github-actions-deploy

name	github-actions-deploy
description	Deploy any automation to run on schedule using GitHub Actions. Use when user asks to deploy with cron, schedule an automation, run code automatically, or deploy for free.
argument-hint	[project-path] [schedule]
disable-model-invocation	true
allowed-tools	Bash, Read, Write, Edit, Glob, Grep

GitHub Actions Deployment

Goal

Deploy any Python automation to run on a schedule (cron) using GitHub Actions. Free for public repos. No server needed.

When to Use

• Daily/hourly/weekly automated tasks (social media posting, news digest, scraping, reports)
• Anything that runs, does its job, and exits (not a persistent bot)
• Student-friendly: $0 cost, no infrastructure

Prerequisites

• GitHub account
• Project in a git repo
• requirements.txt in the project

Step-by-Step

1. Create the workflow file

mkdir -p .github/workflows

2. Write the workflow

Create .github/workflows/automate.yml:

name: Run Automation

on:
  schedule:
    # Runs daily at 9:00 AM UTC (2:30 PM IST)
    - cron: '0 9 * * *'
  workflow_dispatch:  # Manual trigger button in GitHub UI

jobs:
  run:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Checkout code
        uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Set up Python
        uses: actions/setup-python@v5
        with:
          python-version: '3.11'

      - name: Install dependencies
        run: pip install -r requirements.txt

      - name: Run automation
        run: python tools/post_all.py --linkedin "$LINKEDIN_TEXT"
        env:
          EURI_API_KEY: ${{ secrets.EURI_API_KEY }}
          LINKEDIN_ACCESS_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.LINKEDIN_ACCESS_TOKEN }}
          LINKEDIN_PERSON_URN: ${{ secrets.LINKEDIN_PERSON_URN }}
          BLOTATO_API_KEY: ${{ secrets.BLOTATO_API_KEY }}
          BLOTATO_X_ID: ${{ secrets.BLOTATO_X_ID }}
          BLOTATO_INSTAGRAM_ID: ${{ secrets.BLOTATO_INSTAGRAM_ID }}
          BLOTATO_YOUTUBE_ID: ${{ secrets.BLOTATO_YOUTUBE_ID }}

3. Add secrets to GitHub

Go to: Repo → Settings → Secrets and variables → Actions → New repository secret

Add each key from .env as a secret. NEVER hardcode keys in the workflow file.

4. Push to GitHub

git add .github/workflows/automate.yml
git commit -m "Add GitHub Actions deployment"
git push origin main

5. Test manually

Go to: Repo → Actions tab → "Run Automation" → "Run workflow" button

6. Verify

Check the Actions tab for green checkmark. Check the target platform (LinkedIn, Telegram, etc.) for output.

Common Cron Schedules

Schedule	Cron Expression
Every hour	0 * * * *
Daily at 9 AM UTC	0 9 * * *
Twice daily (9 AM + 6 PM UTC)	0 9,18 * * *
Every Monday at 9 AM	0 9 * * 1
Every 15 minutes	*/15 * * * *
First of every month	0 0 1 * *

Gotchas

1. Cron is UTC only — convert to your timezone. IST = UTC + 5:30.
2. Minimum interval is 5 minutes — GitHub doesn't support faster.
3. Schedule can be delayed — GitHub may delay runs by 5-15 min during peak load.
4. Max 6 hours per job — if your automation takes longer, split it.
5. Public repos = unlimited minutes — private repos get 2,000 min/month free.
6. Secrets are NOT available in forks — only in the original repo.

Debugging

# Check logs: Repo → Actions → click the failed run → click the job → read logs
# Re-run: Click "Re-run all jobs" button
# Test locally first: python tools/post_all.py (always test before pushing)

---

Schema

Inputs

Name	Type	Required	Description
project_path	string	No	Path to the project (default: current directory)
schedule	string	No	Cron expression (default: daily at 9 AM UTC)
script	string	Yes	Python script to run (e.g., tools/post_all.py)

Outputs

Name	Type	Description
workflow_file	file_path	Created .github/workflows/automate.yml
deployed	boolean	Whether push to GitHub succeeded

Credentials

Name	Source
All project .env keys	GitHub Repo → Settings → Secrets

Composable With

Any automation project — Social Media, Telegram Bot, Scraper, PDF Filler, etc.

Cost

Free (public repos), 2,000 min/month (private repos)