---
title: Trigger a GitHub workflow run
source: https://docs.newrelic.com/docs/workflow-automation/setup-and-configure/actions-catalog/github/github-workflow-run-trigger
---

Triggers a GitHub Actions workflow run via a `workflow_dispatch` event. The target workflow must have a `workflow_dispatch` trigger configured. GitHub returns HTTP 204 No Content on success.

For authentication setup, see [GitHub workflow run actions](https://docs.newrelic.com/docs/workflow-automation/setup-and-configure/actions-catalog/github/github-workflow-run).

## Inputs

The following inputs are available for this action.

| Input          | Type   | Description                                                                                                                                                    | Example                                                 |
| -------------- | ------ | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------- |
| **token**      | String | **Required.** GitHub Personal Access Token stored as a secret. Fine-grained PATs require Actions: write permission. Classic PATs require repo scope.           | `"${{ :secrets:github-PAT-token }}"`                    |
| **owner**      | String | **Required.** The account owner of the repository (user or organization login). Case-insensitive.                                                              | `"octocat"`                                             |
| **repo**       | String | **Required.** Repository name without the .git suffix. Case-insensitive.                                                                                       | `"Hello-World"`                                         |
| **workflowId** | String | **Required.** The workflow file name or numeric workflow ID.                                                                                                   | `"deploy.yml"`                                          |
| **ref**        | String | **Required.** The git reference (branch or tag) to run the workflow on. Must exist in the repository.                                                          | `"main"`                                                |
| **inputs**     | Map    | **Optional.** Key-value input parameters defined in the workflow's `workflow_dispatch` trigger. All values must be strings. Omitted from the request if empty. | `{"environment": "staging", "version": "1.2.3"}`        |
| **selectors**  | List   | **Optional.** JQ selectors to extract values from the response.                                                                                                | `[{"name": "runId", "expression": ".workflow_run_id"}]` |

## Outputs

This action returns the following outputs.

| Output           | Type    | Example                                                                                                                                                                                     |
| ---------------- | ------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **response**     | Object  | ```yaml {   "workflow_run_id": 1,   "run_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octo-org/octo-repo/actions/runs/1",   "html_url": "https://github.com/octo-org/octo-repo/actions/runs/1" } ``` |
| **success**      | Boolean | `success: true | false`                                                                                                                                                                     |
| **errorMessage** | String  | Contains the GitHub API error response body. Common errors: 404 (repo or workflow not found), 422 (ref does not exist or `workflow_dispatch` event not configured).                         |

## Example

| Workflow example                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                |
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| ```yaml name: trigger_github_workflow description: Trigger a GitHub Actions workflow run steps:   - name: trigger_run     type: action     action: gitHub.workflowRun.trigger     version: 1     inputs:       token: ${{ :secrets:github-PAT-token }}       owner: your_user_name       repo: test-workflow       workflowId: deploy.yml       ref: main       inputs:         environment: staging         version: "1.2.3"     next: end ``` |