Handling action_required on pull_request_target triggers to enable workflow queuing

[Rd4dev]

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Workflow setup

In the oppia/oppia-android repository, the current setup involves a two-step workflow:

1. The code_coverage.yml workflow generates code coverage reports.
2. Once the report generation (code_coverage.yml) completes, the comment_code_coverage.yml workflow is triggered to post a coverage report comment generated from code_coverage.yml.

This process relies on the ArcticLampyrid/action-wait-for-workflow action, which continuously polls the workflow until a completion status is received.

The comment_code_coverage.yml workflow uses the pull_request_target trigger since it requires permissions to post comments from non-upstream branches.

Problem context:

This setup generally works well. However, it encounters an issue when a first-time contributor creates a pull request that requires manual approval to run workflows:

• The pull_request-triggered workflows (code_coverage.yml) are queued properly, waiting for the manual approval.
• However, the pull_request_target-triggered workflows (comment_code_coverage) start running immediately as mentioned in the doc.
• This leads to the ArcticLampyrid/action-wait-for-workflow action receiving an action_required conclusion from the first workflow and proceeding when it should ideally still be waiting (essentially queued) - Issue tracking it: Request to Wait for Manual Approval Conclusions ArcticLampyrid/action-wait-for-workflow#269 as there is no native way to truly suspend a job and wait for the completion of another workflow.

Note: The workflow_run trigger wasn't chosen because it doesn't provide visibility within the pull request checks, as it runs in the Actions tab instead, making it difficult to monitor the workflow status directly from the pull request interface.

Request:

Is there a combination of configurations or triggers that can be used to achieve the desired behavior—where the pull_request_target workflows would also wait (queue) until manual approval is given, rather than proceeding prematurely? Or is there a better way of handling this, rather than proceeding immediately or completing at once?

[SjxSubham]

Possible Solutions

1. Manual intervention: Ensure manual approval for all workflows before they start.
2. Alternative triggers: Explore using different triggers or combinations that inherently support waiting for approval.