github-actions-deploy

GitHub Actions Deployment

Goal

Deploy any Python automation to run on a schedule (cron) using GitHub Actions. Free for public repos. No server needed.

When to Use

• Daily/hourly/weekly automated tasks (social media posting, news digest, scraping, reports)
• Anything that runs, does its job, and exits (not a persistent bot)
• Student-friendly: $0 cost, no infrastructure

Prerequisites

• GitHub account
• Project in a git repo
• requirements.txt in the project

Step-by-Step

1. Create the workflow file

mkdir -p .github/workflows

2. Write the workflow

Create .github/workflows/automate.yml:

name: Run Automation

on:
  schedule:
    # Runs daily at 9:00 AM UTC (2:30 PM IST)
    - cron: '0 9 * * *'
  workflow_dispatch:  # Manual trigger button in GitHub UI

jobs:
  run:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Checkout code
        uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Set up Python
        uses: actions/setup-python@v5
        with:
          python-version: '3.11'

      - name: Install dependencies
        run: pip install -r requirements.txt

      - name: Run automation
        run: python tools/post_all.py --linkedin "$LINKEDIN_TEXT"
        env:
          EURI_API_KEY: ${{ secrets.EURI_API_KEY }}
          LINKEDIN_ACCESS_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.LINKEDIN_ACCESS_TOKEN }}
          LINKEDIN_PERSON_URN: ${{ secrets.LINKEDIN_PERSON_URN }}
          BLOTATO_API_KEY: ${{ secrets.BLOTATO_API_KEY }}
          BLOTATO_X_ID: ${{ secrets.BLOTATO_X_ID }}
          BLOTATO_INSTAGRAM_ID: ${{ secrets.BLOTATO_INSTAGRAM_ID }}
          BLOTATO_YOUTUBE_ID: ${{ secrets.BLOTATO_YOUTUBE_ID }}

3. Add secrets to GitHub

Go to: Repo → Settings → Secrets and variables → Actions → New repository secret

Add each key from .env as a secret. NEVER hardcode keys in the workflow file.

4. Push to GitHub

git add .github/workflows/automate.yml
git commit -m "Add GitHub Actions deployment"
git push origin main

5. Test manually

Go to: Repo → Actions tab → "Run Automation" → "Run workflow" button

6. Verify

Check the Actions tab for green checkmark. Check the target platform (LinkedIn, Telegram, etc.) for output.

Common Cron Schedules

Schedule	Cron Expression
Every hour	0 * * * *
Daily at 9 AM UTC	0 9 * * *
Twice daily (9 AM + 6 PM UTC)	0 9,18 * * *
Every Monday at 9 AM	0 9 * * 1
Every 15 minutes	*/15 * * * *
First of every month	0 0 1 * *

Gotchas

1. Cron is UTC only — convert to your timezone. IST = UTC + 5:30.
2. Minimum interval is 5 minutes — GitHub doesn't support faster.
3. Schedule can be delayed — GitHub may delay runs by 5-15 min during peak load.
4. Max 6 hours per job — if your automation takes longer, split it.
5. Public repos = unlimited minutes — private repos get 2,000 min/month free.
6. Secrets are NOT available in forks — only in the original repo.

Debugging

# Check logs: Repo → Actions → click the failed run → click the job → read logs
# Re-run: Click "Re-run all jobs" button
# Test locally first: python tools/post_all.py (always test before pushing)

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Schema

Inputs

Name	Type	Required	Description
project_path	string	No	Path to the project (default: current directory)
schedule	string	No	Cron expression (default: daily at 9 AM UTC)
script	string	Yes	Python script to run (e.g., tools/post_all.py)

Outputs

Name	Type	Description
workflow_file	file_path	Created .github/workflows/automate.yml
deployed	boolean	Whether push to GitHub succeeded

Credentials

Name	Source
All project .env keys	GitHub Repo → Settings → Secrets

Composable With

Any automation project — Social Media, Telegram Bot, Scraper, PDF Filler, etc.

Cost

Free (public repos), 2,000 min/month (private repos)