Mastering Deployment Management with GitHub Actions

Mastering Deployment Management with GitHub Actions

The deployment.yml file is a GitHub Actions workflow that automates the management of GitHub deployments. It allows users to list all deployments, list failed deployments, delete all deployments, and delete failed deployments.

graph TD
    A[Start] --> B[Job: Get_Deployment_IDs]
    B --> C{Function?}
    C -->|list all| LA[Job: List_All]
    C -->|list failed| LF[Job: List_Failed]
    C -->|delete all| DA[Job: Delete_All]
    C -->|delete failed| DF[Job: Delete_Failed]
    LA -->|Retrieve all Deployments| LA1[Print all Deployments ]
    LF -->|Retrieve failed Deployments| LF1[Print failed Deployments ]
    DA -->|Retrieve all Deployments| DA1[Delete all Deployments]
    DF -->|Retrieve failed Deployments| DF1[Delete failed Deployments]
    LA1 --> End[End]
    LF1 --> End
    DA1 --> End
    DF1 --> End

The graphic may differ from the current workflow.

Why is this so cool?

The beauty of this workflow lies in its automation capabilities. It takes tasks that would normally require manual intervention and time, and automates them, saving developers countless hours of work.

• Efficiency: Instead of manually managing deployments, this can be done automatically, saving time and reducing the chance of human error.
• Visibility: It provides a clear overview of all deployments or just the failed ones, making it easier to manage and troubleshoot them.
• Cleanliness: The ability to delete all or failed deployments helps keep your GitHub Actions clean and manageable. This is especially useful in large projects with many deployments, where manual cleanup would be tedious.

Workflow Triggers

This workflow is triggered manually using the workflow_dispatch event. It accepts several inputs:

• FUNCTION: Determines the function to perform. Options include “list all”, “list failed”, “delete all”, and “delete failed”.
• OWNER: The owner of the repository.
• REPOSITORY: The repository where the deployments are located.
• ENVIRONMENT: The environment of the deployments. This input is optional.

Jobs

The workflow consists of five jobs: Get_Deployment_IDs, List_All, List_Failed, Delete_All, and Delete_Failed.

A Personal Access Token (PAT) is only required for the Delete_All and Delete_Failed job. For all others, the normal GITHUB_TOKEN, which is stored in the GITHUB_TOKEN secret, is sufficient.

Get_Deployment_IDs - Job

The Get_Deployment_IDs job is designed to retrieve the IDs of deployments in a specific GitHub repository. It has an output named DEPLOYMENT_IDS. This output can be used by other jobs in the workflow.

List_All - Job

This job lists all deployments. It runs if the FUNCTION input is “list all”. It uses the GitHub CLI (gh) to call the GitHub API and retrieve the deployments. The deployments are then printed to the console.

List_Failed - Job

This job lists all failed deployments. It runs if the FUNCTION input is “list failed”. Like the List_All job, it uses the GitHub CLI to call the GitHub API. However, it filters the deployments to only include those with a status of “failure”, “inactive” or “error”.

Delete_All - Job

This job deletes all deployments. It runs if the FUNCTION input is “delete all”. It retrieves the deployments using the GitHub API, then deletes each one using a DELETE request.

Delete_Failed - Job

This job deletes all failed and inactive deployments. It runs if the FUNCTION input is “delete failed”. It retrieves the deployments, filters for those with a status of “failure”, “inactive” or “error”, and then deletes each one.

Conclusion

The deployment.yml workflow provides a powerful way to manage GitHub deployments. By using GitHub Actions and the GitHub API, it automates tasks that would otherwise need to be performed manually. However, it’s important to use this workflow carefully, as deleting deployments cannot be undone.