github-actions-validate-release

A GitHub composite action that validates release deployments by checking:

1. Tag format follows semantic versioning
2. Git tag exists in the repository
3. Docker image with the tag exists in AWS ECR

This action is designed to be used as a preflight check before deploying releases, ensuring all prerequisites are met before deployment begins.

Inputs

Input	Description	Required	Default
tag	Git/image tag to validate (must follow semantic versioning: v*.. )	Yes	-
ECR_REGISTRY	Full ECR registry URL including repository name Example: 123456789.dkr.ecr.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/my-app	Yes	-
aws-account	AWS account name to assume role for ECR access	No	bisnow
aws-region	AWS region where ECR repository is located	No	us-east-1

Usage

Basic Example

jobs: 
  validate-release:
    name: Validate tag and check if image exists
    runs-on: arc-runners-bisnow
    steps:
      - name: Validate Release
        uses: bisnow/github-actions-validate-release@v1.0
        with: 
          tag: ${{ inputs.tag }}
          ECR_REGISTRY: ${{ env.ECR_REGISTRY }}

With Custom AWS Account and Region

- name: Validate Release
  uses: bisnow/github-actions-validate-release@v1.0
  with:
    tag: ${{ inputs.tag }}
    ECR_REGISTRY: ${{ env.ECR_REGISTRY }}
    aws-account: production
    aws-region: us-west-2

How It Works

This action performs validation in the following order:

1. Validate Tag Format

   • Checks that the tag starts with v and follows semantic versioning pattern
   • Pattern: v[MAJOR].[MINOR].[PATCH][optional-suffix]
   • Examples: v1.0.0, v2.3.4-beta, v1.0.0-rc.1

2. Check Git Tag Exists

   • Checks if the tag exists in the local repository
   • If not found locally, fetches tags from remote and checks again
   • Fails if tag doesn't exist in either location

3. AWS Authentication

   • Assumes the specified AWS role for ECR access
   • Uses bisnow/github-actions-assume-role-for-environment

4. Check Docker Image Exists

   • Extracts repository name from the ECR_REGISTRY URL
   • Queries AWS ECR to verify an image with the specified tag exists
   • Fails if image is not found

   Versioning

This action uses rolling major version tags. You can pin to:

• A specific version: @v3.1.0 (exact, never changes)
• A major version: @v3 (recommended, gets bug fixes and new features)

When a new semantic version tag (e.g., v3.2.0) is pushed, a GitHub Actions workflow automatically updates the corresponding major version tag (v3) to point to the new release.