changed-files

Retrieve all changed files and directories relative to the target branch (pull_request* based events) or the last remote commit (push based event) returning the absolute path to all changed files and directories from the project root.

Features

Fast execution (0-2 seconds on average).
Easy to debug.
Boolean output indicating that certain files have been changed.
Scales to large repositories.
Git submodules support.
No extra API calls.
Escaped JSON Output which can be used for running matrix jobs based on changed files.
List only changed directories.
Monorepos (Fetches only the last remote commit).
Supports all platforms (Linux, MacOS, Windows).
GitHub-hosted runners support
GitHub Enterprise Server support.
self-hosted runners support.
List all files and directories that have changed:
- Between the current pull request branch and the last commit on the target branch.
- Between the current pull request branch and the fork point on the target branch.
- Between the last commit and the current pushed change.
- Between the last remote branch commit and the current HEAD.
Restrict change detection to a subset of files and directories:
- Report on files that have at least one change.
- Using Glob pattern matching.

Usage

NOTE: ⚠️

IMPORTANT: For push events you need to include fetch-depth: 0 OR fetch-depth: 2 depending on your use case.

When using persist-credentials: false with actions/checkout@v3 you'll need to specify a token using the token input.

For monorepos where pulling all the branch history might not be desired, you can omit fetch-depth for pull_request events.

For files located in a sub-directory ensure that the pattern specified contains **/ (globstar) to match any preceding directories or explicitly pass the full path relative to the project root. See: #314.

name: CI

on:
  push:
    branches:
      - main
  pull_request:
    branches:
      - main

jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest  # windows-latest | macos-latest
    name: Test changed-files
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v3
        with:
          fetch-depth: 0  # OR "2" -> To retrieve the preceding commit.

      - name: Get changed files
        id: changed-files
        uses: tj-actions/changed-files@v26

      - name: List all changed files
        run: |
          for file in ${{ steps.changed-files.outputs.all_changed_files }}; do
            echo "$file was changed"
          done

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Outputs

Acronym	Meaning
A	Added
C	Copied
M	Modified
D	Deleted
R	Renamed
T	Type changed
U	Unmerged
X	Unknown

Output	type	example	description
any_changed	`string`	`true` OR `false`	Returns `true` when any of the filenames provided using the `files` input has changed. If no `files` have been specified, an empty string `''` is returned. i.e. using a combination of all added, copied, modified and renamed files (ACMR)
only_changed	`string`	`true` OR `false`	Returns `true` when only files provided using the `files` input has changed. If no `files` have been specified, an empty string `''` is returned. (ACMR)
other_changed_files	`string`	`'new.txt path/to/file.png ...'`	Select all other changed files not listed in the files input i.e. a combination of all added, copied and modified files (ACMR)
any_modified	`string`	`true` OR `false`	Returns `true` when any of the filenames provided using the `files` input has been modified. If no `files` have been specified, an empty string `''` is returned. i.e. using a combination of all added, copied, modified, renamed, and deleted files (ACMRD)
only_modified	`string`	`true` OR `false`	Returns `true` when only files provided using the `files` input has been modified. If no `files` have been specified, an empty string `''` is returned.(ACMRD)
other_modified_files	`string`	`'new.txt path/to/file.png ...'`	Select all other modified files not listed in the files input i.e. a combination of all added, copied, modified, and deleted files (ACMRD)
any_deleted	`string`	`true` OR `false`	Returns `true` when any of the filenames provided using the `files` input has been deleted. If no `files` have been specified, an empty string `''` is returned. (D)
only_deleted	`string`	`true` OR `false`	Returns `true` when only files provided using the `files` input has been deleted. If no `files` have been specified, an empty string `''` is returned. (D)
other_deleted_files	`string`	`'new.txt path/to/file.png ...'`	Select all other deleted files not listed in the files input i.e. a combination of all deleted files (D)
all_changed_files	`string`	`'new.txt path/to/file.png ...'`	Select all changed files i.e. a combination of all added, copied, modified and renamed files (ACMR)
all_modified_files	`string`	`'new.txt path/to/file.png ...'`	Select all changed files i.e. a combination of all added, copied, modified, renamed and deleted files (ACMRD)
all_changed_and_modified_files	`string`	`'new.txt path/to/file.png ...'`	Select all changed and modified files i.e. a combination of (ACMRDTUX)
all_old_new_renamed_files	`string`	`'old name.txt,new name.txt old name 2.txt,new name 2.txt...'`	Select only files that are Renamed and list their old and new names. NOTE: This requires setting `include_all_old_new_renamed_files` to `true` (R)
added_files	`string`	`'new.txt path/to/file.png ...'`	Select only files that are Added (A)
copied_files	`string`	`'new.txt path/to/file.png ...'`	Select only files that are Copied (C)
deleted_files	`string`	`'new.txt path/to/file.png ...'`	Select only files that are Deleted (D)
modified_files	`string`	`'new.txt path/to/file.png ...'`	Select only files that are Modified (M)
renamed_files	`string`	`'new.txt path/to/file.png ...'`	Select only files that are Renamed (R)
type_changed_files	`string`	`'new.txt path/to/file.png ...'`	Select only files that have their file type changed (T)
unmerged_files	`string`	`'new.txt path/to/file.png ...'`	Select only files that are Unmerged (U)
unknown_files	`string`	`'new.txt path/to/file.png ...'`	Select only files that are Unknown (X)

Inputs

Input	type	required	default	description
token	`string`	`false`	`${{ github.token }}`	GITHUB_TOKEN or a repo scoped Personal Access Token
separator	`string`	`false`	`' '`	Split character for output strings
include_all_old_new_renamed_files	`boolean`	`false`	`false`	Include `all_old_new_renamed_files` output. Note this can generate a large output See: #501.
old_new_separator	`string`	`false`	`','`	Split character for old and new filename pairs
old_new_files_separator	`string`	`false`	`' '`	Split character for multiple old and new filename pairs
files	`string` OR `string[]`	`false`		Check for changes using only these list of file(s) (Defaults to the entire repo)
files_separator	`string`	`false`	`'\n'`	Separator used to split the `files` input
files_from_source_file	`string`	`false`		Source file(s) used to populate the `files` input
files_ignore	`string`	`false`		Ignore changes to these file(s)
files_ignore_separator	`string`	`false`	`'\n'`	Separator used to split the `files-ignore` input
files_ignore_from_source_file	`string`	`false`		Source file(s) used to populate the `files_ignore` input
sha	`string`	`true`	`${{ github.sha }}`	Specify a different commit SHA used for comparing changes
base_sha	`string`	`false`		Specify a different base commit SHA used for comparing changes
path	`string`	`false`	`'.'`	Relative path under `GITHUB_WORKSPACE` to the repository
since_last_remote_commit	`boolean`	`false`	`false`	Use the last commit on the remote branch as the `base_sha` (Defaults to the last commit on the target branch for Pull requests or the previous commit on the current branch for push events). NOTE: This requires `fetch-depth: 0` with `actions/checkout@v3`
use_fork_point	`boolean`	`false`	`false`	Finds best common ancestor between two commits to use in a three-way merge as the `base_sha` See: git merge-base. NOTE: This pulls the entire commit history of the base branch
quotepath	`boolean`	`false`	`true`	Output filenames completely verbatim by setting this to `false`
diff_relative	`boolean`	`false`		Exclude changes outside the current directory and show pathnames relative to it.
dir_names	`boolean`	`false`	`false`	Output unique changed directories instead of filenames. NOTE: This returns `.` for changed files located in the root of the project.
json	`boolean`	`false`	`false`	Output changed files in JSON format which can be used for matrix jobs.

Examples

...
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v3
#        with:
#          fetch-depth: 0  # OR "2" -> To retrieve the preceding commit.
#          submodules: true # OR "recursive" -> To include all changed submodule files.

      - name: Get changed files using defaults
        id: changed-files
        uses: tj-actions/changed-files@v26

      - name: Get changed files using a comma separator
        id: changed-files-comma
        uses: tj-actions/changed-files@v26
        with:
          separator: ","

      - name: List all added files
        run: |
          for file in ${{ steps.changed-files.outputs.added_files }}; do
            echo "$file was added"
          done

      - name: Run step when a file changes
        if: contains(steps.changed-files.outputs.modified_files, 'my-file.txt')
        run: |
          echo "Your my-file.txt file has been modified."

      - name: Run step when a file has been deleted
        if: contains(steps.changed-files.outputs.deleted_files, 'test.txt')
        run: |
          echo "Your test.txt file has been deleted."

      - name: Get specific changed files
        id: changed-files-specific
        uses: tj-actions/changed-files@v26
        with:
          files: |
            my-file.txt
            test.txt
            new.txt
            test_directory
            *.sh
            *.png
            !*.md
            *.jpeg
            **/migrate-*.sql
          files_ignore: |
            *.yml

      - name: Run step if any of the listed files above change
        if: steps.changed-files-specific.outputs.any_changed == 'true'
        run: |
          echo "One or more files listed above has changed."

      - name: Run step if only the files listed above change
        if: steps.changed-files-specific.outputs.only_changed == 'true'
        run: |
          echo "Only files listed above have changed."

      - name: Run step if any of the listed files above is deleted
        if: steps.changed-files.outputs.any_deleted == 'true'
        run: |
          for file in ${{ steps.changed-files.outputs.deleted_files }}; do
            echo "$file was deleted"
          done

      - name: Run step if all listed files above have been deleted
        if: steps.changed-files.outputs.only_deleted == 'true'
        run: |
          for file in ${{ steps.changed-files.outputs.deleted_files }}; do
            echo "$file was deleted"
          done

      - name: Use a source file or list of file(s) to populate to files input.
        id: changed-files-specific-source-file
        uses: tj-actions/changed-files@v26
        with:
          files_from_source_file: |
            test/changed-files-list.txt

      - name: Use a source file or list of file(s) to populate to files input and optionally specify more files.
        id: changed-files-specific-source-file-and-specify-files
        uses: tj-actions/changed-files@v26
        with:
          files_from_source_file: |
            test/changed-files-list.txt
          files: |
            test.txt

      - name: Use a different commit SHA
        id: changed-files-custom-sha
        uses: tj-actions/changed-files@v26
        with:
          sha: ${{ github.event.pull_request.head.sha }}

      - name: Use a different base SHA
        id: changed-files-custom-base-sha
        uses: tj-actions/changed-files@v26
        with:
          base_sha: "2096ed0"
          
      - name: Checkout into dir1
        uses: actions/checkout@v3
        with:
          fetch-depth: 0
          path: dir1

      - name: Run changed-files with defaults on the dir1
        id: changed-files-for-dir1
        uses: tj-actions/changed-files@v26
        with:
          path: dir1

      - name: List all added files in dir1
        run: |
          for file in ${{ steps.changed-files-for-dir1.outputs.added_files }}; do
            echo "$file was added"
          done

      - name: Run changed-files using the last commit on the remote branch
        id: changed-files-since-last-remote-commit
        uses: tj-actions/changed-files@v26
        with:
          since_last_remote_commit: "true"
      
      - name: Run changed-files using the fork point of a pull request
        id: changed-files-fork-point
        uses: tj-actions/changed-files@v26
        with:
          use_fork_point: "true"
          
      - name: Run changed-files with quotepath disabled
        id: changed-files-quotepath
        uses: tj-actions/changed-files@v26
        with:
          quotepath: "false"
      
      # Run changed-files action using the last successful commit as the base_sha
      # NOTE: This setting overrides the commit sha used by setting since_last_remote_commit to true.
      # It is recommended to use either solution that works for your use case.
      
      # Push event based workflows
      - name: Get branch name
        id: branch-name
        uses: tj-actions/branch-names@v5

      - uses: nrwl/last-successful-commit-action@v1
        id: last_successful_commit_push
        with:
          branch: ${{ steps.branch-name.outputs.current_branch }} # Get the last successful commit for the current branch. 
          workflow_id: 'test.yml'
          github_token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}

      - name: Run changed-files with the commit of the last successful test workflow run
        id: changed-files-base-sha-push
        uses: tj-actions/changed-files@v26
        with:
          base_sha: ${{ steps.last_successful_commit_push.outputs.commit_hash }}

      # Pull request based workflows.
      - name: Get branch name
        id: branch-name
        uses: tj-actions/branch-names@v5
        if: github.event_name == 'pull_request'

      - uses: nrwl/last-successful-commit-action@v1
        id: last_successful_commit_pull_request
        if: github.event_name == 'pull_request'
        with:
          branch: ${{ steps.branch-name.outputs.base_ref_branch }} # Get the last successful commit on master or main branch 
          workflow_id: 'test.yml'
          github_token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}

      - name: Run changed-files with the commit of the last successful test workflow run on main
        if: github.event_name == 'pull_request'
        id: changed-files-base-sha-pull-request
        uses: tj-actions/changed-files@v26
        with:
          base_sha: ${{ steps.last_successful_commit_pull_request.outputs.commit_hash }}

      - name: Run changed-files with dir_names
        id: changed-files-dir-names
        uses: tj-actions/changed-files@v26
        with:
          dir_names: "true"
      
      # All outputs are JSON formatted arrays and can be used in other actions and matrix compatible jobs.
      - name: Run changed-files with json output
        id: changed-files-json
        uses: tj-actions/changed-files@v26
        with:
          json: "true"

Free software: MIT license

Known Limitation

NOTE: ⚠️

Using characters like \n, %, . and \r as separators would be URL encoded

Spaces in file names can introduce bugs when using bash loops. See: #216 However, this action will handle spaces in file names, with a recommendation of using a separator to prevent hidden issues.

Versioning

This project follows a v(major).(patch) versioning scheme with the exception of pointing the git ref of the latest patch release to the major version tag.

NOTE: ⚠️

Users referencing the legacy v1.x.x → v5.0.0 semantic versions, are required to switch over to v10.x → v15.x respectively as new releases would no longer be deployed using the old versioning scheme.

A breaking change was introduced in v1.1.4 and v13.x which has been fixed.

Migration guide

With the switch from using grep's Extended regex to match files to the natively supported workflow glob pattern matching syntax introduced in v13 you'll need to modify patterns used to match files.

BEFORE

...

      - name: Get specific changed files
        id: changed-files-specific
        uses: tj-actions/changed-files@v12.2
        with:
          files: |
            \.sh$
            .(sql|py)$
            ^(mynewfile|custom)

AFTER

...

      - name: Get specific changed files
        id: changed-files-specific
        uses: tj-actions/changed-files@v26
        with:
          files: |
            *.sh
            *.sql
            *.py
            mynewfile
            custom/**

Credits

This package was created with Cookiecutter.

tj-actions/glob
tj-actions/demo

Report Bugs

Report bugs at https://github.com/tj-actions/changed-files/issues.

If you are reporting a bug, please include:

Your operating system name and version.
Any details about your workflow that might be helpful in troubleshooting.
Detailed steps to reproduce the bug.

Contributors ✨

Thanks goes to these wonderful people (emoji key):

_{Josh Soref} 📖	_{Nick Landers} 💻	_{Krasimir Nikolov} 💻 📖	_{Ivan Pizhenko} 💻 📖	_talva-tr 💻	_{Ikko Ashimine} 📖	_James 📖
_{James Cheng} 📖	_{Masaya Suzuki} 💻	_fagai 📖	_{Constantine Peresypkin} 💻	_{Mathieu Dupuy} 📖	_{Joe Moggridge} 📖	_{Charles Santos} 💻

This project follows the all-contributors specification. Contributions of any kind welcome!

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README.md

README.md

changed-files

Features

Usage

Outputs

Inputs

Examples

Known Limitation

Versioning

Migration guide

Credits

Report Bugs

Contributors ✨

Files

README.md

Latest commit

History

README.md

File metadata and controls

changed-files

Features

Usage

Outputs

Inputs

Examples

Known Limitation

Versioning

Migration guide

Credits

Report Bugs

Contributors ✨