Question on Changing Version#

[sameerseekala1]

Hi,

This is question on changing the node version without modifying the workflow.

Can we store version# in repo variable and access it in the workflow like below? If not is there a way to pass node version to the workflow dynamically? Because it is tedious to update all the workflows in all branches whenever the version changes.

name: Setup Node
uses: actions/setup-node@${{ vars.NODEVERSION }}

Please suggest.

[aparnajyothi-y]

Hi @sameerseekala1, Thank you for creating this issue and we will look into it :)

[silent-sour]

This is already part of the existing API.

The @ on the action is the tagged version of the action to use. The node version is set in a with parameter.

Syntax:

- uses: action/setup-node@v4
  with:
    node-version: ${{ vars.NODEVERSION }}

[aparnajyothi-y]

Hello @sameerseekala1, Thank you for creating the issue once again.
Yes, we can set up a dynamic version number for the Node.js setup in your GitHub Actions workflows. However, it isn't done via vars, but with env or secrets. Below is the reference syntax

name: Setup Node
env:
NODE_VERSION: 14.x

jobs:
build:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
- name: Setup Node.js ${{ env.NODE_VERSION }}
uses: actions/setup-node@v4
with:
node-version: ${{ env.NODE_VERSION }}

The Node_Version environment variable is defined at the workflow level and can be accessed in the node-version input of the actions/setup-node action. To store the node version outside of the workflow file, replace env.NODE_VERSION with secrets.NODE_VERSION.

Please let us know in case of any further concerns :)

[sameerseekala1]

@aparnajyothi-y Thanks for your response. Does it work for 'uses' attribute as well like below?

- name: Setup Node.js
  uses: actions/setup-node@${{ secrets.SETUP_VERSION }}
  with:
    node-version: ${{ secrets.NODE_VERSION }}

[aparnajyothi-y]

Hello @sameerseekala1, you cannot directly use secrets in the 'uses' field. Instead, secrets are typically used within the 'env' or 'with' sections of a job step. The 'uses' field is reserved for specifying an action to execute as a part of your job step. The value for 'uses' should be the designated action's name. Feel free to reach out if you have any more questions.

[aparnajyothi-y]

Hello @sameerseekala1, Please confirm the above information clarified your question. Thank you in advance.

[sameerseekala1]

Yes @aparnajyothi-y thanks for clarifying.

[aparnajyothi-y]

Thank you @sameerseekala1 for the confirmation and proceeding to close this issue.