Install RPM from GitHub Release

A reusable GitHub Action to download and install an RPM package from a GitHub release, with automatic RHEL version detection.

Features

• 🎯 Auto-detection - Automatically detects your system's RHEL version (8, 9, or 10)
• 🔍 Smart matching - Finds the correct RPM for your system from release assets
• 📦 One-liner integration - Easy to use in your GitHub Actions workflows
• 🛡️ Secure - Uses GitHub tokens for secure API access
• 📊 Output information - Returns the downloaded filename and URL for further use

Usage

Basic Usage

Use this action in your GitHub Actions workflow:

name: Install Package
on: [push, pull_request]

jobs:
  install:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Install RPM from Release
        uses: NSLS2/install-rpm-from-gh-release@v1
        with:
          repository: 'owner/package-repo'
          release_tag: 'v1.0.0'`

Example with RHEL Version Specification

- name: Install specific version
  uses: NSLS2/install-rpm-from-gh-release@v1
  with:
    repository: 'orgs/my-package'
    release_tag: 'v2.3.1'
    rhel_version: '9'

Using Outputs

- name: Install RPM
  id: install
  uses: NSLS2/install-rpm-from-gh-release@v1
  with:
    repository: 'owner/package'
    release_tag: 'v1.0.0'

- name: Log Results
  run: |
    echo "Installed: ${{ steps.install.outputs.rpm_filename }}"
    echo "From: ${{ steps.install.outputs.rpm_url }}"
    echo "Detected RHEL: ${{ steps.install.outputs.detected_rhel_version }}"

Installing Development Package

To also install the -devel package variant (useful for building against the installed package):

- name: Install Package and Devel Variant
  uses: NSLS2/install-rpm-from-gh-release@v1
  with:
    repository: 'owner/package'
    release_tag: 'v1.0.0'
    install_devel: 'true'

Inputs

Input	Required	Default	Description
repository	✓	-	Target repository in owner/repo format
release_tag	✓	-	Release tag to download from (e.g., v1.0.0)
rhel_version	✗	Auto-detect	RHEL version (8, 9, or 10). If empty, auto-detects.
github_token	✗	${{ github.token }}	GitHub token for API access
install_devel	✗	'false'	Also install the -devel package variant if available

Outputs

Output	Description
rpm_filename	The filename of the downloaded RPM
rpm_url	The download URL of the RPM
devel_rpm_filename	The filename of the downloaded -devel RPM (if install_devel: 'true')
devel_rpm_url	The download URL of the -devel RPM (if install_devel: 'true')
detected_rhel_version	The RHEL version used for matching

How It Works

1. Version Detection - Detects the system's RHEL version or uses the provided rhel_version
2. Release Fetch - Queries the GitHub API to get release information
3. RPM Matching - Searches release assets for an RPM matching the detected/specified RHEL version
4. Devel Package Search (optional) - If install_devel: 'true', searches for a matching -devel variant package
5. Download - Downloads the matched RPM(s)
6. Installation - Installs the RPM(s) using dnf

RPM Naming Patterns Supported

The action recognizes RPMs with these naming patterns:

• package-1.0-1.el8.x86_64.rpm
• package-1.0-1.rhel-8.x86_64.rpm
• package-1.0-1.fc8.x86_64.rpm
• package-1.0.el8.x86_64.rpm
• And other variations with el{version}, rhel-{version}, or fc{version}

Requirements

• A GitHub Actions runner with a RHEL-like OS installed (RHEL, AlmaLinux, Rocky Linux, CentOS) version 8, 9, or 10
• curl and jq installed and in the PATH (the action checks for these tools and will fail if they are missing)

Example Workflow

Here's a complete workflow example:

name: Build and Install

on:
  workflow_dispatch:
    inputs:
      repo:
        description: 'Repository to install from'
        required: true
      tag:
        description: 'Release tag'
        required: true

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

      - name: Install Package
        uses: NSLS2/install-rpm-from-gh-release@v1
        with:
          repository: ${{ github.event.inputs.repo }}
          release_tag: ${{ github.event.inputs.tag }}

      - name: Verify Installation
        run: |
          # Replace 'package-name' with your actual package command
          package-name --version

Troubleshooting

"No RPM found for RHEL version X"

The action couldn't find an RPM matching your RHEL version in the release. Check that:

1. The release tag exists
2. The repository contains RPM assets
3. The RPM filename contains an RHEL version identifier (e.g., .el8, rhel-9)
4. You're specifying the correct rhel_version if not using auto-detection

"Failed to fetch release"

This often means:

1. The repository doesn't exist or is private (use a valid token)
2. The release tag doesn't exist
3. GitHub API rate limits are exceeded

Ensure your github_token has appropriate permissions.

License

BSD 3-Clause License - See LICENSE file for details

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

Support

For issues, questions, or suggestions, please open an issue in the repository.