Triggers

When the site and content are in the same repository

This is the simplest layout.

my-site/
├─ content/
├─ app/
├─ riebeckite.config.ts
└─ .github/
   └─ workflows/
      └─ publish.yml

Because the articles and the site live in the same repository:

flowchart LR
    Push["push to main"]
    Workflow["publish.yml"]
    Build["Build"]
    Deploy["Cloudflare"]
 
    Push --> Workflow
    Workflow --> Build
    Build --> Deploy

Change an article and push to main, and the push itself starts the workflow.

When the site and content are in separate repositories

If you split out a content repository, the flow changes a little.

Content repository
  → Markdown / Obsidian vault
 
Site repository
  → Riebeckite / config / theme / plugin

A push to the content repository does not start the site repository's workflow by itself, because a GitHub Actions workflow belongs to its own repository.

flowchart LR
    Content["Content repository"]
    Site["Site repository"]
    Workflow["Site publish.yml"]
 
    Content -.->|"a push alone does not start it"| Workflow
    Site -->|"push"| Workflow

To deploy the site automatically from a content update, notify the site repository from the content repository.

repository_dispatch

To start a site workflow from another repository, use:

repository_dispatch

Riebeckite's generated workflow is set up to receive the event:

content-updated

The overall flow is:

flowchart LR
    Push["Content<br/>push to main"]
    Notify["notify-site.yml"]
    Dispatch["repository_dispatch<br/>content-updated"]
    Site["Site repository"]
    Workflow["publish.yml"]
    Build["Build"]
    Deploy["Cloudflare"]
 
    Push --> Notify
    Notify --> Dispatch
    Dispatch --> Site
    Site --> Workflow
    Workflow --> Build
    Build --> Deploy

notify-site.yml

Place this on the content repository side:

.github/workflows/notify-site.yml

This workflow's job is not to build the site. It is to notify the site repository that the content was updated:

Content repository
      ↓
notify the site repository
"the content was updated"

The site repository's publish.yml, on receiving that notification, runs the build and deploy.

SITE_DISPATCH_TOKEN

To send a repository_dispatch from the content repository to the site repository, set:

SITE_DISPATCH_TOKEN

as a secret on the content repository side.

flowchart LR
    Content["Content repository"]
    Token["SITE_DISPATCH_TOKEN"]
    Site["Site repository"]
 
    Content --> Token
    Token -->|"content-updated"| Site

This token is for starting the site repository's workflow from the content repository.