Create, update or get a file in GitHub

Two GitHub steps work with files in a repository. GitHub · Create or update a file — Commits a file to a branch — writes a file, as a commit, whether or not it exists yet. GitHub · Get a file — A file's text, and the file itself for later steps — reads one.

Who can do this

Workspace Admins and Editors, on every plan. Viewers see the steps' settings but cannot change them.

Before you start

A GitHub connection whose token has the repository and Contents: Read and write (classic: repo). To change a file under .github/workflows, the token also needs Workflows: Read and write (classic: workflow). See Connect GitHub.

Steps

Create or update a file:

1. Select + where the step should go. In the step picker, open Apps, select GitHub, then Create or update a file. Or search GitHub.
2. In Connection, choose your GitHub connection.
3. In Repository, choose the repository — for example consulace/billing-service.
4. In Path, the file's path in the repository — docs/release-notes.md. Folders that do not exist yet are made.
5. Give what the file should hold, one of:
   • In Content, the text — The file's text — or leave it empty and give a file below.
   • Or under Or a file, select Add a file and drag in a file from an earlier step — A file from an earlier step. When both are given, the file wins.
6. Optional: in Branch, choose the branch. Empty uses the repository's default branch.
7. In Commit message, type the message — for example Release notes for {{ trigger.tag }}.
8. Select Run this step to try it. This makes a real commit.

Get a file:

1. In the step picker, under GitHub, select Get a file, and choose the Connection and Repository.
2. In Path, the file's path — README.md.
3. Optional: in Branch, choose a branch. Empty reads the default branch.
4. Select Run this step to try it.

Output

Create or update a file:

Get a file:

The file itself comes with the item too, as file, keeping its own name — README.md. Drag it from Data from earlier steps into a later step's file setting, such as Attachments or Or a file. See Pass files between steps.

Good to know

• Create or update a file replaces the whole file. It does not add to the end. To add a line, Get a file first, then write its text with the new line.
• With Content empty and no file, the file is committed empty.
• Get a file reads files up to 100 MB. Over 1 MB, GitHub does not send the contents with the file's details, so Bizomate fetches them separately.
• A folder is not a file. Give a path to a folder, and both steps stop with docs is a folder, not a file.
• A branch protected in GitHub may refuse commits that do not go through a pull request.
• Each item runs the step once. Ten items make ten commits.

If something goes wrong

Related

• Connect GitHub
• Pass files between steps
• Create a GitHub release or upload an asset
• Create, merge or get a GitHub pull request