feat: Enhance semantic-release workflow with concurrency and output handling

Author: AndyRae

.github/workflows/semantic-release.yml

@@ -21,6 +21,9 @@ permissions:
 jobs:
   release:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    concurrency:
+      group: semantic-release-${{ github.repository }}
+      cancel-in-progress: false
     outputs:
       release-created: ${{ steps.release-check.outputs.release-created }}
 
@@ -62,10 +65,17 @@ jobs:
       - name: Determine whether release was created
         id: release-check
         run: |
+          head_sha=$(git rev-parse HEAD)
           new_tags=$(comm -13 /tmp/tags-before.txt /tmp/tags-after.txt)
-          if [ -n "$new_tags" ]; then
-            echo "release-created=true" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
-          else
-            echo "release-created=false" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
-          fi
+          release_created=false
+
+          while IFS= read -r tag; do
+            tag_sha=$(git rev-parse "${tag}^{}" 2>/dev/null || git rev-parse "$tag")
+            if [ "$tag_sha" = "$head_sha" ]; then
+              release_created=true
+              break
+            fi
+          done <<< "$new_tags"
+
+          echo "release-created=$release_created" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
 

docs/semantic-release.md

@@ -8,6 +8,28 @@ Reusable workflow that runs [semantic-release](https://github.com/semantic-relea
 |----------------|----------|---------|----------------------------|
 | `node-version` | No       | `'24'`  | Node.js version to use.    |
 
+## Outputs
+
+| Output            | Description                                              |
+|-------------------|----------------------------------------------------------|
+| `release-created` | `'true'` if a new release was created, `'false'` if not. |
+
+Use this to conditionally run downstream jobs (e.g. re-tag a container, publish to PyPI) only when a release actually happened:
+
+```yaml
+jobs:
+  release:
+    uses: health-informatics-uon/workflows/.github/workflows/semantic-release.yml@main
+    secrets: inherit
+
+  publish:
+    needs: release
+    if: needs.release.outputs.release-created == 'true'
+    ...
+```
+
+> **Note:** If the workflow itself errors, `release-created` will be an empty string rather than `'false'`. Always use `== 'true'` rather than `!= 'false'` in conditions.
+
 ## Secrets
 
 - `GITHUB_TOKEN` — Pass with `secrets: inherit` (or set explicitly) so the workflow can create releases and comment on PRs/issues.