如何在GitHub Actions中持久化工作流输入变量以实现维护模式

方案一：使用GitHub仓库变量（推荐） #

这是官方支持的持久化方式，可通过工作流自动更新变量，所有其他工作流能直接读取该值，无需手动修改。

1. 初始配置
   先在仓库的Settings > Secrets and variables > Variables中创建MAINTENANCE变量，初始值设为false。

2. 更新变量的手动工作流
   修改你的手动触发工作流，调用GitHub API更新仓库变量：

on:
  workflow_dispatch:
    inputs:
      maintenance:
        description: 'Set MAINTENANCE variable'
        required: true
        default: 'false'

permissions:
  administration: write  # 仅需此权限即可更新仓库变量

jobs:
  set-maintenance-mode:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Update MAINTENANCE repository variable
        uses: actions/github-script@v6
        with:
          script: |
            const { data: variables } = await github.rest.actions.getRepoVariables({
              owner: context.repo.owner,
              repo: context.repo.repo,
            });
            const existingVar = variables.variables.find(v => v.name === 'MAINTENANCE');
            
            if (existingVar) {
              await github.rest.actions.updateRepoVariable({
                owner: context.repo.owner,
                repo: context.repo.repo,
                name: 'MAINTENANCE',
                value: '${{ github.event.inputs.maintenance }}'
              });
            } else {
              await github.rest.actions.createRepoVariable({
                owner: context.repo.owner,
                repo: context.repo.repo,
                name: 'MAINTENANCE',
                value: '${{ github.event.inputs.maintenance }}'
              });
            }

3. 其他工作流读取变量
   在代码提交触发的工作流中，直接通过${{ vars.MAINTENANCE }}读取状态并执行对应逻辑：

on: [push, pull_request]

jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Skip build in maintenance mode
        if: ${{ vars.MAINTENANCE == 'true' }}
        run: echo "Maintenance mode active - skipping build process"
      - name: Execute normal build
        if: ${{ vars.MAINTENANCE == 'false' }}
        run: echo "Running standard build and deployment steps"

方案二：提交状态文件到仓库 #

通过在仓库中写入状态文件并提交的方式持久化维护状态，适合不想给工作流管理权限的场景。

1. 更新状态文件的手动工作流

on:
  workflow_dispatch:
    inputs:
      maintenance:
        description: 'Set MAINTENANCE variable'
        required: true
        default: 'false'

jobs:
  set-maintenance-mode:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Checkout code
        uses: actions/checkout@v4
        with:
          fetch-depth: 0

      - name: Write maintenance status to file
        run: echo "${{ github.event.inputs.maintenance }}" > .maintenance

      - name: Commit and push changes
        uses: ad-m/github-push-action@master
        with:
          github_token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
          branch: ${{ github.ref }}
          message: "Update maintenance mode to ${{ github.event.inputs.maintenance }}"

2. 其他工作流读取状态文件

on: [push, pull_request]

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

      - name: Read maintenance status
        id: maintenance
        run: echo "status=$(cat .maintenance)" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT

      - name: Maintenance mode logic
        if: ${{ steps.maintenance.outputs.status == 'true' }}
        run: echo "Skipping deployment - maintenance mode active"
      - name: Normal workflow logic
        if: ${{ steps.maintenance.outputs.status == 'false' }}
        run: echo "Executing full build and deployment pipeline"

方案对比与可行性说明 #

两种方案均无需手动修改变量，完全通过工作流自动完成状态持久化：

• 仓库变量方案：无额外提交记录，状态管理简洁，适合大多数场景；
• 文件提交方案：状态可回溯版本历史，无需特殊权限，但会产生额外的仓库提交。

内容的提问来源于stack exchange，提问作者Jeanluca Scaljeri