Arbeidstilsynet/action-check-changes

Action to check for changes to files.

The main mode is automatically comparing to last successful workflow run in the same branch. This can be used for safe continuous delivery/deployment taking into consideration previous runs.

This action can also do direct comparison to a chosen base-ref, skipping the lookup of workflow runs.

Resolution order for base commit:

1. base-ref if provided.
2. Last successful run of workflow-file (explicit or auto-detected).
3. Repository root (first) commit.

Requirements

Requires full commit history. When configuring actions/checkout, make sure to set fetch-depth: 0.

The job must have permission for actions: read for the action to retrieve run history through the GitHub API.

Inputs

Name	Required	Default	Description
include	Yes		Newline separated Git pathspecs (globs) to include in the diff scope (e.g. src/, app/**/*.ts).
exclude	No	(empty)	Newline separated Git pathspecs to exclude. Each is applied as :(exclude)<pattern>.
workflow-file	No	(auto-detect)	Workflow filename whose last successful run determines the base commit. If omitted, auto-detected from GITHUB_WORKFLOW_REF; if none found falls back to repo root commit.
base-ref	No	(empty)	Explicit Git ref (commit SHA, branch, tag, or remote ref like origin/main) to use as base. When set, workflow run lookup is skipped.

Outputs

Name	Description
changes_detected	true if any included (and not excluded) paths changed between base and head.
base_sha	The base commit SHA used for the diff (last successful run’s head, or fallback).
head_sha	The current commit SHA.
changed_files	Newline separated list of changed files after exclusions. URL-escaped newlines in raw output context.

Usage

on:
  push:
    branches:
      - main

jobs:
  check:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    permissions:
      contents: read
      actions: read
    outputs:
      changed: ${{ steps.changes.outputs.changes_detected }}
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v5
        with:
          fetch-depth: 0

      - uses: Arbeidstilsynet/action-check-changes@v1
        id: changes
        with:
          include: |
            apps/web
            .github/workflows/deploy.yml
          exclude: |
            **/README.md
            apps/web/docs/

  deploy:
    needs: check
    if: needs.check.outputs.changed == 'true'
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - run: echo "insert deploy here"

Using an explicit base ref (e.g. always compare to main)

jobs:
  check:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v5
        with:
          fetch-depth: 0

      - uses: Arbeidstilsynet/action-check-changes@v1
        id: changes
        with:
          base-ref: origin/main
          include: |
            apps/web
            .github/workflows/ci.yml

Versioning

This repository uses a simple versioning system based on the VERSION file. When you update the VERSION file and push to main, a Git tag with that version is created or updated automatically by the workflow. If you make breaking changes to the action, bump the version and update CHANGELOG.md.