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name update-github-action
description Add or update a GitHub Actions step — fetch the latest release tag and its commit SHA, write the pinned uses line with a version comment
argument-hint <owner/repo> [tag]

Update GitHub Action

Pin a GitHub Actions step to an exact commit SHA with a version comment.

Description

All uses: lines in .github/workflows/ must be pinned to a commit SHA, not a tag. Tags are mutable — a maintainer can silently move them to a different commit. A SHA is immutable.

The required format is:

uses: actions/checkout@df4cb1c069e1874edd31b4311f1884172cec0e10 # v6.0.3

Dependabot is configured (.github/dependabot.yml) to open daily PRs that keep these SHAs current. When you add a new action or need to update one manually — e.g. because you are writing a new workflow step — follow the steps below.

Step 1 — find the latest release tag

gh api repos/<owner>/<repo>/releases/latest --jq '.tag_name'

Example:

gh api repos/actions/cache/releases/latest --jq '.tag_name'
# → v5.0.5

If the action has no GitHub releases (e.g. dtolnay/rust-toolchain), use git/refs/tags to list tags instead:

gh api repos/dtolnay/rust-toolchain/git/refs/tags --jq '.[-1].ref'
# → refs/tags/master  (this action uses a different convention — see below)

Step 2 — resolve the commit SHA

gh api repos/<owner>/<repo>/git/ref/tags/<tag> --jq '.object.sha'

Example:

gh api repos/actions/cache/git/ref/tags/v5.0.5 --jq '.object.sha'
# → 27d5ce7f107fe9357f9df03efb73ab90386fccae

Annotated tag check: if the returned SHA is the SHA of a tag object rather than a commit (both are 40-hex strings; you cannot tell from length alone), dereference it:

TYPE=$(gh api repos/<owner>/<repo>/git/ref/tags/<tag> --jq '.object.type')
# if TYPE == "tag", dereference:
gh api repos/<owner>/<repo>/git/tags/<sha-from-step-above> --jq '.object.sha'

Most release tags are lightweight and the first SHA is the commit SHA directly. When in doubt, paste the SHA into https://github.com/<owner>/<repo>/commit/<sha> — if the page loads, it is a commit SHA.

Step 3 — write the uses: line

Combine the SHA and the tag into a single line:

uses: actions/cache@27d5ce7f107fe9357f9df03efb73ab90386fccae # v5.0.5

Rules:

  • No space between @ and the SHA.
  • The comment is # <tag> exactly as returned by Step 1 — do not normalise (keep the v prefix).
  • Update every occurrence of the same action across all workflow files.

Special case — dtolnay/rust-toolchain

This action does not follow standard GitHub releases and does not have a per-version tag. The convention used in this repo is to pin it to whatever SHA master currently resolves to and comment # v1 stable:

gh api repos/dtolnay/rust-toolchain/git/ref/heads/master --jq '.object.sha'
uses: dtolnay/rust-toolchain@<sha> # v1 stable

Always add toolchain: stable under with: — this action has no default and will error without it:

- uses: dtolnay/rust-toolchain@e97e2d8cc328f1b50210efc529dca0028893a2d9 # v1 stable
  with:
    toolchain: stable
    components: rustfmt, clippy   # add only the components you need

Current pinned actions (reference)

Action Tag Workflows
actions/checkout v6.0.3 all three
dtolnay/rust-toolchain v1 stable pr-check.yml, integration.yml, release.yml
actions/cache v5.0.5 pr-check.yml, integration.yml
taiki-e/install-action v2.81.4 pr-check.yml
codecov/codecov-action v6.0.1 pr-check.yml
actions/upload-artifact v7.0.1 release.yml
actions/download-artifact v8.0.1 release.yml

When adding a new step that reuses one of these, copy the SHA from the table above rather than re-fetching (Dependabot keeps them current). Fetch a fresh SHA only when adding an action not already in the table.

Checklist

  • Latest release tag fetched with gh api .../releases/latest
  • Commit SHA fetched with gh api .../git/ref/tags/<tag>
  • Annotated tag dereferenced if needed (confirmed SHA loads as a commit on GitHub)
  • uses: line written as owner/repo@<sha> # <tag>
  • All occurrences across all workflow files updated to the same SHA
  • dtolnay/rust-toolchain has toolchain: stable under with: