Name of Github action run in list

I have a Github action that sets a name and is run on pull requests:

name: Code Quality
on:
  workflow_dispatch:
  pull_request:
    branches: [ main, develop ]

When I trigger the run manually (because workflow_dispatch is also set), the run will get the title “Code Quality” in the list of runs.

But when the action is run on a pull request, the run name in the list is set to the name of the PR. That may or may not be a good title, very much depending on the PR’s author. Is there a way to influence the title of the action in the list?

Solution

Since Sept. 2022, there might be a way to set the title of the run itself:

GitHub Actions: Dynamic names for workflow runs (Sep. 2022)

GitHub Actions customers can now dynamically name their workflow runs.
The new run-name feature will accept expressions and be displayed on the list of workflow runs.

For more information on how to use run-name, visit the documentation.

For questions, visit the GitHub Actions community.

To see what's next for Actions, visit our public roadmap.

You now have:

The name for workflow runs generated from the workflow.
GitHub displays the workflow run name in the list of workflow runs on your repository's "Actions" tab.
If you omit run-name, the run name is set to event-specific information for the workflow run.
For example, for a workflow triggered by a push or pull_request event, it is set as the commit message.

This value can include expressions and can reference the github and inputs contexts.

Example
run-name: Deploy to ${{ inputs.deploy_target }} by @${{ github.actor }}

To expand on the documentation:

Example

Consider, as an example, a workflow in a project that involves both feature development and bug fixes.
That project uses two primary types of branches:

Feature branches: Prefixed with feature/
Bugfix branches: Prefixed with bugfix/

The workflow is triggered by pull requests targeting the main branch. You want the workflow run's name to reflect the type of work being integrated, the specific branch it is coming from, and the name of the user who initiated the run: that would help quickly identify the nature of the workflow run when looking through the Actions tab in the GitHub repository.

name: Integration CI

on:
  pull_request:
    branches: [ main ]

# Dynamically set the run name to include the type of branch (feature or bugfix), branch name, and the user
run-name: "${{ contains(github.head_ref, 'feature/') && 'Feature' || contains(github.head_ref, 'bugfix/') && 'Bugfix' || 'Update' }}: ${{ github.head_ref }} by @${{ github.actor }}"

jobs:
  build-and-test:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
    - uses: actions/checkout@v2
    - name: Setup Node.js
      uses: actions/setup-node@v2
      with:
        node-version: '14'
    - name: Install dependencies
      run: npm install
    - name: Run tests
      run: npm test

That workflow is configured to trigger on pull requests targeting the main branch.

The run-name field uses expressions to dynamically construct the run name based on the branch type (feature/ or bugfix/), the branch name, and the GitHub username of the actor who initiated the run.

If the branch is a feature branch (prefixed with feature/), the run name starts with "Feature".
If the branch is a bugfix branch (prefixed with bugfix/), the run name starts with "Bugfix".
For branches that do not match these prefixes, it defaults to "Update".
The run name also includes the branch name (github.head_ref) and the username of the actor who initiated the run (github.actor).

The example includes a simplified job called build-and-test that sets up a Node.js environment, installs dependencies, and runs tests. That part is standard for many JavaScript projects but can be customized based on your project's needs.

Context:

The run-name attribute in GitHub Actions workflows allows you to dynamically set the name of each workflow run. That feature is particularly useful for distinguishing between runs at a glance in the GitHub UI, especially in complex workflows triggered by various events or requiring specific context to understand the run's purpose or origin.

It supports expressions, enabling dynamic run names based on the context of the trigger event, inputs, or any other relevant information available in the GitHub context.
You can use context and expressions to tailor run names to reflect:

The type of trigger (push, pull_request, workflow_dispatch, etc.)
The branch name or tag
The actor initiating the run
Custom inputs for manual triggers
Any combination of available context information to form a meaningful name

That will:

makes it easier to navigate and understand the purpose of each run in the Actions tab.
helps maintainers quickly identify the type of work and the initiator of workflow runs, aiding in troubleshooting and prioritizing workflow reviews.
allows teams to systematically manage and monitor their CI/CD pipelines, especially in repositories with frequent and varied types of contributions.

In the case of a PR, as mentioned in the comments by Vytux, you can try a ternary-like expression that uses github.head_ref when it is available and falls back to github.ref_name (which is available for push events) when it is not.

name: Integration CI

on:
  pull_request:
    branches: [ main ]
  push:
    branches: [ main ]

# Use github.head_ref if available, otherwise fall back to github.ref_name.
run-name: "${{ github.head_ref != '' ? github.head_ref : github.ref_name }}: by @${{ github.actor }}"

jobs:
  build-and-test:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v2
      - name: Setup Node.js
        uses: actions/setup-node@v2
        with:
          node-version: '14'
      - name: Install dependencies
        run: npm install
      - name: Run tests
        run: npm test