> ## 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.

# Sharing Custom Actions

> This article explains how to publish a JavaScript action to the GitHub Marketplace, including prerequisites and steps for creating a release.

In this lesson, you’ll publish your JavaScript action to the GitHub Marketplace. We’ve already built three custom actions—composite, Docker container, and JavaScript—and now it’s time to share our **PR Giphy Comment** action with the world.

## Repository Overview

Navigate to your repository on GitHub. You should see these key files:

| File         | Purpose                                     |
| ------------ | ------------------------------------------- |
| `.gitignore` | Excludes files from version control         |
| `README.md`  | Project overview and usage instructions     |
| `index.js`   | Entry point for the JavaScript logic        |
| `action.yml` | Metadata for GitHub Actions and Marketplace |

## Prerequisites

Before publishing, make sure you have:

* **Accepted the GitHub Marketplace Terms**
* **Enabled Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)** on your account

<Callout icon="lightbulb" color="#1CB2FE">
  GitHub requires 2FA for all Marketplace publishers. If you haven’t set it up yet, follow the prompts under **Settings → Security → Two-factor authentication**.
</Callout>

## Initial Publishing Attempt

When you click **Create new release**, GitHub validates your `action.yml`. Common errors include:

* A non-unique `name` field
* Missing `branding` section (icon or color)

<Callout icon="triangle-alert" color="#FF6B6B">
  If you see “Action name must be unique” or “Branding information missing,” update your `action.yml` before you can publish.
</Callout>

## Update action.yml Metadata

Open `action.yml` in your editor and ensure the following fields are defined:

| Field         | Description                                 | Example                              |
| ------------- | ------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------ |
| `name`        | Unique identifier for your action           | KodeKloud Giphy PR Comment           |
| `description` | Short summary of what the action does       | Add a Giphy GIF comment to PRs       |
| `inputs`      | Required parameters (token, API keys, etc.) | github-token, giphy-api-key          |
| `runs`        | Runtime environment and entry point         | using `node20`, main `dist/index.js` |
| `branding`    | Marketplace icon and color                  | icon `award`, color `green`          |

Here’s a complete example configuration:

```yaml theme={null}
name: 'KodeKloud Giphy PR Comment'
description: 'Add a Giphy GIF comment to new pull requests.'
inputs:
  github-token:
    description: 'GitHub Token'
    required: true
  giphy-api-key:
    description: 'Giphy API Key'
    required: true
runs:
  using: 'node20'
  main: 'dist/index.js'
branding:
  icon: 'award'
  color: 'green'
```

Commit and push these changes to your feature branch.

## Create a Release

1. On GitHub, click **Create new release**.
2. Enter the **Tag** (e.g., `1.0.0-alpha`), **Title** (e.g., *Alpha Release*), and a brief **Description** (e.g., “Demo release for the Giphy PR comment action.”).
3. Publish the release.

Consider using [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/) for your tags.

## Verify Release Downloads

After publishing, the release page will display download links:

* Source code (ZIP)
* Source code (tar.gz)

Ensure both links are available—this confirms your release artifacts are correctly packaged.

## View the Marketplace Listing

Your action is now live! Click the **View it on GitHub Marketplace** link provided on the release page to see the “KodeKloud Giphy PR Comment” listing. You can further enhance your listing by adding:

* Usage examples
* Detailed configuration instructions
* Screenshots or GIFs

We’ll use this published action in one of our upcoming workflows.

## Links and References

* [GitHub Marketplace Documentation](https://docs.github.com/en/marketplace)
* [GitHub Actions Inputs](https://docs.github.com/en/actions/creating-actions/metadata-syntax-for-github-actions#inputs)
* [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/)

<CardGroup>
  <Card title="Watch Video" icon="video" cta="Learn more" href="https://learn.kodekloud.com/user/courses/github-actions/module/cdb7c2b7-442d-440c-a4f1-d6679733ffd8/lesson/21b08919-69f3-41e2-a27c-c86e16822451" />
</CardGroup>