Skaffold GitHub Action

A flexible GitHub Action for building and deploying applications using Skaffold.

Inputs

Required Inputs

• default-repo: Container registry URL (e.g., 'gcr.io/my-project')

Optional Inputs

• skaffold-version: Skaffold version (default: 'latest')
• command: Skaffold command to run (default: 'run')
• profile: Skaffold profile name
• filename: Path to skaffold.yaml (default: 'skaffold.yaml')
• namespace: Kubernetes namespace
• tag: Custom tag for images
• short-hash: Include git short hash in tag (default: 'false')
• cache-file: Path to cache file
• build-artifacts: Path to build artifacts file
• collect-metrics: Enable/disable Skaffold metrics collection (default: 'false')

Usage Examples

Basic Build

- uses: your-org/skaffold-github-action@main
  with:
    command: 'build'
    default-repo: 'gcr.io/my-project'

Build with Custom Tag and Git Hash

- uses: your-org/skaffold-github-action@main
  with:
    command: 'build'
    profile: 'prod'
    tag: 'release-1.0'
    short-hash: 'true'
    default-repo: 'gcr.io/my-project'

Deploy with Specific Profile and Namespace

- uses: your-org/skaffold-github-action@main
  with:
    command: 'deploy'
    profile: 'prod'
    namespace: 'production'
    default-repo: 'gcr.io/my-project'

Run Diagnostics

- uses: your-org/skaffold-github-action@main
  with:
    command: 'diagnose'
    filename: './path/to/skaffold.yaml'

Complete Workflow Example

name: Build and Deploy
on:
  push:
    branches: [ main ]

jobs:
  deploy:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
        with:
          fetch-depth: 0  # Important for git operations
      
      # Optional: Set up Docker Buildx
      - name: Set up Docker Buildx
        uses: docker/setup-buildx-action@v3
      
      # Login to Container Registry
      - name: Login to Container Registry
        uses: docker/login-action@v3
        with:
          registry: ${{ secrets.CONTAINER_REGISTRY }}
          username: ${{ secrets.REGISTRY_USERNAME }}
          password: ${{ secrets.REGISTRY_PASSWORD }}
      
      # Build Phase
      - uses: your-org/skaffold-github-action@main
        with:
          command: 'build'
          profile: 'prod'
          tag: 'release'
          short-hash: 'true'
          filename: './infrastructure/stage/skaffold.yaml'
          default-repo: ${{ vars.CONTAINER_REGISTRY }}
          collect-metrics: 'false'
          
      # Deploy Phase
      - uses: your-org/skaffold-github-action@main
        with:
          command: 'deploy'
          profile: 'prod'
          namespace: 'production'
          default-repo: ${{ vars.CONTAINER_REGISTRY }}

Common Command Flags

The action supports these Skaffold command flags:

• filename/-f: Set skaffold.yaml location
• profile/-p: Use specific profile
• namespace/-n: Deploy to specific namespace
• tag: Set custom tag
• default-repo: Override default repository
• cache-file: Specify cache file location
• build-artifacts: Specify build artifacts file

Directory Structure Example

your-project/
├── apps/
├── infrastructure/
│   ├── environments/
│   ├── k8s-scripts/
│   ├── manifests/
│   ├── stage/
│   │   └── skaffold.yaml
│   └── scripts/
├── [...]
└── README.md

Environment Variables

The action supports all standard Skaffold environment variables:

• SKAFFOLD_DEFAULT_REPO
• SKAFFOLD_CACHE_FILE
• SKAFFOLD_NAMESPACE
• SKAFFOLD_PROFILE

Tips

Caching

Use GitHub's cache action to speed up builds:

- uses: actions/cache@v3
  with:
    path: ~/.skaffold/
    key: ${{ runner.os }}-skaffold-${{ hashFiles('**/skaffold.yaml') }}

Multiple Profiles

- uses: your-org/skaffold-github-action@main
  with:
    command: 'run'
    profile: 'prod,monitoring'

Debug Mode

- uses: your-org/skaffold-github-action@main
  with:
    command: 'debug'
    profile: 'dev'

Custom Working Directory

- uses: your-org/skaffold-github-action@main
  with:
    command: 'build'
    filename: './services/myapp/skaffold.yaml'

Notes

• The action automatically handles Skaffold installation
• Git short hash in tags is optional and controlled by the short-hash input
• Metrics collection is disabled by default
• The action supports all major Skaffold commands and configurations
• Registry URLs should be stored as GitHub Variables, not Secrets