A tech hack experiment - using Github Actions to automate the checking of repos for file changes.

A technical writer may need to constantly check a repository for changed files to perform edits. These files may be either in Markdown or code. I learned recently that Github Actions is increasingly popular and easy to implement, so I wanted an excuse to explore it.

I created a test repository, and utilized Github Actions to create a workflow to create the automated workflows that can be triggered in customizable ways.

• You can view the test repo here.

• View the log of one workflow test run by me, where I altered a file named Test file 1.txt in this test repo.

Another way of automating this task could involve writing a shell script. The Github Action I used was pre-written. You can use many off the shelf actions, and contribute your own.

Another use case for technical writers could be to implement the pre-written Vale linter Github Action to perform style guide checks, or other custom workflows.