Packaging workflow using actions does not upload to latest release

[lordofscripts]

Why are you starting this discussion?

Question

What GitHub Actions topic or product is this about?

Workflow Configuration

Discussion Details

I have a workflow that runs successfully (no errors produced) by generating an RPM and DEB packages for the latest repository release tag. However, when it finishes the action does not deposit the generated RPM/DEB packages into the latest release, they simply vanish.

Pre-conditions

• Build is successful
• Tag exists
• Release exists

Workflow

# DEB & RPM Build & Packaging of GO project v1.0

name: Debian and RPM Packaging

on:
  workflow_run:
    workflows: [Multi platform Release]
    types:
      - completed

permissions:
  contents: read
  pull-requests: read

env:
  DIST: clys
  ARCH: x86_64
  PKG_NAME: caesarx

jobs:
  success:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    if: ${{ github.event.workflow_run.conclusion == 'success' }}
    steps:
      - run: echo 'The Release workflow completed successfully.'
  failure:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    if: ${{ github.event.workflow_run.conclusion == 'failure' }}
    steps:
      - run: echo 'The Release workflow failed.'
  exit:
    needs: failure
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - run: exit 1

  extractTag:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    outputs:
      my_version: ${{ steps.tagStep.outputs.my_version }}
    steps:
      - name: Checkout repository
        uses: actions/checkout@v4    
      - name: Extract version from version.go
        id: tagStep
        run: echo "my_version=$(grep -m 1 'MANUAL_VERSION' version.go | sed -E 's/.*\"([^\"]+)\".*/\1/')" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT

  use-tag:
    needs: extractTag
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Use the tag name
        run: echo "The tag name is ${{ needs.extractTag.outputs.my_version }}"

  build_tarball:
    name: Build source archive
    needs: extractTag
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Checkout repository
        uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Set up Go
        uses: actions/setup-go@v5
        with:
          go-version: '1.25'

      - name: Install dependencies
        run: |
          go get .

      - name: Build
        run: go build -v ./...        

      - name: Debug Info
        run: |
          echo "Current directory: $(pwd)"
          echo "Environment variables: $(printenv)"
          echo "Tag Name: $(TAG_NAME) or ${{ needs.extractTag.outputs.my_version }}"
          go version

# - name: Create source archive
#   run: tar -cvf ${{ env.PKG_NAME }}-${{ github.ref_name }}.tar.gz *

# - name: Upload source archive as artifact
#   uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
#   with:
#     name: ${{ env.PKG_NAME }}-${{ github.ref_name }}.tar.gz
#     path: ${{ env.PKG_NAME }}-${{ github.ref_name }}.tar.gz

  build_rpm:
    name: Build .rpm package
    needs: [build_tarball, extractTag]
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Checkout repository
        uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Replace version in RPM spec so correct source is downloaded when building RPM
        run: sed -Ei "s/(^Version:[[:space:]]*).*/\1${{ needs.extractTag.outputs.my_version }}/" distrib/Fedora/${{ env.PKG_NAME }}.spec

      - name: Run rpmbuild on RPM spec to produce package
        id: rpm
        uses: naveenrajm7/rpmbuild@master
        with:
          spec_file: distrib/Fedora/${{ env.PKG_NAME }}.spec

      - name: Get Latest Release
        id: get_release
        run: |
          RELEASE_JSON=$(gh release list --repo ${{ github.repository }} --limit 1 --json name)
          echo "::set-output name=release_name::$(echo $RELEASE_JSON | jq -r '.[0].name')"
        env:
          GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}

      - name: Upload .rpm package as artifact
        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
        with:
          name: ${{ env.PKG_NAME }}-${{ needs.extractTag.outputs.my_version }}-1.${{ env.DIST }}.${{ env.ARCH }}.rpm
          path: rpmbuild/RPMS/${{ env.ARCH }}/*.rpm

      - name: Attach to Existing Release
        uses: softprops/action-gh-release@v2
        if: github.ref_type == 'tag'
        with:
          tag_name: ${{ steps.get_release.outputs.release_name }}
          files: rpmbuild/RPMS/${{ env.ARCH }}/*.rpm
        env:
          GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}

  build_deb:
    name: Build .deb package
    needs: [build_rpm, extractTag]
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Download .rpm artifact
        uses: actions/download-artifact@v4
        id: download
        with:
          name: ${{ env.PKG_NAME }}-${{ needs.extractTag.outputs.my_version }}-1.${{ env.DIST }}.${{ env.ARCH }}.rpm

      - name: find .
        run: find .

      - name: Convert .rpm to .deb
        run: |
          sudo apt install -y alien
          sudo alien -k --verbose --to-deb *.rpm

      - name: find .
        run: find . -exec readlink -f {} \;

      - name: Get Latest Release
        id: get_release
        run: |
          RELEASE_JSON=$(gh release list --repo ${{ github.repository }} --limit 1 --json name)
          echo "::set-output name=release_name::$(echo $RELEASE_JSON | jq -r '.[0].name')"
        env:
          GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}

      - name: Upload .deb package as artifact
        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
        with:
          name: ${{ env.PKG_NAME }}-${{ needs.extractTag.outputs.my_version }}-1.${{ env.DIST }}.${{ env.ARCH }}.deb
          path: ${{ env.PKG_NAME }}*.deb

      - name: Attach to Existing Release
        uses: softprops/action-gh-release@v2
        if: github.ref_type == 'tag'
        with:
          tag_name: ${{ steps.get_release.outputs.release_name }}
          files: ${{ env.PKG_NAME }}*.deb
        env:
          GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}

# release:
#   name: Create release with all assets
#   needs: [build_tarball, build_rpm, build_deb]
#   runs-on: ubuntu-latest
#   steps:
#     - name: Download .rpm artifact
#       uses: actions/download-artifact@v4

#     - name: find .
#       run: find .

#     - name: Release
#       uses: softprops/action-gh-release@v1
#       with:
#         files: |
#           ${{ env.PKG_NAME }}-${{ github.ref_name }}.tar.gz/*.tar.gz
#           ${{ env.PKG_NAME }}-${{ github.ref_name }}-1.${{ env.DIST }}.${{ env.ARCH }}.rpm/**/*.rpm
#           ${{ env.PKG_NAME }}-${{ github.ref_name }}-1.${{ env.DIST }}.${{ env.ARCH }}.deb/**/*.deb

[IGIRANEZAFabrice]

Your build is actually working. The packages aren’t “vanishing”, they’re never being attached to the release in the first place. There are three separate issues in this workflow that explain the behavior.

1. workflow_run does not run on a tag

This is the biggest blocker.

You are using:

on:
workflow_run:

In that context, these conditions are false:

if: github.ref_type == 'tag'

Because workflow_run is triggered by another workflow, not by a tag push. As a result, both softprops/action-gh-release steps are silently skipped.

That alone explains why nothing ends up in the release.

Fix: remove that condition entirely, or gate on the tag explicitly via the event payload.

2. Wrong permission level for attaching release assets

You currently have:

permissions:
contents: read

Uploading assets to a release requires write access.

The action may appear to run, but GitHub will not attach anything.

Fix:

permissions:
contents: write

3. action-gh-release expects a tag, not a release name

You are doing:

tag_name: ${{ steps.get_release.outputs.release_name }}

But release_name is not the same thing as a tag.
If the release name and tag differ, the action will not attach files.

Fix: pass the actual tag, for example the version you already extracted:

tag_name: ${{ needs.extractTag.outputs.my_version }}

Or retrieve the release tagName instead of name via gh.

Why artifacts appear but releases don’t

actions/upload-artifact works because it stores files inside the workflow

Release uploads fail because:

the step is skipped

permissions are insufficient

the wrong identifier is used

Nothing is being deleted. The release upload never happens.

[IGIRANEZAFabrice]

To fix the issue:

Remove if: github.ref_type == 'tag'

Change permissions to contents: write

Pass a tag, not a release name, to action-gh-release

Once those are corrected, the RPM and DEB files will reliably appear in the release assets.

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[ahadmughal458]

The packages are not disappearing; the upload step is never actually attaching them to the release.

First, the workflow is triggered by workflow_run, not by a tag push:

on:
  workflow_run:
    workflows: [Multi platform Release]
    types:
      - completed

Because of this, the event context does not contain a tag. The condition below will always evaluate to false:

if: github.ref_type == 'tag'

As a result, the step that uploads the files to the release is skipped:

- name: Attach to Existing Release
  uses: softprops/action-gh-release@v2

Removing that condition allows the step to run.

The second issue is permissions. The workflow currently uses read-only access:

permissions:
  contents: read

Uploading assets to a release requires write access. Change it to:

permissions:
  contents: write

After removing the github.ref_type condition and granting contents: write, the RPM and DEB assets should attach to the release correctly.

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[Kir4itsu]

So the workflow runs fine but the files just vanish — I had the same kind of headache before. Pretty sure I spotted a few things:

The if: github.ref_type == 'tag' condition on your release step is the main culprit. Since this workflow is triggered by workflow_run and not a direct tag push, that condition is always false, so the attach step just... skips. No error, no warning, files gone. Sneaky one.

Also noticed you're still using ::set-output which got deprecated a while back — on newer runners it can fail silently too, so worth fixing while you're in there. Swap it to >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT and change the JSON field from name to tagName since that's what the release action actually needs:

- name: Get Latest Release
  id: get_release
  run: |
    RELEASE_JSON=$(gh release list --repo ${{ github.repository }} --limit 1 --json tagName)
    echo "release_name=$(echo $RELEASE_JSON | jq -r '.[0].tagName')" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
  env:
    GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}

And one more thing — your permissions at the top say contents: read, but uploading to a release needs write. Change that to contents: write otherwise it'll just silently fail on the upload too.
Give those three a go and it should stick. Let us know if it works!

[P-r-e-m-i-u-m]

A few things in this workflow would explain why the packages are built but never appear on the release.

The biggest ones:

1. actions/upload-artifact does not upload to a GitHub Release. It uploads a workflow artifact attached to the Actions run. To attach files to a Release, the softprops/action-gh-release step has to run successfully.

2. Your workflow is triggered by workflow_run, so this condition is probably false:

if: github.ref_type == 'tag'

In a workflow_run workflow, the current workflow context is not the original tag event in the same way a direct push.tags workflow would be. That means your Attach to Existing Release steps can be skipped silently even though the build succeeded.

3. The token permissions are read-only:

permissions:
  contents: read

Uploading release assets needs write permission:

permissions:
  contents: write

4. gh release list --json name gives you the release name, but softprops/action-gh-release expects a tag for tag_name. Release name and tag name are not always the same. Use --json tagName instead.

I would simplify the upload part like this:

permissions:
  contents: write

# after building the rpm/deb
- name: Get latest release tag
  id: get_release
  env:
    GH_TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}
  run: |
    tag=$(gh release list --repo "${{ github.repository }}" --limit 1 --json tagName --jq '.[0].tagName')
    echo "tag_name=$tag" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"

- name: Attach package to release
  uses: softprops/action-gh-release@v2
  with:
    tag_name: ${{ steps.get_release.outputs.tag_name }}
    files: |
      rpmbuild/RPMS/${{ env.ARCH }}/*.rpm
      ${{ env.PKG_NAME }}*.deb

If you want the packaging workflow to always upload to the release that triggered the previous workflow, it is even better to pass the original tag through explicitly instead of asking for "latest release". "Latest" can become wrong if another release is created while this workflow is still building.

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[HamiParsa]

Hi,

The issue is with your softprops/action-gh-release step. You're using tag_name: ${{ steps.get_release.outputs.release_name }}, but steps.get_release.outputs.release_name is actually the release title, not the tag name. The action needs a valid tag name to attach files to the release.

Fix:

Change this:

yaml
tag_name: ${{ steps.get_release.outputs.release_name }}
To this:

yaml
tag_name: ${{ needs.extractTag.outputs.my_version }}
Or even simpler – remove tag_name entirely and use release_id instead:

yaml
release_id: ${{ steps.get_release.outputs.release_id }}
Also, your get_release step is using ::set-output (deprecated). Update it:

yaml

• name: Get Latest Release
  id: get_release
  run: |
  RELEASE_JSON=$(gh release list --repo ${{ github.repository }} --limit 1 --json name,id)
  echo "release_name=$(echo $RELEASE_JSON | jq -r '.[0].name')" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
  echo "release_id=$(echo $RELEASE_JSON | jq -r '.[0].id')" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
  env:
  GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
  Then use:

yaml
release_id: ${{ steps.get_release.outputs.release_id }}
TL;DR: Your packages aren't being uploaded because the action can't find the release with the wrong tag name. Fix the tag reference and they'll attach correctly.

Hope this helps! 👍

[HamiParsa]

Hi,

The issue is with your tag_name in softprops/action-gh-release.

Problem:

yaml
tag_name: ${{ steps.get_release.outputs.release_name }}
release_name is the release title, not the tag name. The action can't find the release, so files don't get attached.

Fix:

Update your get_release step to get both name and ID:

yaml

• name: Get Latest Release
  id: get_release
  run: |
  RELEASE_JSON=$(gh release list --repo ${{ github.repository }} --limit 1 --json name,id)
  echo "release_name=$(echo $RELEASE_JSON | jq -r '.[0].name')" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
  echo "release_id=$(echo $RELEASE_JSON | jq -r '.[0].id')" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
  env:
  GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
  Use release_id instead of tag_name:

yaml

• name: Attach to Existing Release
  uses: softprops/action-gh-release@v2
  if: github.ref_type == 'tag'
  with:
  release_id: ${{ steps.get_release.outputs.release_id }}
  files: rpmbuild/RPMS/${{ env.ARCH }}/*.rpm
  env:
  GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
  Also: ::set-output is deprecated. The fix above uses $GITHUB_OUTPUT which is the correct modern way.

That should solve it! 👍

[lordofscripts]

I updated it to this following the instructions, but it still does not attach anything. The command make version results in a string like this v1.1.0-RC.1 being produced.

# DEB & RPM Build & Packaging of GO project v1.1
# https://github.com/orgs/community/discussions/180854

name: Debian and RPM Packaging

on:
  workflow_run:
    workflows: [Multi platform Release]
    types:
      - completed

permissions:
  contents: write
  pull-requests: read

env:
  DIST: clys
  ARCH: x86_64
  PKG_NAME: carousel

jobs:
  success:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    if: ${{ github.event.workflow_run.conclusion == 'success' }}
    steps:
      - run: echo 'The Release workflow completed successfully.'
  failure:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    if: ${{ github.event.workflow_run.conclusion == 'failure' }}
    steps:
      - run: echo 'The Release workflow failed.'
  exit:
    needs: failure
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - run: exit 1

  extractTag:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    outputs:
      my_version: ${{ steps.tagStep.outputs.my_version }}
    steps:
      - name: Checkout repository
        uses: actions/checkout@v6  
      - name: Extract version from version.go
        id: tagStep
        run: echo "my_version=$(make version)" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
#        run: echo "my_version=$(grep -m 1 'MANUAL_VERSION' version.go | sed -E 's/.*\"([^\"]+)\".*/\1/')" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT

  use-tag:
    needs: extractTag
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Use the tag name
        run: echo "The tag name is ${{ needs.extractTag.outputs.my_version }}"

  build_tarball:
    name: Build source archive
    needs: extractTag
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Checkout repository
        uses: actions/checkout@v6

      - name: Set up Go
        uses: actions/setup-go@v5
        with:
          go-version: '1.25'

      - name: Install dependencies
        run: |
          go get .

      - name: Build
        run: go build -v ./...        

      - name: Debug Info
        run: |
          echo "Current directory: $(pwd)"
          echo "Environment variables: $(printenv)"
          echo "Tag Name: $(TAG_NAME) or ${{ needs.extractTag.outputs.my_version }}"
          go version

# - name: Create source archive
#   run: tar -cvf ${{ env.PKG_NAME }}-${{ github.ref_name }}.tar.gz *

# - name: Upload source archive as artifact
#   uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
#   with:
#     name: ${{ env.PKG_NAME }}-${{ github.ref_name }}.tar.gz
#     path: ${{ env.PKG_NAME }}-${{ github.ref_name }}.tar.gz

  build_rpm:
    name: Build .rpm package
    needs: [build_tarball, extractTag]
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Checkout repository
        uses: actions/checkout@v6

      - name: Replace version in RPM spec so correct source is downloaded when building RPM
        run: sed -Ei "s/(^Version:[[:space:]]*).*/\1${{ needs.extractTag.outputs.my_version }}/" distrib/Fedora/${{ env.PKG_NAME }}.spec

      - name: Run rpmbuild on RPM spec to produce package
        id: rpm
        uses: naveenrajm7/rpmbuild@master
        with:
          spec_file: distrib/Fedora/${{ env.PKG_NAME }}.spec

      - name: Get Latest Release
        id: get_release
        run: |
          RELEASE_JSON=$(gh release list --repo ${{ github.repository }} --limit 1 --json name,id)
          echo "release_name=$(echo $RELEASE_JSON | jq -r '.[0].name')" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
          echo "release_id=$(echo $RELEASE_JSON | jq -r '.[0].id')" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
        env:
          GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}

      - name: Upload .rpm package as artifact
        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
        with:
          name: ${{ env.PKG_NAME }}-${{ needs.extractTag.outputs.my_version }}-1.${{ env.DIST }}.${{ env.ARCH }}.rpm
          path: rpmbuild/RPMS/${{ env.ARCH }}/*.rpm

      - name: Attach to Existing Release
        uses: softprops/action-gh-release@v2
        #if: github.ref_type == 'tag'
        with:
          release_id: ${{ steps.get_release.outputs.release_id }}
          files: rpmbuild/RPMS/${{ env.ARCH }}/*.rpm
        env:
          GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}

  build_deb:
    name: Build .deb package
    needs: [build_rpm, extractTag]
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Download .rpm artifact
        uses: actions/download-artifact@v4
        id: download
        with:
          name: ${{ env.PKG_NAME }}-${{ needs.extractTag.outputs.my_version }}-1.${{ env.DIST }}.${{ env.ARCH }}.rpm

      - name: find .
        run: find .

      - name: Convert .rpm to .deb
        run: |
          sudo apt install -y alien
          sudo alien -k --verbose --to-deb *.rpm

      - name: find .
        run: find . -exec readlink -f {} \;

      - name: Get Latest Release
        id: get_release
        run: |
          RELEASE_JSON=$(gh release list --repo ${{ github.repository }} --limit 1 --json name,id)
          echo "release_name=$(echo $RELEASE_JSON | jq -r '.[0].name')" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
          echo "release_id=$(echo $RELEASE_JSON | jq -r '.[0].id')" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
        env:
          GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}

      - name: Upload .deb package as artifact
        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
        with:
          name: ${{ env.PKG_NAME }}-${{ needs.extractTag.outputs.my_version }}-1.${{ env.DIST }}.${{ env.ARCH }}.deb
          path: ${{ env.PKG_NAME }}*.deb

      - name: Attach to Existing Release
        uses: softprops/action-gh-release@v2
        #if: github.ref_type == 'tag'
        with:
          release_id: ${{ steps.get_release.outputs.release_id }}
          files: rpmbuild/RPMS/${{ env.ARCH }}/*.rpm
        env:
          GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}

# release:
#   name: Create release with all assets
#   needs: [build_tarball, build_rpm, build_deb]
#   runs-on: ubuntu-latest
#   steps:
#     - name: Download .rpm artifact
#       uses: actions/download-artifact@v4

#     - name: find .
#       run: find .

#     - name: Release
#       uses: softprops/action-gh-release@v1
#       with:
#         files: |
#           ${{ env.PKG_NAME }}-${{ github.ref_name }}.tar.gz/*.tar.gz
#           ${{ env.PKG_NAME }}-${{ github.ref_name }}-1.${{ env.DIST }}.${{ env.ARCH }}.rpm/**/*.rpm
#           ${{ env.PKG_NAME }}-${{ github.ref_name }}-1.${{ env.DIST }}.${{ env.ARCH }}.deb/**/*.deb