Update Branches Action

A GitHub Action that copies a selected set of files from one source branch to all other branches in the repository. Useful for keeping shared, repo-wide files (license, contribution docs, editor/CI config) consistent across every branch without manual cherry-picking.

Default file list

Unless otherwise specified, these files and folders are copied:

LICENSE
NOTICE
README.md
CONTRIBUTING.md
.vscode/
.devcontainer/
.github/

Usage

Use from a separate repository

Reference the published action by its owner/repo@ref in any repository. Pass values to each input through the with: block. To let whoever triggers the run type values (e.g. which files to copy) from the Actions tab, declare workflow_dispatch inputs and forward them with ${{ inputs.* }}:

# .github/workflows/sync-shared-files.yaml (in YOUR repo)
name: Sync shared files

on:
  workflow_dispatch:
    inputs:
      source-branch:
        description: "Source branch to copy files from (blank = default branch)"
        required: false
        default: ""
      files:
        description: "Comma or newline separated list of files/dirs/globs to copy (blank = default list)"
        required: false
        default: ""

permissions:
  contents: write       # required for push mode
  pull-requests: write  # required for pr mode

jobs:
  sync:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: LinkedInLearning/lil-update-branches@v1.0.1
        with:
          source-branch: ${{ inputs.source-branch }}
          files: ${{ inputs.files }}

Notes for cross-repo use:

• No checkout needed. When you reference a published action by owner/repo@ref, GitHub fetches it automatically - you do not need an actions/checkout step (that's only required when using the local ./ form inside this action's own repo).
• Pin a ref. Use a tag (@v1), branch, or commit SHA. A SHA is the most secure (@<full-sha>).
• Omit an input to use its default. Leaving files blank falls back to the built-in default list.
• Hardcode instead of prompting by skipping the workflow_dispatch inputs and setting values directly, e.g. files: | followed by your selectors.

name: Sync shared files

on:
  workflow_dispatch:
  # Optional: run on a schedule
  # schedule:
  #   - cron: "0 6 * * 1"   # every Monday 06:00 UTC

permissions:
  contents: write       # required for push mode
  pull-requests: write  # required for pr mode

jobs:
  sync:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: LinkedInLearning/lil-update-branches@v1.0.1
        with:
          # All inputs are optional; defaults shown below.
          source-branch: ""            # default: repository default branch
          files: ""                    # default: see "Default file list"
          include-branches: "*"
          exclude-branches: ""
          mode: push                   # or "pr"
          dry-run: "false"

Open pull requests instead of pushing

      - uses: LinkedInLearning/lil-update-branches@v1.0.1
        with:
          mode: pr

In pr mode the action maintains a stable head branch sync-shared-files/<target-branch> per target and reuses/updates an existing open PR on re-runs instead of opening duplicates.

Preview changes (dry-run)

      - uses: LinkedInLearning/lil-update-branches@v1.0.1
        with:
          dry-run: "true"

Inputs

Input	Required	Default	Description
source-branch	no	repo default branch	Branch to copy files from.
files	no	(default list below)	Newline/comma-separated paths, directory prefixes, and/or globs to copy.
include-branches	no	*	Glob(s) of target branches to include.
exclude-branches	no	(none)	Glob(s) of target branches to exclude. The source branch is always excluded.
mode	no	push	push = commit directly to each branch. pr = open a pull request per branch.
dry-run	no	false	Compute and report planned changes without writing.
commit-message	no	chore: sync shared files from {source-branch}	Commit message. {source-branch} is substituted.
pr-title	no	chore: sync shared files from {source-branch}	PR title (pr mode). {source-branch} is substituted.
token	no	${{ github.token }}	Token used for API/Git operations. Override for cross-repo or elevated permissions.

File selectors

Each entry in files may be:

• an exact path - e.g. LICENSE
• a directory prefix - e.g. .github/ or src (copies everything under it, recursively)
• a glob - e.g. **/*.md, *.yml

Example:

with:
  files: |
    LICENSE
    .github/
    docs/**/*.md

Outputs

Output	Description
updated-branches	JSON array of branches that received changes.
skipped-branches	JSON array of { branch, reason } for skipped/failed branches.
summary	Human-readable summary (also written to the job step summary).

Permissions

• mode: push requires contents: write.
• mode: pr requires contents: write and pull-requests: write.

Branch protection rules may block direct pushes; in that case the affected branches are reported under skipped-branches and the run still succeeds. Use mode: pr for protected branches.

Development

npm ci          # install
npm test        # run unit tests (Jest)
npm run lint    # eslint
npm run build   # type-check + bundle dist/
npm run all     # lint + type-check + test + bundle

The committed dist/ bundle is what the runtime executes - always run npm run all and commit dist/ after changing src/.

License

LinkedIn Learning Exercise Files License Agreement