ref_override

Author: ryan-williams

README.md

@@ -81,6 +81,7 @@ jobs:
 | Input | Description | Required | Default |
 |-------|-------------|----------|---------|
 | `target_repository` | The repository to search for (e.g., `owner/repo`) | Yes | - |
+| `ref_override` | Explicit ref to use (bypasses extraction) | No | - |
 | `default_ref` | Ref to use if extraction fails | No | Target repo's default branch |
 | `fail_on_multiple_refs` | Whether to fail if multiple different refs are found | No | `true` |
 
@@ -89,7 +90,7 @@ jobs:
 | Output | Description | Example |
 |--------|-------------|---------|
 | `ref` | The extracted ref or default | `v1.2.3`, `main`, `abc123` |
-| `extraction_method` | How the ref was determined | `extracted`, `default`, `error` |
+| `extraction_method` | How the ref was determined | `override`, `same-repo`, `extracted`, `default`, `error` |
 
 ## How It Works
 

action.yml

@@ -9,6 +9,10 @@ inputs:
   target_repository:
     description: 'The repository containing the called workflow (e.g., owner/repo)'
     required: true
+  ref_override:
+    description: 'Explicit ref to use (bypasses extraction when provided)'
+    required: false
+    default: ''
   default_ref:
     description: 'Default ref to use if extraction fails (if not provided, fetches target repository default branch)'
     required: false
@@ -37,8 +41,31 @@ runs:
       run: |
         echo "::group::Extract Called Workflow Ref"
         echo "Target repository: ${{ inputs.target_repository }}"
+        echo "Ref override: ${{ inputs.ref_override }}"
         echo "Fail on multiple refs: ${{ inputs.fail_on_multiple_refs }}"
 
+        # Check for explicit ref override
+        if [ -n "${{ inputs.ref_override }}" ]; then
+          echo "✅ Using explicit ref override: ${{ inputs.ref_override }}"
+          echo "ref=${{ inputs.ref_override }}" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+          echo "method=override" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+          echo "::endgroup::"
+          exit 0
+        fi
+
+        # Check if running from within the target repository
+        if [[ "${{ github.repository }}" == "${{ inputs.target_repository }}" ]]; then
+          echo "✅ Running from within target repository, using current ref"
+          REF="${{ github.ref }}"
+          # Extract just the ref name (remove refs/heads/ or refs/tags/)
+          REF="${REF#refs/heads/}"
+          REF="${REF#refs/tags/}"
+          echo "ref=$REF" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+          echo "method=same-repo" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+          echo "::endgroup::"
+          exit 0
+        fi
+
         # Determine default ref
         if [ -n "${{ inputs.default_ref }}" ]; then
           DEFAULT_REF="${{ inputs.default_ref }}"