Trigger a workflow from another workflow with GitHub Actions

Note: if you want to trigger a workflow from a workflow present in the same repository, you do not need to create a GitHub App and can skip to Step 3 (and remove the token input from step 4, so that the default ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }} is used).

Step 1: Create the GitHub App

Go to your GitHub account settings and create a new GitHub App.
Generate a private key for the app and note down the App ID.
Install the GitHub App on the repository where you want to trigger the workflow.

Step 2: Store the credentials

Add the app_id and app_private_key as secrets in your repository settings. Name them APP_ID and APP_PRIVATE_KEY.

Step 3: Create the triggered workflow

Create a workflow file (e.g., .github/workflows/triggered-workflow.yml) that will be triggered by another workflow.

name: Triggered Workflow

on:
  workflow_dispatch:

jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Checkout code
        uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Run a script
        run: echo "This is the triggered workflow"

Step 4: Create the triggering workflow

Create another workflow file (e.g., .github/workflows/triggering-workflow.yml) that will trigger the above workflow.

name: Triggering Workflow

on:
  push:
    branches:
      - main

jobs:
  trigger:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Generate GitHub App token
        id: generate_token
        uses: actions/create-github-app-token@v1
        with:
          app_id: ${{ secrets.APP_ID }}
          private_key: ${{ secrets.APP_PRIVATE_KEY }}

      - name: Trigger another workflow
        uses: benc-uk/workflow-dispatch@v1
        with:
          workflow: triggered-workflow.yml
          token: ${{ steps.generate_token.outputs.token }}
          repo: my-org/triggered-repo
          ref: main

Explanation

Triggered Workflow:
- This workflow (triggered-workflow.yml) is set to run on the workflow_dispatch event, which allows it to be triggered manually or by another workflow.
Triggering Workflow:
- This workflow (triggering-workflow.yml) runs on a push to the main branch.
- It uses the actions/create-github-app-token ↗ action to generate a GitHub App token using the app_id and app_private_key stored in the repository secrets.
- It uses the benc-uk/workflow-dispatch ↗ action to trigger the triggered-workflow.yml by dispatching a workflow dispatch event.
- The workflow input specifies the workflow file to be triggered.
- The token input uses the generated GitHub App token.
- The repo input specify the repository where the event should be dispatched.
- The ref input specifies the branch or tag to use for the triggered workflow run.

Note

Ensure the GitHub App has the necessary permissions to dispatch events and is installed on the repository.