What Is GITHUB_REF_TYPE?

GITHUB_REF_TYPE is either branch or tag, depending on what triggered the run.

GITHUB_REF_TYPE lets a single workflow behave differently for tag pushes (releases) versus branch pushes (CI), without parsing the full ref.

Values

• branch - a branch push or PR
• tag - a tag push (often a release)

Example

Run a release job only on tags.

if: ${{ github.ref_type == 'tag' }}

Key takeaways

• GITHUB_REF_TYPE is branch or tag.
• Use it to separate release builds from CI builds.
• Pairs with GITHUB_REF_NAME for the actual name.

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