# gh-pages
Publish files to a `gh-pages` branch on GitHub (or any other branch anywhere else).
## Getting Started
```shell
npm install gh-pages --save-dev
```
This module requires Git >= 1.9 and Node > 14.
## Basic Usage
```js
var ghpages = require('gh-pages');
ghpages.publish('dist', function(err) {});
```
## `publish`
```js
ghpages.publish(dir, callback);
// or...
ghpages.publish(dir, options, callback);
```
Calling this function will create a temporary clone of the current repository, create a `gh-pages` branch if one doesn't already exist, copy over all files from the base path, or only those that match patterns from the optional `src` configuration, commit all changes, and push to the `origin` remote.
If a `gh-pages` branch already exists, it will be updated with all commits from the remote before adding any commits from the provided `src` files.
**Note** that any files in the `gh-pages` branch that are *not* in the `src` files **will be removed**. See the [`add` option](#optionsadd) if you don't want any of the existing files removed.
### <a id="dir">`dir`</a>
* type: `string`
The base directory for all source files (those listed in the `src` config property).
Example use:
```js
/**
* Given the following directory structure:
*
* dist/
* index.html
* js/
* site.js
*
* The usage below will create a `gh-pages` branch that looks like this:
*
* index.html
* js/
* site.js
*
*/
ghpages.publish('dist', callback);
```
### Options
The default options work for simple cases. The options described below let you push to alternate branches, customize your commit messages and more.
#### <a id="optionssrc">options.src</a>
* type: `string|Array<string>`
* default: `'**/*'`
The [minimatch](https://github.com/isaacs/minimatch) pattern or array of patterns is used to select which files should be published.
#### <a id="optionsbranch">options.branch</a>
* type: `string`
* default: `'gh-pages'`
* `-b | --branch <branch name>`
The name of the branch you'll be pushing to. The default uses GitHub's `gh-pages` branch, but this can be configured to push to any branch on any remote.
Example use of the `branch` option:
```js
/**
* This task pushes to the `master` branch of the configured `repo`.
*/
ghpages.publish('dist', {
branch: 'master',
repo: 'https://example.com/other/repo.git'
}, callback);
```
#### <a id="optionsdest">options.dest</a>
* type: `string`
* default: `'.'`
The destination folder within the destination branch. By default, all files are published to the root of the repository.
Example use of the `dest` option:
```js
/**
* Place content in the static/project subdirectory of the target
* branch.
*/
ghpages.publish('dist', {
dest: 'static/project'
}, callback);
```
#### <a id="optionsdotfiles">options.dotfiles</a>
* type: `boolean`
* default: `false`
Include dotfiles. By default, files starting with `.` are ignored unless they are explicitly provided in the `src` array. If you want to also include dotfiles that otherwise match your `src` patterns, set `dotfiles: true` in your options.
Example use of the `dotfiles` option:
```js
/**
* The usage below will push dotfiles (directories and files)
* that otherwise match the `src` pattern.
*/
ghpages.publish('dist', {dotfiles: true}, callback);
```
#### <a id="optionsnojekyll">options.nojekyll</a>
* type: `boolean`
* default: `false`
Write out a `.nojekyll` file to [bypass Jekyll on GitHub Pages](https://github.blog/2009-12-29-bypassing-jekyll-on-github-pages/).
Example use of the `nojekyll` option:
```js
/**
* The usage below will add a `.nojekyll` file to the output.
*/
ghpages.publish('dist', {nojekyll: true}, callback);
```
#### <a id="optionscname">options.cname</a>
* type: `string`
Write out a `CNAME` file with a custom domain name.
Example use of the `cname` option:
```js
/**
* The usage below will add a `CNAME` file to the output.
*/
ghpages.publish('dist', {cname: 'custom-domain.com'}, callback);
```
#### <a id="optionsadd">options.add</a>
* type: `boolean`
* default: `false`
Only add, and never remove existing files. By default, existing files in the target branch are removed before adding the ones from your `src` config. If you want the task to add new `src` files but leave existing ones untouched, set `add: true` in your options.
Example use of the `add` option:
```js
/**
* The usage below will only add files to the `gh-pages` branch, never removing
* any existing files (even if they don't exist in the `src` config).
*/
ghpages.publish('dist', {add: true}, callback);
```
#### <a id="optionsrepo">options.repo</a>
* type: `string`
* default: url for the origin remote of the current dir (assumes a git repository)
* `-r | --repo <repo url>`
By default, `gh-pages` assumes that the current working directory is a git repository, and that you want to push changes to the `origin` remote.
If instead your script is not in a git repository, or if you want to push to another repository, you can provide the repository URL in the `repo` option.
Example use of the `repo` option:
```js
/**
* If the current directory is not a clone of the repository you want to work
* with, set the URL for the repository in the `repo` option. This usage will
* push all files in the `src` config to the `gh-pages` branch of the `repo`.
*/
ghpages.publish('dist', {
repo: 'https://example.com/other/repo.git'
}, callback);
```
#### <a id="optionsremote">options.remote</a>
* type: `string`
* default: `'origin'`
The name of the remote you'll be pushing to. The default is your `'origin'` remote, but this can be configured to push to any remote.
Example use of the `remote` option:
```js
/**
* This task pushes to the `gh-pages` branch of of your `upstream` remote.
*/
ghpages.publish('dist', {
remote: 'upstream'
}, callback);
```
#### <a id="optionstag">options.tag</a>
* type: `string`
* default: `''`
Create a tag after committing changes on the target branch. By default, no tag is created. To create a tag, provide the tag name as the option value.
#### <a id="optionsmessage">options.message</a>
* type: `string`
* default: `'Updates'`
The commit message for all commits.
Example use of the `message` option:
```js
/**
* This adds commits with a custom message.
*/
ghpages.publish('dist', {
message: 'Auto-generated commit'
}, callback);
```
#### <a id="optionsuser">options.user</a>
* type: `Object`
* default: `null`
If you are running the `gh-pages` task in a repository without a `user.name` or `user.email` git config properties (or on a machine without these global config properties), you must provide user info before git allows you to commit. The `options.user` object accepts `name` and `email` string values to identify the committer.
Example use of the `user` option:
```js
ghpages.publish('dist', {
user: {
name: 'Joe Code',
email: 'coder@example.com'
}
}, callback);
```
#### <a id="optionsuser">options.remove</a>
* type: `string`
* default: `'.'`
Removes files that match the given pattern (Ignored if used together with
`--add`). By default, `gh-pages` removes everything inside the target branch
auto-generated directory before copying the new files from `dir`.
Example use of the `remove` option:
```js
ghpages.publish('dist', {
remove: "*.json"
}, callback);
```
#### <a id="optionspush">options.push</a>
* type: `boolean`
* default: `true`
Push branch to remote. To commit only (with no push) set to `false`.
Example use of the `push` option:
```js
ghpages.publish('dist', {push: false}, callback);
```
#### <a id="optionshistory">options.history</a>
* type: `boolean`
* default: `true`
Push force new commit without parent history.
Example use of the `history` option:
```js
ghpages.publish('dist', {history: false}, callback);
```
#### <a id="optionssilent">options.silent</a>
* type: `boolean`
* default: `false`
Avoid showing repository URLs or other information in errors.
Example use of the `silent` option:
```js
/**
* This configuration will avoid logging the GH_TOKEN if there is an error.
*/
ghpages.publish('dist', {
repo: 'https://' + process.env.GH_TOKEN + '@github.com/user/private-repo.git',
silent: true
}, callback);
```
#### <a id="optionsbeforeadd">options.beforeAdd</a>
* type: `function`
* default: `null`
Custom callback that is executed right before `git add`.
The CLI expects a file exporting the beforeAdd function
```bash
gh-pages --before-add ./cleanup.js
```
Example use of the `beforeAdd` option:
```js
/**
* beforeAdd makes most sense when `add` option is active
* Assuming we want to keep everything on the gh-pages branch
* but remove just `some-outdated-file.txt`
*/
ghpages.publish('dist', {
add: true,
async beforeAdd(git) {
return git.rm('./some-outdated-file.txt');
}
}, callback);
```
#### <a id="optionsgit">options.git</a>
* type: `string`
* default: `'git'`
Your `git` executable.
Example use of the `git` option:
```js
/**
* If `git` is not on your path, provide the path as shown below.
*/
ghpages.publish('dist', {
git: '/path/to/git'
}, callback);
```
## Command Line Utility
Installing the package creates a `gh-pages` command line utility. Run `gh-pages --help` to see a list of supported options.
With a local install of `gh-pages`, you can set up a package script with something like the following:
```shell
"scripts": {
"deploy": "gh-pages -d dist"
}
```
And then to publish everything from your `dist` folder to your `gh-pages` branch, you'd run this:
```shell
npm run deploy
```
## GitHub Pages Project Sites
There are three types of GitHub Pages sites: [project, user, and organization](https://docs.github.com/en/pages/getting-started-with-github-pages/about-github-pages#types-of-github-pages-sites). Since project sites are not hosted on the root `<user|org>.github.io` domain and instead under a URL path based on the repository name, they often require configuration tweaks for various build tools and frameworks. If not configured properly, a browser will usually log `net::ERR_ABORTED 404` errors when looking for compiled assets.
Examples:
- Create React App (which uses webpack under the hood) [requires the user to set a `"homepage"` property in their `package.json` so that built assets are referenced correctly in the final compiled HTML](https://create-react-app.dev/docs/deployment/#building-for-relative-paths).
- This [has been often been thought of as an issue with `gh-pages`](https://github.com/tschaub/gh-pages/issues/285#issuecomment-805321474), though this package isn't able to control a project's build configuration.
- Vite [requires a `"base"` property in its `vite.config.js`](https://vitejs.dev/guide/static-deploy.html#github-pages)
- Next.js [requires a `"basePath"` property in its `next.config.js`](https://nextjs.org/docs/pages/api-reference/next-config-js/basePath)
When using a project site, be sure to read the documentation for your particular build tool or framework to learn how to configure correct asset paths.
## Debugging
To get additional output from the `gh-pages` script, set `NODE_DEBUG=gh-pages`. For example:
```shell
NODE_DEBUG=gh-pages npm run deploy
```
## Dependencies
Note that this plugin requires Git 1.9 or higher (because it uses the `--exit-code` option for `git ls-remote`). If you'd like to see this working with earlier versions of Git, please [open an issue](https://github.com/tschaub/gh-pages/issues).
## Tips
### when get error `branch already exists`
```
{ ProcessError: fatal: A branch named 'gh-pages' already exists.
at ChildProcess.<anonymous> (~/node_modules/gh-pages/lib/git.js:42:16)
at ChildProcess.emit (events.js:180:13)
at maybeClose (internal/child_process.js:936:16)
at Process.ChildProcess._handle.onexit (internal/child_process.js:220:5)
code: 128,
message: 'fatal: A branch named \'gh-pages\' already exists.\n',
name: 'ProcessError' }
```
The `gh-pages` module writes temporary files to a `node_modules/.cache/gh-pages` directory. The location of this directory can be customized by setting the `CACHE_DIR` environment variable.
If `gh-pages` fails, you may find that you need to manually clean up the cache directory. To remove the cache directory, run `node_modules/gh-pages/bin/gh-pages-clean` or remove `node_modules/.cache/gh-pages`.
### Deploying to github pages with custom domain
Use the `--cname` option to create a `CNAME` file with the name of your custom domain. See [the GitHub docs](https://docs.github.com/en/pages/configuring-a-custom-domain-for-your-github-pages-site/managing-a-custom-domain-for-your-github-pages-site) for more detail.
```
gh-pages -d build --cname custom-domain.com"
```
### Deploying with GitHub Actions
In order to deploy with GitHub Actions, you will need to define a user and set the git repository for the process. See the example step below
```yaml
- name: Deploy with gh-pages
run: |
git remote set-url origin https://git:${GITHUB_TOKEN}@github.com/${GITHUB_REPOSITORY}.git
npx gh-pages -d build -u "github-actions-bot <support+actions@github.com>"
env:
GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
```
The `secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN` is provided automatically as part of the GitHub Action and does not require any further configuration, but simply needs to be passed in as an environmental variable to the step. `GITHUB_REPOSITORY` is the owner and repository name and is also passed in automatically, but does not need to be added to the `env` list.
See [Issue #345](https://github.com/tschaub/gh-pages/issues/345) for more information
#### Deploying with GitHub Actions and a named script
If you are using a named script in the `package.json` file to deploy, you will need to ensure you pass the variables properly to the wrapped `gh-pages` script. Given the `package.json` script below:
```json
"scripts": {
"deploy": "gh-pages -d build"
}
```
You will need to utilize the `--` option to pass any additional arguments:
```yaml
- name: Deploy with gh-pages
run: |
git remote set-url origin https://git:${GITHUB_TOKEN}@github.com/${GITHUB_REPOSITORY}.git
npm run deploy -- -u "github-actions-bot <support+actions@github.com>"
env:
GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
```
See [Pull Request #368](https://github.com/tschaub/gh-pages/pull/368) for more information.