Menu Workflow

Running the "Menu" Workflow

This guide shows you how to use the "Menu" workflow in the trustoverip/spec-up-t repository to run various Spec-Up-T scripts directly from your browser—no local setup needed! Whether you want to render a specification, update files, or generate a PDF, this workflow has you covered.

Prerequisites

• A GitHub account with access to the repository where this workflow runs (e.g., a repo created by the "Create Spec-Up-T Project via Repo Creation" workflow).
• The repository must have a MY_PAT secret set up with repo and workflow scopes (automatically added if created via the "Create Spec-Up-T Project" workflow).

Steps to Run the Workflow

1. Navigate to the Workflow:

   • Go to the Actions tab in your project repository (e.g., your-username/my-spec-project).
   • Scroll through the list of workflows on the left and find "Run Menu". Click it to select it.

2. Start the Workflow:

   • On the right side, click the "Run workflow" button or dropdown (it might be a button or under a small arrow). A form will appear with a dropdown menu.

3. Select a Script:

   • Select the script to run:
     • Use the dropdown to choose one of the following options:
       • Render specification: Renders your specification to index.html
       • Collect external references (cached): Gathers external references using a cache (will fetch cache the first time you run it)
       • Collect external references (no cache): Gathers external references without caching, using MY_PAT for authentication
       • Convert to PDF: Generates a PDF from your specification
       • Freeze specification: Freezes the specification state
       • List references: Lists all references in the specification
       • Custom update: Updates your installation
     • Default: "Render specification"
   • Click the green "Run workflow" button at the bottom of the form.

4. Monitor the Workflow:

   • You’ll return to the Actions page, where a new run appears under "Menu" with a yellow circle (running) or green check (completed).
   • Wait a minute or two (refresh if needed) for it to finish.

5. Check the Results:

   • For Most Options (e.g., "Render specification", "Convert to PDF"):
     • If successful (green check), the output is deployed to the gh-pages branch.
     • Visit your GitHub Pages site (e.g., https://your-username.github.io/my-spec-project) to see the result (after running "Set GitHub Pages and Homepage" if not yet set).
   • For "Custom update":
     • Changes are committed to your repository’s main branch.
     • Check the repo’s commit history (e.g., https://github.com/your-username/my-spec-project/commits/main) for a commit like "Custom update: Copy files from spec-up-t".
   • For "Show help" or "Show menu":
     • Output appears in the workflow logs—no deployment occurs.
     • Click the run, expand "Run selected script," and read the text output.

Troubleshooting

• Run Fails (Red X):
  • Click the run, expand steps (e.g., "Run selected script"), and check for errors (e.g., missing MY_PAT, file not found).
  • Ensure MY_PAT is in your repo’s secrets (Settings > Secrets and variables > Actions).
• No Pages Update:
  • Verify "Set GitHub Pages and Homepage" has run to configure Pages.
  • Check gh-pages branch for updated files.
• No Commits from "Custom update":
  • Ensure custom-update.js modifies files—empty changes won’t commit.

Example

To render a specification:

• Select: "Render specification"
• Result: Files deploy to gh-pages, viewable at your Pages URL.

Enjoy exploring Spec-Up-T—happy scripting!