allow fetch tags too

[bluelovers]

current it will add --no-tags

but i hope can fetch tag too

that is help when wanna build changelog base on tag in github actions

[koraktor]

Using fetch-depth: 0 will cause the refspec for tags to be added, effectively removing the --no-tags option:

checkout/src/git-command-manager.ts

Lines 175 to 177 in ec3a7ce

	if (!refSpec.some(x => x === refHelper.tagsRefSpec)) {
	args.push('--no-tags')
	}

Apparently, this might not be enough depending on your workflow. I‘m currently trying to implement this for koraktor/mavanagaiata which checks if the commit is tagged before releasing a new version. This check fails and I‘m still trying to find the cause for this.

[anthony-steele-cko]

It is correct that if you add fetch-depth: 0 then you will get tags.

But this leaves you with two choices:

• get no tags ( fetch-depth > 0 )
• get the whole history, everything back to the start of the repo ( fetch-depth = 0 )

If you need the latest tag, then the first won't work at all.
If the repo is large and old, the then second isn't great either.

We should be able to get a bounded number of recent commits and tags by specifying some options.

[anthony-steele-cko]

See also: #448

[anthony-steele-cko]

As a workaround, you can fetch tags as a step after the actions/checkout, as it leaves git in a valid state with credentials to do other operations. e.g.:

      - name: Checkout
        uses: actions/checkout@v3
      - name: Get tags
        run: git fetch --tags origin

As I understand it, this will fetch all tags but that's preferable to fetching all history when you want a tag.

[tiagovrtr]

This would be really useful so that things like dolfinus/setuptools-git-versioning would work in Actions

[mattpitkin]

@anthony-steele-cko Thanks for your suggested workaround. Unfortunately, I get the error:

git fetch --tags origin
  shell: sh -e {0}
fatal: unsafe repository ('/__w/cwinpy/cwinpy' is owned by someone else)
To add an exception for this directory, call:
	git config --global --add safe.directory /__w/cwinpy/cwinpy

despite git config --global --add safe.directory /__w/cwinpy/cwinpy being performed during the checkout action.

[alok87]

after git fetch --tags: git describe --tags --always --dirty is giving v1.0.0-beta.1-44-g898e851 response in my local when all tags are present but it gives tagless response in github action 🤔

had to do fetch-depth: 0

[markstijnman-shell]

Ran into this today as well. Turns out there is already a PR for this too: #579. Hopefully the maintainers can merge it soon, because I really don't fancy setting fetch_depth=0 on large, old repositories. Also, the link between fetch_depth and the fetching or not of tags is undocumented behavior, and I don't like having to rely on undocumented behavior.

[arvindpdmn]

Very useful feature. Please implement.

[geobos23]

after git fetch --tags: git describe --tags --always --dirty is giving v1.0.0-beta.1-44-g898e851 response in my local when all tags are present but it gives tagless response in github action thinking

had to do fetch-depth: 0

Ran into same problem recently. It's because it's not fetching the entire commit history if depth >0, so you'll only get tags for the the commits that are fetched within the specified depth. If the tags are older than depth, tough luck.
It's working locally for you because you're probably doing a git clone which fetches the entire history, while actions/checkout is actually doing a git init , git remote add origin and git fetch --depth=n --no-tags and only brings the current specified "remote ref" (to oversimplify it), preventing the history to be fetched.

I can also confirm the workaround with fetching the entire history solves the problem using

        with:
          fetch-depth: 0

[arxeiss]

As a workaround, you can fetch tags as a step after the actions/checkout, as it leaves git in a valid state with credentials to do other operations. e.g.:

  - name: Checkout
    uses: actions/checkout@v3
  - name: Get tags
    run: git fetch --tags origin

As I understand it, this will fetch all tags but that's preferable to fetching all history when you want a tag.

@anthony-steele-cko I'm not sure this works well.

If I do git fetch --tags it pulls all of them and then the result size of downloaded data is equal to normal fetch. Ie whole repo.

So I'm not sure that what this task is trying to achieve actually is feasible. Because it might looks like git issue, and not Github Action issue.

Or do I miss something? I'm trying it locally first with the latest git v2.41.0.

[nmoroze]

It looks like the PR adding this functionality got merged recently: #579, and is available in versions >=3.6.0. I think this issue can be closed now.

[dellagustin]

@nmoroze , I'm trying to use the option fetch-tags: true, introduced with #579, but that is not working for me.

My repository has 4 tags (https://github.com/podStation/podStation-test-new-pipeline/tags), the fetch command from actions/checkout@v4 does not have the --no-tags, yet a subsequent run of git tag does not list my tags:
https://github.com/podStation/podStation-test-new-pipeline/actions/runs/7837269005/job/21386615237

I compare the current version of my package with the latest tag in the pipeline to trigger my release and deployment in case there was a change in the version.

Have I understood the purpose of the option fetch-tags?
I think I'll need to use fetch-depth: 0 for the moment.

[arxeiss]

I tried that and it works for me. However I specified fetch-depth: 20.
It seems to me, that it will fetch x commits and tags related to them. If you fetch just last commit, you might not get any tags at all.

In my case I need just last commit with tag. Based on our release strategy it most likely is within 5 last commits on master. So I fetch 20 just not to hit some edge case and works perfectly.

[dellagustin]

@arxeiss thank you, I though it would be something like that, but I did not test it yet.
I'll design around that than.