Running actions in another directory

Question

I've just started exploring Github actions however I've found myself placing a command in multiple places.

I have a PHP project where the composer.json is not in the root, my structure looks like:

my-project:
    readme.md
    app:
        composer.json

Obviously there is more to it and there is a reason why, but my composer.json sits in a subdirectory called 'app'. As a result in my workflow, I have to cd into that folder every time to run a command:

name: CI

on: [push]

jobs:
  phpunit:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v1
      - name: Setup Symfony
        run: |
          cd app
          cp .env.dev .env
      - name: Install Composer Dependencies
        run: |
          cd app
          composer install --prefer-dist
      - name: Run Tests
        run: |
          cd app
          php bin/phpunit

How can I remove the cd app in every stage?

score 366 · Accepted Answer · edited Apr 11 '21 at 08:48

Update: It's now possible to set a working-directory default for a job. See this answer.

There is an option to set a working-directory on a step, but not for multiple steps or a whole job. I'm fairly sure this option only works for script steps, not action steps with uses.

https://docs.github.com/en/actions/reference/workflow-syntax-for-github-actions#jobsjob_idstepsrun

Using working-directory, your workflow would look like this. It's still quite verbose but maybe a bit cleaner.

name: CI

on: [push]

jobs:
  phpunit:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v1
      - name: Setup Symfony
        working-directory: ./app
        run: cp .env.dev .env
      - name: Install Composer Dependencies
        working-directory: ./app
        run: composer install --prefer-dist
      - name: Run Tests
        working-directory: ./app
        run: php bin/phpunit

Alternatively, you can run it all in one step so that you only need to specify working-directory once.

name: CI

on: [push]

jobs:
  phpunit:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v1
      - name: Setup and run tests
        working-directory: ./app
        run: |
          cp .env.dev .env
          composer install --prefer-dist
          php bin/phpunit

Is it possible to set different `working-directory` for different steps? — idkman, Jul 28 '22 at 17:20
@idkman yes, you can add working-directory: ./app to every step. Thats exactly what this answer is about :) — Pfinnn, Oct 06 '22 at 15:35
if you are using `uses` such as the UploadArtifact action. what is the solution for this edgecase? — Kay, Aug 16 '23 at 13:46

Tomas · Answer 2 · 2020-08-04T10:15:56.960

290

You can now add a default working directory for all steps in a job: docs

For the example here, this would be:

name: CI

on: [push]

jobs:
  phpunit:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    defaults:
      run:
        working-directory: ./app
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v1
      - name: Setup Symfony
        run: .env.dev .env
      - name: Install Composer Dependencies
        run: composer install --prefer-dist
      - name: Run Tests
        run: php bin/phpunit

Caveat: this only applies to run steps; eg you'll still need to add the subdirectory to with parameters of uses steps, if required.

edited Aug 04 '20 at 10:15

answered Jul 27 '20 at 19:43

Tomas

3,086
2
15
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38

Do you know how to use `working-directory` with `uses`? As you mentioned, do you have any example using `with` and `uses`? Thanks – theprogrammer Mar 03 '21 at 18:09
1

Which action do you `uses` and does it have any arguments (specified with `with`) that need given a path? If so, these paths must be given relative to the default root dir, and not the `default.run.working-directory`. – Tomas Mar 10 '21 at 11:58
4

@theprogrammer if you use `uses` the author of the package has to specifically support `working-directory` or implement something similar for their purpose and context. As far as I have seen, most dont. – perelin Apr 13 '22 at 12:51
Can we use variable in working-directory eg ./app/$SOME_DIR? – Sufiyan Ansari May 13 '22 at 09:50
For the FirebaseHosting push, you can add to `with:` following field `entryPoint: "./someDirectory` – JoKr Feb 16 '23 at 08:47

score 69 · Answer 3 · answered Dec 09 '21 at 12:33

69

Hope this will help somebody

name: CI

on:
 ...

defaults:
 run:
  working-directory: ./app

jobs:
 ...

answered Dec 09 '21 at 12:33

Vlad R

1,851
15
13

1

thank you, you saved my day because previous answers didn't work for me – a_sarana Apr 10 '23 at 11:04

Running actions in another directory

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