create-release/README.md

# GitHub Action - Releases API

**Please note:** This repository is currently unmaintained by a team of developers at GitHub. The 
repository is here and you can use it as an example, or in Actions. However please be aware that 
we are not going to be updating issues or pull requests on this repository.

**Maintained forks:**
* ...

To reflect this state we’ve marked this repository as Archived.

If you are having an issue or question about GitHub Actions then please [contact customer support](https://help.github.com/en/articles/about-github-actions#contacting-support).

If you have found a security issue [please submit it here](https://hackerone.com/github).

---

This GitHub Action (written in JavaScript) wraps the [GitHub Release API](https://developer.github.com/v3/repos/releases/), specifically the [Create a Release](https://developer.github.com/v3/repos/releases/#create-a-release) endpoint, to allow you to leverage GitHub Actions to create releases.

<a href="https://github.com/actions/create-release"><img alt="GitHub Actions status" src="https://github.com/actions/create-release/workflows/Tests/badge.svg"></a>

## Usage
### Pre-requisites
Create a workflow `.yml` file in your `.github/workflows` directory. An [example workflow](#example-workflow---create-a-release) is available below. For more information, reference the GitHub Help Documentation for [Creating a workflow file](https://help.github.com/en/articles/configuring-a-workflow#creating-a-workflow-file).

### Inputs
For more information on these inputs, see the [API Documentation](https://developer.github.com/v3/repos/releases/#input)

- `tag_name`: The name of the tag for this release
- `release_name`: The name of the release
- `body`: Text describing the contents of the release. Optional, and not needed if using `body_path`.
- `body_path`: A file with contents describing the release. Optional, and not needed if using `body`.
- `draft`: `true` to create a draft (unpublished) release, `false` to create a published one. Default: `false`
- `prerelease`: `true` to identify the release as a prerelease. `false` to identify the release as a full release. Default: `false`
- `commitish` : Any branch or commit SHA the Git tag is created from, unused if the Git tag already exists. Default: SHA of current commit
- `owner`: The name of the owner of the repo. Used to identify the owner of the repository.  Used when cutting releases for external repositories.  Default: Current owner
- `repo`: The name of the repository. Used to identify the repository on which to release.  Used when cutting releases for external repositories. Default: Current repository

#### `body_path`
The `body_path` is valuable for dynamically creating a `.md` within code commits and even within the Github Action steps leading up to the `create-release`.

### Outputs
For more information on these outputs, see the [API Documentation](https://developer.github.com/v3/repos/releases/#response-4) for an example of what these outputs look like

- `id`: The release ID
- `html_url`: The URL users can navigate to in order to view the release. i.e. `https://github.com/octocat/Hello-World/releases/v1.0.0`
- `upload_url`: The URL for uploading assets to the release, which could be used by GitHub Actions for additional uses, for example the [`@actions/upload-release-asset`](https://www.github.com/actions/upload-release-asset) GitHub Action

### Example workflow - create a release
On every `push` to a tag matching the pattern `v*`, [create a release](https://developer.github.com/v3/repos/releases/#create-a-release):

```yaml
on:
  push:
    # Sequence of patterns matched against refs/tags
    tags:
      - 'v*' # Push events to matching v*, i.e. v1.0, v20.15.10

name: Create Release

jobs:
  build:
    name: Create Release
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Checkout code
        uses: actions/checkout@v2
      - name: Create Release
        id: create_release
        uses: actions/create-release@v1
        env:
          GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }} # This token is provided by Actions, you do not need to create your own token
        with:
          tag_name: ${{ github.ref }}
          release_name: Release ${{ github.ref }}
          body: |
            Changes in this Release
            - First Change
            - Second Change
          draft: false
          prerelease: false
```

This will create a [Release](https://help.github.com/en/articles/creating-releases), as well as a [`release` event](https://developer.github.com/v3/activity/events/types/#releaseevent), which could be handled by a third party service, or by GitHub Actions for additional uses, for example the [`@actions/upload-release-asset`](https://www.github.com/actions/upload-release-asset) GitHub Action. This uses the `GITHUB_TOKEN` provided by the [virtual environment](https://help.github.com/en/github/automating-your-workflow-with-github-actions/virtual-environments-for-github-actions#github_token-secret), so no new token is needed.

## Contributing
We would love you to contribute to `@actions/create-release`, pull requests are welcome! Please see the [CONTRIBUTING.md](CONTRIBUTING.md) for more information.

## License
The scripts and documentation in this project are released under the [MIT License](LICENSE)