compare-actions

name	compare-actions
description	Compare two actions for pattern consistency

Compare Actions

Compare two actions side-by-side for pattern consistency. Useful when one action was modeled after another and you want to ensure they follow the same conventions.

Arguments

• <action1> (required): First action directory name (e.g., npm-publish)
• <action2> (required): Second action directory name (e.g., npm-semantic-release)

Steps

1. Verify both actions exist

Check that both <action1>/action.yml and <action2>/action.yml exist. Abort with an error if either is missing.

2. Compare checkout action versions

Extract all actions/checkout@ references from both action.yml files. Flag if they use different SHAs.

3. Compare setup action versions

Extract all actions/setup-node@, actions/setup-python@, actions/setup-go@, and similar setup action references. Compare versions/SHAs between the two actions. Only compare setup actions that appear in both.

4. Compare cache patterns

Look for actions/cache@ usage or built-in caching (cache: keys in setup actions). Compare cache key patterns and restore-keys strategies.

5. Compare error handling patterns

Check both actions for:

• set -eu usage in shell blocks
• if: failure() or if: always() steps
• continue-on-error usage
• Error message formatting patterns

Flag differences.

6. Compare secret masking

Check both actions for:

• ::add-mask:: usage
• Token/secret handling patterns
• Whether sensitive inputs are masked before use

Flag if one action masks secrets and the other does not.

7. Compare structural patterns

• Number of steps
• Input/output naming conventions
• Shell language used (sh vs bash)
• Branding (icon, color)
• Whether they use composite vs docker vs node

8. Summary

Print a comparison report:

Comparing: <action1> vs <action2>
--------------------------------------------------
Checkout version     MATCH / MISMATCH (details)
Setup actions        MATCH / MISMATCH / N/A
Cache patterns       MATCH / MISMATCH / N/A
Error handling       MATCH / MISMATCH (details)
Secret masking       MATCH / MISMATCH (details)
Structure            (summary of differences)
--------------------------------------------------
Inconsistencies found: N

Output

A structured comparison report. Each check shows MATCH, MISMATCH (with details), or N/A (if the check does not apply to both actions). Inconsistencies are flagged with specific recommendations for which action should be updated to match.