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In this guide, you’ll learn how to extend an existing GitHub Actions workflow by integrating a JavaScript custom action from the GitHub Marketplace. We’ll start with a Docker-based PR comment action and then add the JavaScript version to post a “Thank You” GIF on every new pull request.

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1. Review the Original Docker-Based Workflow

The pr-thank-you.yml workflow below triggers on pull request opened events and uses a Docker action to post a Giphy comment: 
on:
  pull_request:
    types:
      - opened

jobs:
  pr-action:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    permissions:
      issues: write
      pull-requests: write
    steps:
      - name: Post Docker Action PR Comment
        uses: sidd-harth-7/docker-action-pr-giphy-comment@main
        with:
          github-token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
          giphy-api-key: ${{ secrets.GIPHY_API_KEY }}
Be sure your workflow has issues: write and pull-requests: write permissions so the action can post comments on PRs.

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2. Identify the JavaScript Action on Marketplace

Search the GitHub Marketplace for the JavaScript version of the Giphy PR comment action. In this example, the identifier is: 
sidd-harth-7/[email protected]
The image shows a GitHub Marketplace page for a GitHub Action called "KodeKloud Giphy PR Comment," which is a sample action for demo purposes. It includes details like the version, a link to use the latest version, and contributor information.

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3. Update Your Workflow to Include the JavaScript Action

Open pr-thank-you.yml and add a new step for the JavaScript action immediately after the Docker action: 
on:
  pull_request:
    types:
      - opened

jobs:
  pr-action:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    permissions:
      issues: write
      pull-requests: write
    steps:
      - name: Post Docker Action PR Comment
        uses: sidd-harth-7/docker-action-pr-giphy-comment@main
        with:
          github-token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
          giphy-api-key: ${{ secrets.GIPHY_API_KEY }}

      - name: Post JavaScript Action PR Comment
        uses: sidd-harth-7/[email protected]
        with:
          github-token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
          giphy-api-key: ${{ secrets.GIPHY_API_KEY }}
FeatureDocker ActionJavaScript Action
Workflow Step NamePost Docker Action PR CommentPost JavaScript Action PR Comment
Action Referencesidd-harth-7/docker-action-pr-giphy-comment@mainsidd-harth-7/[email protected]
Startup PerformanceSlower (builds container)Faster (runs natively on Node.js)
Version Pinning@main@1.0.0-alpha

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4. Commit Changes and Open a Pull Request

Save your updated workflow on a branch, commit with a descriptive message, push the branch, and then create a pull request. This will trigger both actions on your new PR:
The image shows a GitHub interface with a commit changes dialog open, where a user is updating a file named "pr-thank-you.yml" with a commit message.

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5. Monitor Workflow Runs and Logs

  1. Go to the Actions tab in your repository.
  2. Select the latest run of the “PR Thank You” workflow.
  3. Expand the pr-action job to review logs for both the Docker and JavaScript steps.
The image shows a GitHub Actions page with a list of workflow runs for a repository named "solar-system." Each entry displays details like the workflow name, status, and time of execution.
The image shows a GitHub Actions workflow run summary, indicating a successful execution of a job named "pr-action" that includes building a Docker container and posting a JavaScript action PR comment with a Giphy GIF.
Both actions will post separate “Thank You” GIF comments on your pull request, demonstrating how you can mix and reuse Docker and JavaScript actions from the GitHub Marketplace.

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