Modify Dev Deployment Job to use Environment tags

In this lesson, we’ll enhance our GitHub Actions workflow by updating the dev-deploy job to leverage environment tags. By specifying an environment:

You can enforce protection rules (e.g., required approvals or wait timers).
Access environment-scoped secrets and variables.
Surface the deployment URL directly in the GitHub UI.

Prerequisites: Review Your Environment

First, recall the development environment configuration. It includes one protection rule, one secret, and two variables. Environment-scoped variables always take precedence over repository-level variables.

The image shows a GitHub repository settings page, specifically the "Environments" section, with a "development" environment configured with protection rules, secrets, and variables.

Note

Environment-level variables override repository variables. This ensures you can customize settings (like replica counts) for each deployment stage.

Next, compare the repository-level variables (e.g., replicas: 2) against the environment-level variables (replicas: 1):

The image shows a GitHub repository settings page focused on managing secrets and variables, with sections for environment and repository variables.

Scope	Definition	Priority
Repository	Variables and secrets at the repo level	Lower
Environment	Variables and secrets scoped to env.	Higher

Verify Current Deployment

Use kubectl to inspect your deployments and pods in the development namespace:

kubectl -n development get deployments.apps
# NAME           READY   UP-TO-DATE   AVAILABLE   AGE
kubectl -n development get pods
# NAME                                        READY   STATUS    RESTARTS   AGE
# solar-system-6db5d5dfb8c-96qcz             1/1     Running   0          26m
# solar-system-6db5d5dfb8c-psbxx             1/1     Running   0          26m

Currently, the solar-system deployment uses two replicas (from the repository variable). We want to switch this to the environment variable value (1 replica) by invoking the development environment in our workflow.

Update the Workflow

To enforce environment protections and show the deployment URL in the workflow summary, add an environment block under the dev-deploy job:

env:
  MONGO_URI: mongodb+srv://supercluster.d83ji.mongodb.net/superData
  MONGO_USERNAME: ${{ vars.MONGO_USERNAME }}
  MONGO_PASSWORD: ${{ secrets.MONGO_PASSWORD }}

jobs:
  unit-testing:
    # ...

  code-coverage:
    # ...

  docker:
    # ...

  dev-deploy:
    needs: docker
    environment:
      name: development
      url: https://${{ steps.set-ingress-host-address.outputs.APP_INGRESS_HOST }}
    outputs:
      APP_INGRESS_URL: ${{ steps.set-ingress-host-address.outputs.APP_INGRESS_HOST }}
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Checkout repository
        uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Install kubectl CLI
        uses: azure/setup-kubectl@v3
        with:
          version: 'v1.26.0'

      - name: Set kubeconfig context
        uses: azure/k8s-set-context@v3
        with:
          method: kubeconfig

      # ... additional deployment steps ...

Commit and push these changes to trigger a new workflow run.

Warning

After this change, the dev-deploy job will pend if the environment has protection rules (e.g., a wait timer or approval). Administrators must review and approve to proceed.

Approving the Pending Deployment

Once the workflow hits the dev-deploy job, you’ll see it pending due to environment protection:

The image shows a GitHub Actions workflow interface with a series of jobs including unit testing, code coverage, and containerization. The workflow is in progress, triggered by a recent push to a repository.

Click the pending job to reveal the protection rule and remaining wait time. Administrators can bypass the wait by adding a comment:

The image shows a GitHub Actions interface with a confirmation dialog for deploying to a development environment, requiring administrator privileges and a comment for manual override.

After approval, the dev-deploy job runs. Upon success, the deployment URL appears in the workflow summary:

The image shows a GitHub Actions workflow summary for a project, displaying successful completion of various jobs like unit testing, containerization, and deployment.

By clicking this URL, stakeholders can quickly verify the live application.

View Deployments Across Environments

GitHub’s public beta for deployment tracking offers a centralized overview of deployments across all environments. Access it via Actions > Deployments in your repository:

The image shows a GitHub Actions page displaying a list of workflow runs for a project called "Solar System Workflow." Each entry includes details like commit messages, status, and timestamps.

This dashboard displays each deployment event along with environment name, branch, commit, and duration. Learn more on the GitHub blog announcement.

The image shows a GitHub blog post announcing the public beta of a new feature for tracking deployments across environments, with a list of capabilities for developers and DevOps managers. There is also a screenshot of a dashboard displaying deployment information.

With environments configured in your GitHub Actions workflow, you can enforce rules, manage scoped secrets and variables, and prominently display deployment URLs for fast verification.

Links and References

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