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In this guide, you’ll learn how to trigger a GitHub Actions workflow from an Azure Pipeline to build and deploy a Node.js application. We’ll use the KodeKloudCoffee repository as our example, combining the flexibility of Azure Pipelines with GitHub Actions CI/CD.

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1. Repository Overview

Our private GitHub repo KodeKloudCoffee contains a Node.js app that builds automatically on commits to main.
The image shows a GitHub repository page named "KodeKloudCoffee," which is private and contains several files and folders. The main branch is not protected, and there are 22 commits listed.
Here’s the current GitHub Actions run history:
The image shows a GitHub Actions page for the repository "KodeKloudCoffee," displaying a list of workflow runs with their statuses and details.
When a Pull Request is merged, the build kicks off and shows a success check:
The image shows a GitHub pull request page where a pull request has been successfully merged and closed. There is an option to delete the branch and a section to add comments.

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2. Create a GitHub Personal Access Token

Azure Pipelines needs a PAT with repo and workflow scopes to dispatch workflows.
  1. Go to User Settings → Developer settings → Personal access tokens.
  2. Click Generate new token (Classic), name it (e.g., push-to-azure), and set an expiration.
  3. Under Scopes, select:
    • repo (full control of private repos)
    • workflow (manage GitHub Actions workflows)
The image shows the GitHub Developer Settings page for managing personal access tokens, with options to generate new tokens and a list of existing tokens with their expiration dates.
The image shows a GitHub settings page for creating a new personal access token, with various scopes and permissions options listed for selection.
Store your PAT securely. After you copy it, you won’t be able to view it again.
Do not commit it to your repo or share it in plain text.

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3. Modify the GitHub Actions Workflow

Open .github/workflows/main.yml. The existing trigger section is: 
name: Deploy to Azure
on:
  push:
    branches: [ main ]
  workflow_dispatch:
To enable API-driven dispatches, add repository_dispatch:: 
name: Deploy to Azure
on:
  push:
    branches: [ main ]
  repository_dispatch:
  workflow_dispatch:

env:
  AZURE_WEBAPP_NAME: kodekloudcoffee
  AZURE_WEBAPP_PACKAGE_PATH: '.'
  NODE_VERSION: '20.x'

permissions:
  contents: read

jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - name: Setup Node.js
        uses: actions/setup-node@v4
        with:
          node-version: ${{ env.NODE_VERSION }}
          cache: 'npm'
      - name: Build and test
        run: |
          npm install
          npm run build --if-present
          npm test --if-present
Commit and push this change to the main branch.

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4. Configure Azure Pipelines

In Azure DevOps, create a new pipeline connected to KodeKloudCoffee. Use the Starter pipeline template and set: 
trigger:
- none

pool:
  vmImage: 'ubuntu-latest'

steps:
- script: echo Hello, world!
  displayName: 'Run a one-line script'
The trigger: none prevents automatic runs—this pipeline will only run manually or via API.

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4.1 Add the PAT as a Secret Variable

  1. In your pipeline’s Variables tab, add github_token.
  2. Paste the PAT and mark it as secret.
  3. Save and close.

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5. Dispatch GitHub Actions from Azure Pipelines

Replace the starter step with a PowerShell task that sends a repository_dispatch event: 
trigger:
- none

pool:
  vmImage: 'ubuntu-latest'

steps:
- task: PowerShell@2
  inputs:
    targetType: 'inline'
    script: |
      $body = '{ "ref": "main" }'
      $headers = @{
        'Authorization'        = "Bearer $env:github_token"
        'Accept'               = 'application/vnd.github+json'
        'X-GitHub-Api-Version' = '2022-11-28'
      }
      Invoke-RestMethod `
        -Uri 'https://api.github.com/repos/jeremykodekloud/KodeKloudCoffee/actions/workflows/main.yml/dispatches' `
        -Method POST `
        -Headers $headers `
        -Body $body `
        -ContentType 'application/json' `
        -ErrorAction Stop
  displayName: 'Trigger GitHub Actions via Repository Dispatch'
Run the pipeline. It will call the GitHub API and start the Deploy to Azure job.
The image shows a GitHub Actions page for a repository named "KodeKloudCoffee," displaying a list of workflow runs with their statuses and details.
Refresh the Actions tab to see the new dispatch run:
The image shows a GitHub Actions page displaying a list of workflow runs, including "Deploy to Azure" and updates to "azure-pipelines.yml."

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6. Managing Deployment Gates

Now you can control deployments from Azure Pipelines—perfect for environments requiring approvals.
Trigger TypeInvocation SourceUse Case
pushGitHub on main commitsAutomatic CI builds
workflow_dispatchGitHub UI manual runAd-hoc runs
repository_dispatchAPI (Azure Pipelines or scripts)Controlled, gated deployments
To enforce strict gating, remove push and workflow_dispatch triggers and rely solely on repository_dispatch.
The image shows an Azure DevOps Pipelines interface with a recently run pipeline named "jeremymorgankodekloud.KodeKloudCoffee" that was manually triggered.

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