GitHub Actions Workflows Overview#

This repository uses four main workflows to automate the Helm chart lifecycle and version management. The following sections provide a concise description of what each workflow does without delving into implementation details.

1. release-please.yaml#

Automates semantic versioning and release generation.

• Runs on: every push to the main branch or via workflow_dispatch.

• Key actions:

  1. Executes Release Please to scan commits, update the manifest, and create PRs/tags when required.
  2. Exposes outputs with the impacted charts (paths_released) and their new versions.
  3. If releases are detected, triggers generate-artifact.yaml (one run per chart) through a matrix with max-parallel: 1 to build and publish artifacts.

2. generate-artifact.yaml#

Builds and publishes a Helm chart as either a release or snapshot artifact.

• Invocation method: called via workflow_call with inputs for chart path, version, and publication type (releases or snapshots).

• Main steps:

  1. Retrieves a token from a GitHub App to access the private .firestartr repository with registry configs.
  2. Checks out the charts repository and recursively updates dependencies using helm dep up.
  3. Packages the chart, determines its name and version, then uploads it to (a) an OCI registry or (b) GitHub Pages, based on the HELM_CHARTS_PUBLICATION_TYPE variable.
  4. When publishing to GitHub Pages, indexes the Helm repo and pushes to the configured branch and path.

3. generate-snapshot.yaml#

Automatically generates chart snapshots during Pull Requests.

• Runs on:

  • Every pull_request event when a PR is labeled or updated (labeled, synchronize).
  • Manually via workflow_dispatch, allowing the user to specify a chart.

• What it does:

  1. Detects charts modified in the PR.
  2. Calls generate-artifact.yaml with release_type: snapshots to build and upload a snapshot version to the designated registry.

4. pr-verify.yaml#

Validates chart changes before a Pull Request is merged.

• Runs on: every PR that touches charts/** or manually via workflow_dispatch.

• Validation tasks:

  1. Scope Check — blocks PRs that modify more than one chart at a time.
  2. Dependency Update — refreshes Helm dependencies, including local and remote subcharts.
  3. Linting & Template — executes helm lint --strict and renders templates for inspection.
  4. Yamllint — runs yamllint on rendered output and posts results in a persistent comment using sticky‑pull‑request‑comment.
  5. Fails the workflow if lint errors are found.

Summary Flow#

1. Push to main → release-please.yaml decides if new releases are required.

2. For each chart needing a release → generate-artifact.yaml publishes the new version.

3. Pull Request cycle:

   • pr-verify.yaml validates the PR and leaves feedback.
   • If on‑demand testing is needed, generate-snapshot.yaml builds and uploads a snapshot.