I can't see Actions workflow list

[fredsuvn]

Why are you starting this discussion?

Question

What GitHub Actions topic or product is this about?

Misc

Discussion Details

When I click Actions button, No workflow list displayed and it jump to new page: https://github.com/fredsuvn/fs/actions/new

But I did write a few demos：https://github.com/fredsuvn/fs/tree/dev/sunqian/.github/workflows

And my Actions is enabled:

By the way all demos are manually triggered:

on:
  workflow_dispatch:

Is that why I can't see the workflow list?

[ericchen-axiom-tw-rd]

I have similar question
https://github.com/orgs/community/discussions/180966

[iamgurjitsingh]

I see the issue - you're being redirected to the "Get started" page instead of seeing your workflows list. This usually happens when:

Quick fixes:

1. Check if workflows exist in the correct location:
   Your workflows should be in .github/workflows/ directory. Even though you have demos in sunqian/.github/workflows, make sure they're in the repo you're viewing.

2. Verify Actions is enabled:
   Your screenshot shows "Allow all actions and reusable workflows" is selected, which is correct. Click Save if you just changed this setting.

3. Create a workflow file:
   Even with Actions enabled, if there are no .yml files in .github/workflows/, GitHub shows the getting started page. Add a simple workflow:

   name: Test
   on: push
   jobs:
     test:
       runs-on: ubuntu-latest
       steps:
         - run: echo "Hello"

4. Check the correct repository:
   Make sure you're viewing https://github.com/fredsuvn/fs/actions (your main repo) not /actions/new.

After adding a workflow file, refresh the Actions tab - you should see the workflows list instead of the getting started page.

[fredsuvn]

Thx!
I add a test.yml in main branch, that's OK. But when I put the test2.yml with the same content into the dev branch, it becomes invalid. Is this a bug? Or where can I set up the read branch for workflows?

[kanition]

You don't need to add another yml file. You can just set the branch like this:

on: 
  push:
    branches:
      - main
      - dev

See more: https://docs.github.com/en/actions/how-tos/write-workflows/choose-when-workflows-run/trigger-a-workflow

[iamgurjitsingh]

Perfect! As @kanition mentioned, you don't need separate workflow files for different branches. Just modify your existing test.yml to trigger on multiple branches:

name: Test
on:
  push:
    branches:
      - main
      - dev
jobs:
  test:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - run: echo "Hello"

This single workflow file in the main branch will automatically run when you push to either main or dev. GitHub Actions reads workflow definitions from the default branch (usually main), so you only need the .yml file there.

Why your test2.yml became invalid:
Workflow files must exist in .github/workflows/ on the branch where they're defined. Since test2.yml was only in dev, GitHub couldn't find it when processing workflows from main.

Solution: Keep one workflow file in main with multiple branch triggers as shown above. No need for duplicate files!

[samus-aran]

Welcome to the community @fredsuvn ! We're excited to have you here and appreciate you reaching out for the first time. Thanks to @iamgurjitsingh & @kanition for such great answers and hoping on to help others - especially a first time poster here in the community ❤️