GitHub Actions Workshop

Master GitHub Actions with hands-on labs and exercises. Learn how to automate workflows, run tests, deploy applications, and more using GitHub's powerful automation platform. This repository has everything you need to get started with continuous integration and continuous deployment.

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Lab: ASP.NET Web App Upload Artifact

Introduction

In this lab, you will create a GitHub Actions workflow to upload artifact generated during the build process of an ASP.NET Web Application. This lab demonstrates the use of the actions/upload-artifact action to store build outputs for later use.

Duration: 15-20 minutes

Prerequisites

Before starting this lab, ensure that:

  1. You have completed the ASP.NET Web App Build with Ubuntu Runner lab.
  2. The ASP.NET Web App Build on Ubuntu Runner Workflow is functional and capable of generating build artifact.

Refer to the ASP.NET Web App Upload Artifact Starter file for the initial workflow content.

Instructions

Step 1: Create a YAML Workflow Using the Starter File

  1. Refer to the ASP.NET Web App Upload Artifact Starter File.

  2. Copy the content of the starter file:

    name: ASP.NET Web App Upload Artifact

on:
  push:
    paths:
      - '.github/workflows/aspnet-webapp-build-ubuntu-runner.yml'
      - 'src/dotnet/WebApp/**'
  workflow_dispatch:

jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    defaults:
      run:
        working-directory: ./src/dotnet/WebApp
    steps:
      - name: Checkout Code
        uses: actions/checkout@v4.1.7

      - name: Set up .NET Core
        uses: actions/setup-dotnet@v4.0.1
        with:
          dotnet-version: '8.x'

      - name: Build Code
        run: dotnet build --configuration Release

      - name: Publish Code
        run: dotnet publish -c Release --property:PublishDir="$/webapp"
  3. In your repository, create a new workflow file under .github/workflows and name it aspnet-webapp-upload-artifact.yml.
  4. Paste the copied content into the new file.
  5. Commit and push the changes to your repository.

Step 2: Add the Upload Artifact Step

  1. Open the aspnet-webapp-build-upload-artifact.yml file in your repository.

  2. Add a step to upload the generated artifact after the Publish Code step. Update the jobs section to include the following:

    - name: Upload Artifact
  uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4.3.6
  with:
    name: aspnet-web-app # Artifact name
    path: $/webapp # Path to the published artifact
    • Artifact name: The name assigned to the artifact (aspnet-web-app in this case).
    • Path: Specifies the directory containing the build output.

Step 3: Verify the Complete Workflow File

Ensure your aspnet-webapp-upload-artifact.yml file matches the following:

name: ASP.NET Web App - Upload Artifact

on:
  push:
    paths:
      - '.github/workflows/aspnet-webapp-upload-artifact.yml'
      - 'src/dotnet/WebApp/**'
  workflow_dispatch:

jobs:
  build-and-upload:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    defaults:
      run:
        working-directory: ./src/dotnet/WebApp
    steps:
      - name: Checkout Code
        uses: actions/checkout@v4.1.7

      - name: Set up .NET Core
        uses: actions/setup-dotnet@v4.0.1
        with:
          dotnet-version: '8.x'

      - name: Build Code
        run: dotnet build --configuration Release

      - name: Publish Code
        run: dotnet publish -c Release --property:PublishDir="$/webapp"

      - name: Upload Artifact
        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4.3.6
        with:
          name: aspnet-web-app
          path: $/webapp

Step 4: Commit and Push the Workflow File

  1. Save the changes to the aspnet-webapp-upload-artifact.yml file.
  2. Commit the updated file with a descriptive message, e.g., "Added workflow for uploading build artifact".
  3. Push the changes to your repository.

Step 5: Trigger and Run the Workflow

  1. Navigate to the Actions tab in your GitHub repository.
  2. Manually trigger the ASP.NET Web App - Upload Artifact workflow via the workflow_dispatch event.
  3. Monitor the workflow run and ensure the build-and-upload job executes successfully.

Step 6: Verify the Uploaded Artifact

  1. Once the workflow completes, go to the Artifact section on the summary page of the workflow run.
  2. Confirm that the aspnet-web-app artifact is listed.
  3. Download the artifact, extract it locally, and verify that it matches the expected output.

Summary

In this lab, you extended the ASP.NET Web App build workflow to upload artifact using the actions/upload-artifact action. You learned how to configure and trigger a new workflow for uploading build outputs and verified the artifact in GitHub Actions.

This version maintains the focus on the upload artifact functionality, with clear instructions for creating a new workflow dependent on the build workflow. Let me know if further adjustments are needed!