Using GitHub actions in action flows

Before you can include external actions in your action flows, you must connect the action builder to the external system.


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Summary: ◀▼
You can connect action flows to GitHub to automate tasks like creating, updating, and commenting on issues and pull requests. Use a dedicated service account for connections and review permissions carefully. Available actions include searching and looking up issues, pull requests, and users, helping you integrate GitHub workflows into your support processes for better collaboration and tracking.


By connecting the action builder to external systems, such as GitHub, admins
can integrate Zendesk with external systems in automated workflows, improving
collaboration and maintaining a seamless experience across multiple platforms.
Note: The steps associated with external systems in action flows are
referred to collectively as external actions.

This article contains the following topics:
Connecting GitHub to action builder
Using GitHub actions in action flows




Connecting GitHub to action builder

Before you can include external actions in your action flows, you must connect the
action builder to the external system.
When connecting to external systems for use in action flows, the following best practices are recommended:
All external actions performed by an action flow are attributed to the user who connected the
external system. Therefore, it's a best practice to use a dedicated service
account rather than personal credentials when connecting to each external
system.
All integrations request access to necessary scopes. However, it's important that you review and validate the scopes before authorizing the connection to the external system.
When managing credentials for API key-based tools, such as OpenAI, it's best to store keys in a secure vault or credential manager.



To connect action builder to GitHub
In Admin Center, click
Apps and integrations in the sidebar, then select Actions > Action
flows.

Create or edit an action flow.
Open the step sidebar.
Under External actions, click GitHub.
Click Connect.
Follow GitHub's prompts to authenticate and complete the connection. The
GitHub connection uses OAuth 2.0 authentication with the authorization
code grant type. When you connect GitHub to action builder, you will be
redirected to GitHub to authorize the connection. The connector will
receive an access token that allows action flows to perform operations
on your behalf.
Review the requested permissions carefully before
authorizing the connection. The connector will request access to your
repositories, issues, and pull requests based on your account
permissions.

Note: All external actions
performed by an action flow are attributed to the user who connected the
external system. Therefore, it is a best practice to use a dedicated
service account rather than personal credentials when connecting to each
external system.



After you've connected to the system, you'll see an indicator that it's connected and
details about the instance you're connected to, as well as the actions available for
GitHub.



Using GitHub actions in action flows

The following GitHub actions are available:
Create issue
Update issue
Add comment to
issue
Search issues
Lookup issue
Create a pull
request
Update pull
request
Add comment to pull
request
Search pull
requests
Lookup pull
request
Lookup user




Creating an issue

Use the Create issue action to create a new issue in a GitHub
repository.
This action has the following inputs and outputs:










Variables




Inputs
Required: Owner,
Repository,
Title Owner is the account owner
(user or organization) of the
repository.
Optional: Body,
Assignees, Labels,
Milestone
Assignees and
Labels should be comma-separated lists.



Output
Issue details including ID, number, URL, state, creation
timestamp, and user.








Updating an issue

Use the Update issue action to update an existing issue's fields or state.
This action has the following inputs and outputs:










Variables




Inputs
Required: Owner,
Repository,
Issue State can be "open" or
"closed." Only provided fields will be
updated.
Optional: Title,
Body, State,
Assignees,
Labels



Output
Updated issue details including ID, number, URL, state,
and update timestamp.








Adding a comment to an issue

Use the Add comment to issue action to add a comment to an existing GitHub
issue.
This action has the following inputs and outputs:










Variables




Inputs
Required: Owner,
Repository, Issue,
Body Body supports GitHub Flavored
Markdown formatting.



Output
Comment details including ID, URL, creation timestamp,
user, and body text.








Searching for issues

Use the Search issues action to find issues matching search criteria
across GitHub repositories.
This action has the following inputs and outputs:










Variables




Inputs
Required: Query Optional: Sort
by, Per page,
Page
Query uses GitHub search
syntax (for example, "repo:owner/repo is:open
label:bug"). Sort by options include Best match, Newest,
Oldest, Most commented, Least commented, Recently
updated, and Least recently updated. Per page maximum is
100, default is 30.



Output
Array of issues with total count, containing issue
numbers, titles, states, URLs, and timestamps.








Looking up an issue

Use the Lookup issue action to retrieve complete details for a specific
GitHub issue.
This action has the following inputs and outputs:










Variables




Inputs
Required: Owner,
Repository,
Issue



Output
Complete issue details including ID, number, title, body,
state, URL, user, assignees, labels, milestone, comment
count, and timestamps.








Creating a pull request

Use the Create pull request action to create a new pull request in a
GitHub repository.
This action has the following inputs and outputs:










Variables




Inputs
Required: Owner,
Repository, Title,
Head branch, Base
branch Head branch is the branch to merge
from, Base branch is the branch to merge into (for
example, main).
Optional: Body,
Draft, Maintainer can
modify
Draft and Maintainer can
modify fields accept true or false values.



Output
Pull request details including ID, number, URL, state,
draft status, creation timestamp, user, head ref, and base
ref.








Updating a pull request

Use the Update pull request action to update an existing pull request's
fields or state.
This action has the following inputs and outputs:










Variables




Inputs
Required: Owner,
Repository, Pull
request Optional: Title,
Body, State,
Base branch
State can be
"open" or "closed." Only provided fields will be
updated.



Output
Updated pull request details including ID, number, URL,
state, and update timestamp.








Adding a comment to a pull request

Use the Add comment to pull request action to add a review comment to an
existing GitHub pull request.
This action has the following inputs and outputs:










Variables




Inputs
Required: Owner,
Repository, Pull
request, Body Body supports
GitHub Flavored Markdown formatting.



Output
Comment details including ID, URL, creation timestamp,
user, and body text.








Searching for pull requests

Use the Search pull requests action to find pull requests matching search
criteria across GitHub repositories.
This action has the following inputs and outputs:










Variables




Inputs
Required: Query Optional: Sort
by, Per page,
Page
Query uses GitHub search
syntax (e.g., "repo:owner/repo is:open"). Sort by
options include Best match, Newest, Oldest, Most
commented, Least commented, Recently updated, and Least
recently updated. Per page maximum is 100, default is
30.



Output
Array of pull requests with total count, containing PR
numbers, titles, states, URLs, and timestamps.








Looking up a pull request

Use the Lookup pull request action to retrieve complete details for a
specific GitHub pull request.
This action has the following inputs and outputs:










Variables




Inputs
Required: Owner,
Repository, Pull
request



Output
Complete issue details including ID, number, title, body,
state, URL, user, head ref, base ref, draft status,
mergeable status, and timestamps.








Looking up a user

Use the Lookup user action to retrieve GitHub user information by username
or email.
This action has the following inputs and outputs:










Variables




Inputs
Required: Lookup by,
Value Lookup by can be "Username" or
"Email." Email search only finds users who have made
their email public on GitHub.



Output
User details including ID, login, name, email, bio,
avatar URL, profile URL, type, and timestamps.








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