How can I auto-generate a release note and create a release using Github Actions

Question

I am trying to create a Github Action job that will automatically generate a release note and create a release based on that note. I have found an action called "actions/create-release", but it is only good for creating the release, and does not provide a way to automatically generate the release note.

  - name: Create-Release
    id: release
    uses: actions/create-release@v1
    env:
      GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
    with:
      tag_name: "${{ env.ver }}"
      release_name: "${{ env.ver }}"
      draft: false
      prerelease: false

Moreover, I have also learned that the "actions/create-release" repository is now obsolete, and no further updates will be provided for it. Therefore, I am seeking an alternative solution to accomplish my goal.

What is the best way to auto-generate a release note and create a release using Github Actions? Are there any recommended actions or workflows that can achieve this without relying on the now-obsolete "actions/create-release" repository?

Answer 1

This can be done using the GitHub CLI and a run step. For example, a workflow that creates a release for any tag pushed to the GitHub hosted repository could look like this:

name: Create release

on:
  push:
    tags:
      - v*

permissions:
  contents: write

jobs:
  release:
    name: Release pushed tag
    runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
    steps:
      - name: Create release
        env:
          GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
          tag: ${{ github.ref_name }}
        run: |
          gh release create "$tag" \
              --repo="$GITHUB_REPOSITORY" \
              --title="${GITHUB_REPOSITORY#*/} ${tag#v}" \
              --generate-notes

Answer 2

FWIW, this action has worked well for me. I have it configured to add a release draft when a PR is merged into main and auto-generate notes for me. It seems pretty robust with a lot of options and is updated fairly recently (Feb 2nd, 2024 as of this post.)

https://github.com/marketplace/actions/release-drafter