> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://notes.kodekloud.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Step 4 Using Outputs in Reusable Workflow > This article explains how to expose and use outputs from a reusable GitHub Actions workflow for downstream jobs. In this lesson, we’ll walk through exposing outputs from a reusable workflow so downstream jobs—in this case, **dev-integration-testing**—can access the application URL generated during deployment. ## Troubleshooting the Integration Test Failure When **dev-integration-testing** runs without the exposed URL, you might see: ```bash theme={null} echo $URL # shell: /usr/bin/bash -e {0} # env: # MONGO_URI: mongodb+srv://... URL: [ Error: Process completed with exit code 1. ``` The root cause is that `APP_INGRESS_URL` isn’t available to the test job. To fix this, we need to define and export `outputs` in our reusable workflow. ## 1. Define Workflow-Level Outputs Edit `.github/workflows/reuse-deployment.yml` and add an `outputs` section under `on.workflow_call`: ```yaml theme={null} name: Deployment - Reusable Workflow on: workflow_call: inputs: environment: description: Deployment environment (dev or prod) required: true default: dev type: string mongodb-uri: description: MongoDB connection URI required: true type: string k8s-manifest-dir: description: Path to Kubernetes manifests required: true type: string kubectl-version: description: kubectl version required: false default: v1.24.0 type: string secrets: k8s-kubeconfig: required: true mongodb-password: required: true outputs: application-url: description: The application ingress URL value: ${{ jobs.reuse-deploy.outputs.APP_INGRESS_URL }} ``` ## 2. Map Job Outputs to Workflow Outputs Inside the `reuse-deploy` job, expose the ingress host address: ```yaml theme={null} jobs: reuse-deploy: runs-on: ubuntu-latest environment: name: ${{ inputs.environment }} url: https://${{ steps.set-ingress-host.outputs.ingress_host }} outputs: APP_INGRESS_URL: ${{ steps.set-ingress-host.outputs.ingress_host }} steps: - name: Checkout repository uses: actions/checkout@v4 - name: Install kubectl uses: azure/setup-kubectl@v3 with: version: ${{ inputs.kubectl-version }} - name: Configure kubeconfig uses: azure/k8s-set-context@v3 with: kubeconfig: ${{ secrets.k8s-kubeconfig }} - name: Deploy manifests run: | kubectl apply -f ${{ inputs.k8s-manifest-dir }} echo "Deployment complete." - name: Extract ingress host id: set-ingress-host run: | host=$(kubectl get ingress \ -n ${{ inputs.environment }} \ -o jsonpath='{.status.loadBalancer.ingress[0].hostname}') echo "ingress_host=$host" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT ``` Make sure the `id` in the step (here: `set-ingress-host`) matches when you reference `steps..outputs`. ## 3. Consume Outputs in the Caller Workflow In your main workflow (e.g., `.github/workflows/ci.yml`), invoke the reusable workflow and pass its outputs to integration tests: ```yaml theme={null} jobs: docker: runs-on: ubuntu-latest # Build and push image steps: … dev-deploy: needs: docker uses: ./.github/workflows/reuse-deployment.yml with: mongodb-uri: ${{ vars.MONGO_URI }} environment: development k8s-manifest-dir: kubernetes/development secrets: k8s-kubeconfig: ${{ secrets.KUBECONFIG }} mongodb-password: ${{ secrets.MONGO_PASSWORD }} dev-integration-testing: needs: dev-deploy runs-on: ubuntu-latest steps: - name: Run integration tests env: URL: ${{ needs.dev-deploy.outputs.application-url }} run: | echo "Testing $URL" curl -s -k https://$URL/live | jq -r '.status' | grep -qi live prod-deploy: if: github.ref == 'refs/heads/main' needs: docker uses: ./.github/workflows/reuse-deployment.yml with: mongodb-uri: ${{ vars.MONGO_URI }} environment: production k8s-manifest-dir: kubernetes/production secrets: k8s-kubeconfig: ${{ secrets.KUBECONFIG }} mongodb-password: ${{ secrets.MONGO_PASSWORD }} prod-integration-testing: if: github.ref == 'refs/heads/main' needs: prod-deploy runs-on: ubuntu-latest steps: - name: Validate production URL env: URL: ${{ needs.prod-deploy.outputs.application-url }} run: | echo "Production URL: $URL" curl -s -k https://$URL/live | jq -r '.status' | grep -qi live ``` | Job | Consumes Output | | ------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------- | | dev-deploy | Generates `application-url` via reusable wf | | dev-integration-testing | Uses `${{ needs.dev-deploy.outputs.application-url }}` | | prod-deploy | Generates `application-url` for production | | prod-integration-testing | Uses `${{ needs.prod-deploy.outputs.application-url }}` | ## 4. Verify the Workflow Summary After committing and pushing, the GitHub Actions summary will show all jobs passing, including the integration tests with the correct URLs. ![The image shows a GitHub Actions workflow summary for a project, indicating successful completion of various jobs like unit testing, code coverage, and deployment. The workflow is titled "Solar System Workflow" and includes details such as the trigger, status, and duration.](https://kodekloud.com/kk-media/image/upload/v1752876355/notes-assets/images/GitHub-Actions-Certification-Step-4-Using-Outputs-in-Reusable-Workflow/github-actions-solar-system-workflow-summary.jpg) A snippet from **dev-integration-testing** logs confirms the URL is passed correctly: ```bash theme={null} # env: URL: solar-system-development.172.232.87.200.nip.io # Testing solar-system-development.172.232.87.200.nip.io curl -s -k https://solar-system-development.172.232.87.200.nip.io/live | jq -r '.status'… ``` With this setup, your workflows remain modular, DRY, and easy to manage by: * Defining inputs, secrets, and outputs in a reusable workflow. * Mapping job-level outputs to workflow-level outputs. * Accessing those outputs in downstream jobs. ## Links and References * [GitHub Actions: Reusable Workflows](https://docs.github.com/actions/learn-github-actions/reusing-workflows) * [workflow\_call event](https://docs.github.com/actions/using-workflows/events-that-trigger-workflows#workflow_call) * [GitHub Actions Outputs](https://docs.github.com/actions/using-workflows/workflow-outputs)