> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://gcore.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Build and deploy containers to CaaS via GitHub actions

## Overview

We've developed a public GitHub action that allows you to deploy your containers to [Gcore Container as a Service](/cloud/caas) directly via GitHub workflows. This action can be found in the [deploy-container repository](https://github.com/gcore-github-actions/deploy-container) repository and in the Marketplace under [GitHub Actions](https://github.com/marketplace/actions/deploy-to-gcore-container-as-a-service).

## GitHub Actions

The principle of Actions is described in the [detailed GitHub documentation](https://docs.github.com/en/actions/learn-github-actions/understanding-github-actions). You create a YAML file in your repository's *.github/workflows* directory. This YAML file contains the code that is executed during a workflow run. Other key components of GitHub Actions include:

* **Events**, which trigger workflows (e.g., pull\_request)
* **Jobs**, which define the steps that will be executed on the runner or actions that will be run
* **Actions**, which allow you to automate, customize, and execute your software development workflows directly in your repository
* **Runners**, which are servers where workflows are executed

## How to use the Gcore action

1\. In the *.github/workflows/* directory, create a file with the *.yml* extension.

2\. Add the following content to your *.yml* file:

```yaml theme={null}
name: Deploy

on:
  workflow_dispatch:

jobs:
  deploy:
    name: deploy
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest

    steps:
      - id: deploy
        uses: gcore-github-actions/deploy-container@v1
        with:
          api-token: ${{ secrets.GCLOUD_API_TOKEN }}
          project-id: ${{ vars.GCLOUD_PROJECT }}
          region-id: ${{ vars.GCLOUD_REGION }}
          name: my-container
          image: nginx:latest

      - name: Use output
        run: echo "${{ steps.deploy.outputs.address }}"
```

Complete the required and optional fields per the below.

**Required fields** :

* `api-token` is an [API token](/account-settings/api-tokens) that authenticates the GitHub action to Gcore API.
* `project-id` is the ID of the Gcore project where the container should be deployed. You can use the [list projects](/api-reference/cloud/projects/list-projects) API request to retrieve this.
* `region-id` is the ID of the region where the container should be deployed. This can be obtained using the [list regions](/api-reference/cloud/regions/list-regions) API request.
* `name` is the name of the container to be deployed.
* `image` in the name of the container image to be deployed (e.g., *docker.io/nginx:latest*.)

**Optional fields** :

* `listening-port` is the port on which the container will be listening for network connections. The default value is `80`.
* `description` is a custom description of the container.
* `envs` is the list of newline-separated key-value pairs to set as environment variables. For example:

```yaml theme={null}
with:
   envs: |
     FOO=bar
     BAZ=biz
```

* `flavor` is the container flavor that determines the amount of memory and CPU allocated to each container instance. The default value is `80mCPU-128MB`.
* `timeout` is the duration in seconds that elapses before scaling down container instances. The default value is `60`.
* `scale-min` is the minimum number of instances to run. When set to `0`, the container will scale down to zero running instances when it receives no traffic for the duration of `timeout`. The default value is `1`.
* `scale-max` is the maximum number of instances to run. The value must be greater than or equal to scale-min. The default value is `1`.
* `is-disabled` is the field (boolean) that controls the state of the container (on or off.) When `true` is set, the container is disabled; any running instances are shut down. The default value is `false`.
* `is-api-key-auth` is the field (boolean) that enables API key authentication for the container endpoint address. You can create and assign API keys to the container in the Gcore Customer Portal. When `true` is set, API keys are enabled. The default value is `false`.
* `pull-secret` is the name of the private registry credentials to use when fetching the container image. The credentials must already be configured in the Gcore Customer Portal.

3\. Create a *.secrets* file with your `GCLOUD_API_TOKEN` value obtained from the [Customer Portal](https://portal.gcore.com/accounts/profile/api-tokens).

4\. Create a *.vars* file with your `GCLOUD_API_URL`, `GCLOUD_PROJECT` and `GCLOUD_REGION` values.

The Gcore action has the following output elements:

* `address` is the endpoint address of your container.
* `status` is the status of your container (e.g., *Pending*, *Deploying*, *Ready*, or *Error*.)
* `status-message` is the last message associated with the current container status. This can be useful for troubleshooting deployment issues.