.0'
git_ref: ${{ github.ref }}
git_commit: ${{ github.sha }}
git_ref: ${{ github.head_ref || github.ref }}
git_commit: ${{ github.event.pull_request.head.sha || github.sha }}
packages: |
HelloPackage:1.0.0
```
Expand Down
6 changes: 3 additions & 3 deletions .../docs/projects/version-control/creating-release-from-a-build-server-plug-in.mdx
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Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
---
layout: src/layouts/Default.astro
pubDate: 2023-01-01
modDate: 2026-07-20
modDate: 2026-09-15
title: Creating releases from a build server plugin on a version-controlled project
description: Examples of how to ensure that the right branch is used to create the release when using a build server plugin.
navOrder: 45
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -51,10 +51,10 @@ ${{ github.head_ref || github.ref }}
For *Git Commit*, use

```text
${{ github.event.push.after || github.event.pull_request.head.sha }}
${{ github.event.pull_request.head.sha || github.sha }}
```

**Note:** this approach doesn't populate the commit details for manually triggered runs. It is recommended that you provide the values for both branch and commit in this case.
On a pull request this resolves to the head of the source branch. On every other event, including manually triggered runs, it falls back to `github.sha`.

## TeamCity

Expand Down