GITHUB_ACTIONS_ONLY_SETUP.md

GitHub Actions-Only Setup (No Webhooks Required)

This approach uses GitHub Actions to push data to your app, avoiding the need for webhooks.

How it Works

Instead of GitHub pushing to your app via webhooks, your GitHub Action will:

1. Run on PR/check events
2. Scrape the PR data
3. POST it to your API endpoint

Setup Steps

1. Create a Personal Access Token

1. Go to https://github.com/settings/tokens/new
2. Create a token with repo scope
3. Copy the token

2. Fork the Repository (if needed)

If you can't add Actions to vets-api directly:

1. Fork department-of-veterans-affairs/vets-api to your account
2. Set up Actions in your fork
3. It will still track the upstream PRs

3. Add the GitHub Action

Create .github/workflows/pr-dashboard-sync.yml in YOUR fork:

name: Sync PR Data to Dashboard

on:
  schedule:
    # Run every 30 minutes during business hours
    - cron: '0,30 13-22 * * 1-5'
  
  # Also run on PR events in your fork
  pull_request:
    types: [opened, closed, reopened, synchronize]
  
  # Manual trigger
  workflow_dispatch:

jobs:
  sync:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    
    steps:
    - name: Checkout
      uses: actions/checkout@v4
    
    - name: Get PR Data
      id: pr_data
      uses: actions/github-script@v7
      with:
        github-token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
        script: |
          // Get all open PRs from upstream
          const owner = 'department-of-veterans-affairs';
          const repo = 'vets-api';
          
          const prs = await github.rest.pulls.list({
            owner,
            repo,
            state: 'open',
            per_page: 100
          });
          
          // Get check status for each PR
          const prData = await Promise.all(prs.data.map(async (pr) => {
            const checks = await github.rest.checks.listForRef({
              owner,
              repo,
              ref: pr.head.sha
            });
            
            return {
              number: pr.number,
              title: pr.title,
              author: pr.user.login,
              head_sha: pr.head.sha,
              html_url: pr.html_url,
              created_at: pr.created_at,
              updated_at: pr.updated_at,
              draft: pr.draft,
              checks: checks.data
            };
          }));
          
          return prData;
    
    - name: Send to Dashboard API
      env:
        DASHBOARD_API_URL: ${{ secrets.DASHBOARD_API_URL }}
        DASHBOARD_API_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.DASHBOARD_API_TOKEN }}
      run: |
        curl -X POST "$DASHBOARD_API_URL/api/v1/github_actions/sync" \
          -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
          -H "Authorization: Bearer $DASHBOARD_API_TOKEN" \
          -d '${{ steps.pr_data.outputs.result }}'

4. Add Secrets to Your Fork

In your fork's settings → Secrets:

• DASHBOARD_API_URL: https://ai-dashboards.onrender.com
• DASHBOARD_API_TOKEN: Your admin token

5. Create API Endpoint

Add this endpoint to handle GitHub Actions data:

# app/controllers/api/v1/github_actions_controller.rb
class Api::V1::GithubActionsController < ApplicationController
  before_action :authenticate_github_action
  
  def sync
    pr_data = JSON.parse(request.body.read)
    
    pr_data.each do |pr_info|
      pr = PullRequest.find_or_initialize_by(number: pr_info['number'])
      pr.update!(
        title: pr_info['title'],
        author: pr_info['author'],
        head_sha: pr_info['head_sha'],
        url: pr_info['html_url'],
        pr_created_at: pr_info['created_at'],
        pr_updated_at: pr_info['updated_at'],
        draft: pr_info['draft']
      )
      
      # Process checks
      FetchPullRequestChecksJob.perform_later(pr.id)
    end
    
    head :ok
  end
  
  private
  
  def authenticate_github_action
    token = request.headers['Authorization']&.split(' ')&.last
    head :unauthorized unless token == ENV['ADMIN_TOKEN']
  end
end

Benefits

• No webhooks needed
• No organizational approval required
• Runs in YOUR account/fork
• Still tracks all upstream PRs
• Free tier: 2,000 minutes/month