goreleaser/www/docs/ci/actions.md

---
title: GitHub Actions
---

GoReleaser can also be used within our official [GoReleaser Action][goreleaser-action]
through [GitHub Actions][actions].

You can create a workflow for pushing your releases by putting YAML configuration to
`.github/workflows/release.yml`.

## Usage

### Workflow

Below is a simple snippet to use this action in your workflow:

```yaml
name: goreleaser

on:
  pull_request:
  push:

permissions:
  contents: write

jobs:
  goreleaser:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      -
        name: Checkout
        uses: actions/checkout@v2
        with:
          fetch-depth: 0
      -
        name: Set up Go
        uses: actions/setup-go@v2
        with:
          go-version: 1.16
      -
        name: Run GoReleaser
        uses: goreleaser/goreleaser-action@v2
        with:
          version: latest
          args: release --rm-dist
        env:
          GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
```

!!! warning
    Note the `fetch-depth: 0` option on the `Checkout` workflow step. It is required for GoReleaser to work properly.
    Without that, GoReleaser might fail or behave incorrectly.

### Run on new tag

If you want to run GoReleaser only on new tag, you can use this event:

```yaml
on:
  push:
    tags:
      - '*'
```

Or with a condition on GoReleaser step:

```yaml
      -
        name: Run GoReleaser
        uses: goreleaser/goreleaser-action@v2
        if: startsWith(github.ref, 'refs/tags/')
        with:
          version: latest
          args: release --rm-dist
        env:
          GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
```

!!! tip
    For detailed instructions please follow GitHub Actions [workflow syntax][syntax].

### Signing

If [signing is enabled][signing] in your GoReleaser configuration, you can use the [Import GPG][import-gpg]
GitHub Action along with this one:

```yaml
      -
        name: Import GPG key
        id: import_gpg
        uses: crazy-max/ghaction-import-gpg@v3
        with:
          gpg-private-key: ${{ secrets.GPG_PRIVATE_KEY }}
          passphrase: ${{ secrets.PASSPHRASE }}
      -
        name: Run GoReleaser
        uses: goreleaser/goreleaser-action@v2
        with:
          version: latest
          args: release --rm-dist
        env:
          GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
          GPG_FINGERPRINT: ${{ steps.import_gpg.outputs.fingerprint }}
```

And reference the fingerprint in your signing configuration using the `GPG_FINGERPRINT` environment variable:

```yaml
signs:
  - artifacts: checksum
    args: ["--batch", "-u", "{{ .Env.GPG_FINGERPRINT }}", "--output", "${signature}", "--detach-sign", "${artifact}"]
```

## Customizing

### Inputs

Following inputs can be used as `step.with` keys

| Name      | Type   | Default  | Description                               |
|-----------|--------|----------|-------------------------------------------|
| `version`¹| String | `latest` | GoReleaser version. Example: `v0.117.0`   |
| `args`    | String |          | Arguments to pass to GoReleaser           |
| `workdir` | String | `.`      | Working directory (below repository root) |

!!! info
    ¹: Can be a fixed version like `v0.117.0` or a max satisfying SemVer one
    like `~> 0.132`. In this case this will return `v0.132.1`.

### Environment Variables

Following environment variables can be used as `step.env` keys

| Name           | Description                                           |
|----------------|-------------------------------------------------------|
| `GITHUB_TOKEN` | [GITHUB_TOKEN][github-token] as provided by `secrets` |

## Token Permissions

The following [permissions](https://docs.github.com/en/actions/reference/authentication-in-a-workflow#permissions-for-the-github_token) are required by GoReleaser:

 - `content: write` if you wish to
    - [upload archives as GitHub Releases](/customization/release/), or
    - publish to [Homebrew](/customization/homebrew/), or [Scoop](/customization/scoop/) (assuming it's part of the same repository)
 - or just `content: read` if you don't need any of the above
 - `packages: write` if you [push Docker images](/customization/docker/) to GitHub
 - `issues: write` if you use [milestone closing capability](/customization/milestone/)

`GITHUB_TOKEN` permissions [are limited to the repository][about-github-token] that contains your workflow.

If you need to push the homebrew tap to another repository, you must therefore create a custom
[Personal Access Token][pat] with `repo` permissions and [add it as a secret in the repository][secrets]. If you
create a secret named `GH_PAT`, the step will look like this:

```yaml
      -
        name: Run GoReleaser
        uses: goreleaser/goreleaser-action@v2
        with:
          version: latest
          args: release --rm-dist
        env:
          GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GH_PAT }}
```

You can also read the [GitHub documentation](https://docs.github.com/en/github/authenticating-to-github/creating-a-personal-access-token) about it.

## How does it look like?

You can check [this example repository](https://github.com/goreleaser/example) for a real world example.

<a href="https://github.com/goreleaser/example/releases">
  <figure>
    <img src="https://img.carlosbecker.dev/goreleaser-github.png"/>
    <figcaption>Example release on GitHub.</figcaption>
  </figure>
</a>

[goreleaser-action]: https://github.com/goreleaser/goreleaser-action
[actions]: https://github.com/features/actions
[syntax]: https://help.github.com/en/articles/workflow-syntax-for-github-actions#About-yaml-syntax-for-workflows
[signing]: https://goreleaser.com/customization/sign/
[import-gpg]: https://github.com/crazy-max/ghaction-import-gpg
[github-token]: https://help.github.com/en/actions/configuring-and-managing-workflows/authenticating-with-the-github_token
[about-github-token]: https://help.github.com/en/actions/configuring-and-managing-workflows/authenticating-with-the-github_token#about-the-github_token-secret
[pat]: https://help.github.com/articles/creating-a-personal-access-token-for-the-command-line/
[secrets]: https://help.github.com/en/actions/automating-your-workflow-with-github-actions/creating-and-using-encrypted-secrets