In GitHub Actions, how can I reuse workflows across multiple repositories?

[Alen-Kendrik]

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I’m setting up GitHub Actions CI/CD pipelines for several repositories in my organization.

Right now, each repository has almost the same workflow file (build, test, lint, etc.), and I’d like to avoid repeating the same YAML code in every repo.

I read that it might be possible to create reusable workflows or templates, but I’m not fully sure how to configure them or how to reference them across different repositories.

Can someone explain the correct way to:

• Define a reusable workflow in one repo
• Call or use it from another repo
• Any limitations or best practices I should know

Thanks in advance! 🙏

[Gihchathur]

You can reuse workflows by creating a reusable workflow in one repository and then calling it from others.

1. Define the reusable workflow in the source repo, e.g.:

# .github/workflows/ci.yml
on:
  workflow_call:   # 👈 makes it reusable
jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - run: echo "Running shared build..."

2. Call it from another repo:

  on:
    push:
      branches: [ main ]
  
  jobs:
    call-ci:
      uses: org-name/repo-name/.github/workflows/ci.yml@main

3. Notes / Best Practices

• The reusable workflow must have workflow_call in its trigger.
• Reference it with org/repo/path@ref (branch, tag, or commit SHA).
• Keep shared workflows in a central repo (e.g., org/actions-workflows) for easier maintenance.

[Alen-Kendrik]

Great, Thanks for your reply!

[raja-anbazhagan]

Its just annoying to have to see empty skeleton workflows on each repositories. It would be good if there was settings such as rulesets where PR workflows can be set at org level.

[roshanthm]

✅ Step 1: Create a reusable workflow
In a central repository (for example, .github/workflows/reusable.yml):

name: Reusable Workflow

on:
workflow_call:
inputs:
node-version:
required: true
type: string

jobs:
build:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v4
- uses: actions/setup-node@v4
with:
node-version: ${{ inputs.node-version }}
- run: npm install
- run: npm test

✅ Step 2: Call the reusable workflow from another repository

name: Use Reusable Workflow

on:
push:
branches: [main]

jobs:
call-workflow:
uses: your-org/your-repo/.github/workflows/reusable.yml@main
with:
node-version: "18"

The reusable workflow repository must be public or in the same organization (with proper permissions).
You can also pass secrets securely using secrets:.

[raja-anbazhagan]

Yes. I get this. But the step 2 isn't necessary if there is a global setting on the Org Ruleset that just says RUN these workflows for all pushes on these matching branches and repos.