Force build via Railway CLI

I am using Github Actions to force a build of my Astro frontend if content in the CMS is updated. Here are my steps:

    steps:
      - name: Checkout Repository
        uses: actions/checkout@v2
      - name: Set up Node.js
        uses: actions/setup-node@v2
        with:
          node-version: "14"
      - name: Install Railway CLI
        run: npm install -g railway
      - name: Login to Railway
        run: railway login --browserless
        env:
          RAILWAY_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.RAILWAY_TOKEN }}
      - name: Trigger Railway Build for Astro Frontend
        run: railway up -e staging --service astro_frontend
        env:
          RAILWAY_PROJECT_ID: ${{ secrets.RAILWAY_PROJECT_ID }}

    steps:
      - name: Checkout Repository
        uses: actions/checkout@v2
      - name: Set up Node.js
        uses: actions/setup-node@v2
        with:
          node-version: "14"
      - name: Install Railway CLI
        run: npm install -g railway
      - name: Login to Railway
        run: railway login --browserless
        env:
          RAILWAY_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.RAILWAY_TOKEN }}
      - name: Trigger Railway Build for Astro Frontend
        run: railway up -e staging --service astro_frontend
        env:
          RAILWAY_PROJECT_ID: ${{ secrets.RAILWAY_PROJECT_ID }}

When I run railway up -e staging --service astro_frontend directly from my CLI, it works. However Railway skips the build if no files have physically changed. How can I force the build to complete?

14 Replies

Brody•7mo ago

do you have any watch paths set?

donutmuncha•7mo ago

yes

donutmuncha•7mo ago

Brody•7mo ago

well if nothing changes of course railway isn't gonna rebuild, just write a random file into that folder in your action

donutmuncha•7mo ago

How about if I remove the watch path?

Brody•7mo ago

that works too, but then a build would be triggered if you made changes to another app within the repo

donutmuncha•7mo ago

I was thinking that I could move them all into github actions rather than rely opon Railway to trigger the builds. e.g - push to repo > github action (create custom watch) > railway up -e staging --service astro_frontend I think the ability to override/force build would be a handy addition to the CLI. I'll create a ticket for it thanks for helping, as always Brody

Brody•7mo ago

that would not be a simple addition to the cli

donutmuncha•7mo ago

I can always ask!

Brody•7mo ago

fair enough

donutmuncha•7mo ago

awesome, removing the watch for my frontend worked perfectly. Thanks!

Brody•7mo ago

no problem 🙂

donutmuncha•7mo ago

I took your advice and removed all the complexity. Added the watch path back. (Not going to ask for CLI amends 🙂 ) Instead I amend the README with the last deployed date.

name: Payload update
on:
  repository_dispatch:
    types:
      - payload_update

jobs:
  update-deployment-time:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Check out repository
        uses: actions/checkout@v2

      - name: Update deployment time
        run: |
          # Define the date format
          DATE_FORMAT="$(date -u +'%a %b %d %Y %H:%M:%S GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)')"
          
          # Replace the line in the markdown file
          sed -i "s/Last deployed:.*/Last deployed: $DATE_FORMAT/" apps/web/README.md

      - name: Commit and push
        run: |
          git config --local user.email "action@github.com"
          git config --local user.name "GitHub Action"
          git add apps/web/README.md
          git commit -m "chore: Github Action - redeployed frontend"
          git push

name: Payload update
on:
  repository_dispatch:
    types:
      - payload_update

jobs:
  update-deployment-time:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Check out repository
        uses: actions/checkout@v2

      - name: Update deployment time
        run: |
          # Define the date format
          DATE_FORMAT="$(date -u +'%a %b %d %Y %H:%M:%S GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)')"
          
          # Replace the line in the markdown file
          sed -i "s/Last deployed:.*/Last deployed: $DATE_FORMAT/" apps/web/README.md

      - name: Commit and push
        run: |
          git config --local user.email "action@github.com"
          git config --local user.name "GitHub Action"
          git add apps/web/README.md
          git commit -m "chore: Github Action - redeployed frontend"
          git push

Brody•7mo ago

okay now that's even better than creating a random file

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Force build via Railway CLI