Reusable Workflows

Manage both sides of GitHub Actions reusability — producers and consumers — and keep them synchronized.

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Overview

GitHub Actions supports reusable workflows — workflow files that define a workflow_call trigger and can be invoked by other workflows using the uses: directive. ActionsManager manages both sides:

• Reusable Workflows (Producers) — the centrally defined workflows that encode your organization’s standards
• Caller Workflows (Consumers) — the per-repository workflows that invoke reusable workflows via uses:

Managing only one side leaves gaps: updating producers without updating consumers causes drift; managing consumers without versioning producers leads to duplication. ActionsManager manages both sides together.

Reusable Workflow Projects (Producers)

A Reusable Workflow Project in ActionsManager manages the repository that defines and publishes shared workflow definitions.

With a producer project you can:

• Author and version reusable workflow YAML
• Track which repositories (consumers) reference the reusable workflow
• See which consumers are in sync vs. drifted against the current reusable workflow version

Caller Workflow Projects (Consumers)

A Caller Workflow Project manages the repositories whose workflows call the reusable workflow.

With a consumer project you can:

• Generate and distribute caller workflows across many repositories
• Keep uses: references aligned with the current reusable workflow version
• Roll out reference updates through PR campaigns when the producer changes

End-to-End Flow

A typical producer-to-consumer update cycle:

1. Update the reusable workflow in the producer repository (e.g., bump a version or change inputs)
2. ActionsManager detects which caller workflows across all consumer projects reference the updated reusable workflow
3. Create a PR campaign — each affected repository receives a pull request updating its caller workflow to the new version
4. Merge the PRs individually or in bulk
5. Drift detection confirms that all consumers are back in sync with the producer

Importing an Existing Reusable Workflow

Reusable workflows already living in your repositories are brought in through Import Existing like any other workflow. Because a reusable workflow belongs in a producer project, importing one into a Caller Workflow Project asks first whether to file it into a Reusable Workflow Project instead — and offers to create one if you don’t have it yet.

See Importing a reusable workflow for that prompt and what each choice does, including what happens to reusable workflows a caller project already owns.

Inputs and Outputs

Reusable workflows define inputs: and outputs: that caller workflows must provide. ActionsManager:

• Tracks the inputs/outputs defined by the reusable workflow
• Validates that generated caller workflows provide the required inputs
• Surfaces mismatches when a reusable workflow changes its interface

Related Topics

• Reusable Workflow Repository Setup — step-by-step guide with YAML examples and end-to-end walkthrough
• Projects — project types for producer and consumer management
• Workflows — workflow management and delivery
• Drift Detection — keep producers and consumers in sync
• PR Campaigns — roll out producer changes to consumers