How to Upload Files to a GitHub Release with GitHub Actions

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Live Demo

name: Publish to GitHub Release
on:
  push:
    tags:
      - '*'

jobs:
  publish:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v3
      - name: Build
        run: cargo build --release
      - name: Upload binaries to release
        uses: svenstaro/upload-release-action@v2
        with:
          repo_token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
          file: target/release/mything
          asset_name: mything
          tag: ${{ github.ref }}
          overwrite: true
          body: "This is my release text"

Upload Release Action

This action allows you to upload selected files to a GitHub release upon tagging.

What is upload-release-action?​

upload-release-action will upload selected files as assets of a GitHub release in case a new tag is created. The action also features multiple operating system support and options for tuning the release settings.

How to Use file​

The file input is required to specify which file to upload. Here's how to configure it:

with:
  file: target/release/mything

You can also use glob patterns by setting file_glob to true:

with:
  file: target/release/my*
  file_glob: true

How to Customize the Release​

You can modify release settings such as prerelease, draft, or release_name. For example, to mark a release as a draft:

with:
  draft: true

To explicitly set the release name:

with:
  release_name: 'My Custom Release Name'

How to Set Overwrite Mode​

If you want to overwrite an existing asset with the same name, set the overwrite input to true:

with:
  overwrite: true

How to Promote a Pre-Release to a Release​

You can promote an existing pre-release to a release by enabling the promote option:

with:
  promote: true

Example: Creating a Release in a Foreign Repository​

To create a release in a different GitHub repository, set the repo_name input and provide a personal access token:

with:
  repo_name: owner/repository-name
  repo_token: ${{ secrets.YOUR_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN }}
  file: target/release/mything
  tag: ${{ github.ref }}

How to Use a File for the Release Body​

To dynamically populate the release body from a file in your repository, use the following example:

- name: Read release.md and use it as a body of new release
  id: read_release
  shell: bash
  run: |
    r=$(cat path/to/release.md)
    r="${r//'%'/'%25'}"
    r="${r//$'\n'/'%0A'}"
    r="${r//$'\r'/'%0D'}"
    echo "RELEASE_BODY=$r" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT

- name: Upload Binaries to Release
  uses: svenstaro/upload-release-action@v2
  with:
    repo_token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
    tag: ${{ github.ref }}
    body: |
      ${{ steps.read_release.outputs.RELEASE_BODY }}

Outputs​

The upload-release-action provides an output variable, browser_download_url, which contains the public download URL of the uploaded asset.

steps:
  - name: Upload binaries to release
    uses: svenstaro/upload-release-action@v2
    with:
      repo_token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
      file: target/release/mything

  - run: echo "Download URL: ${{ steps.upload.outputs.browser_download_url }}"

This action ensures that your tagged releases are always up-to-date with the correct binaries or assets, supporting both simple and complex workflows.

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