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feat: initial release of replace-comment GitHub Action
Composite action to find, delete, and recreate GitHub issue/PR comments to move them to the bottom of conversations for better visibility. Features: - Find comments using flexible search criteria (body-includes, body-regex, author) - Delete existing comments automatically using GitHub REST API - Create fresh comments that appear at bottom of conversation - Perfect for CI/CD status updates and bot notifications - Built as composite action leveraging peter-evans/find-comment and peter-evans/create-or-update-comment - Comprehensive documentation with examples and migration guide - GitHub workflows for testing and releases Resolves the common issue where updated comments stay in their original chronological position instead of being easily visible at the bottom.
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‎.github/workflows/example.yml‎

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name: 'Example: E2E Test Results'
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on:
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pull_request:
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types: [opened, synchronize]
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permissions:
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pull-requests: write
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jobs:
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e2e-tests:
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runs-on: ubuntu-latest
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steps:
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- name: Checkout
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uses: actions/checkout@v4
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- name: Run E2E Tests
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id: tests
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run: |
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echo "Running E2E tests..."
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sleep 2
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echo "status=✅ All tests passed!" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
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echo "total=42" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
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echo "duration=3m 24s" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
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- name: Update E2E Results Comment
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uses: ./
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with:
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issue-number: ${{ github.event.pull_request.number }}
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body-includes: '<!-- e2e-test-results -->'
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comment-author: 'github-actions[bot]'
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body: |
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<!-- e2e-test-results -->
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## 🧪 E2E Test Results
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${{ steps.tests.outputs.status }}
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- **Total tests:** ${{ steps.tests.outputs.total }}
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- **Duration:** ${{ steps.tests.outputs.duration }}
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- **Browser:** Chrome 120
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- **Commit:** ${{ github.sha }}
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- **Workflow:** [${{ github.run_id }}](${{ github.server_url }}/${{ github.repository }}/actions/runs/${{ github.run_id }})
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*This comment will always appear at the bottom for easy visibility! 🚀*
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reactions: 'rocket,eyes'

‎.github/workflows/release.yml‎

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name: 'Release'
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on:
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push:
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tags:
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- 'v*'
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permissions:
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contents: write
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jobs:
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release:
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runs-on: ubuntu-latest
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steps:
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- name: Checkout
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uses: actions/checkout@v4
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- name: Create Release
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uses: softprops/action-gh-release@v2
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with:
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name: Release ${{ github.ref_name }}
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body: |
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## 🚀 Replace Comment Action v${{ github.ref_name }}
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Find, delete, and recreate GitHub comments to move them to the bottom of conversations.
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### Features
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- ✅ **Find comments** using flexible search criteria
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- 🗑️ **Delete existing comments** automatically
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- ✨ **Create fresh comments** at the bottom for visibility
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- 🔧 **Perfect for CI/CD** status updates and bot notifications
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### Usage
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```yaml
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- uses: johanwulf/replace-comment@${{ github.ref_name }}
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with:
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issue-number: ${{ github.event.pull_request.number }}
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body-includes: '<!-- my-comment -->'
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body: |
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<!-- my-comment -->
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Your comment content here
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```
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draft: false
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prerelease: false

‎.gitignore‎

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# IDE
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.vscode/
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.idea/
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*.swp
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*.swo
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# OS
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.DS_Store
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Thumbs.db
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# Logs
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*.log
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# Temporary files
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*.tmp
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*.temp
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# Environment variables
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.env
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.env.local
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.env.*.local

‎LICENSE‎

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MIT License
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Copyright (c) 2025 Johan Wulf
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Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
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of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal
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in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights
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to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell
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copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is
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furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
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The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all
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copies or substantial portions of the Software.
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THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
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IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
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FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
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AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
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LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM,
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OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE
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SOFTWARE.

‎README.md‎

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# replace-comment
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A GitHub Action that finds, deletes, and recreates a comment to move it to the bottom of the conversation. This is perfect for CI/CD status updates, bot notifications, and any content you want to keep highly visible.
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## Why Replace Instead of Update?
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When you **update** a comment, it stays in its original chronological position. When you **delete and recreate**, the new comment appears at the bottom of the conversation - much more visible!
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**Perfect for:**
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- ✅ CI/CD test results
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- ✅ Build status updates
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- ✅ Bot notifications
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- ✅ Status reports
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- ✅ Any content that should stay at the bottom for visibility
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## Usage
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### Basic Example
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```yaml
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- name: Replace E2E Test Results Comment
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uses: johanwulf/replace-comment@v1
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with:
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issue-number: ${{ github.event.pull_request.number }}
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body-includes: '<!-- e2e-test-results -->'
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comment-author: 'github-actions[bot]'
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body: |
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<!-- e2e-test-results -->
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## 🧪 E2E Test Results
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✅ All tests passed!
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- **Total tests:** 42
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- **Duration:** 3m 24s
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- **Browser:** Chrome 120
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```
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### Advanced Example with File Body
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```yaml
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- name: Replace Build Report
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uses: johanwulf/replace-comment@v1
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with:
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token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
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repository: ${{ github.repository }}
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issue-number: ${{ github.event.pull_request.number }}
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body-regex: '<!-- build-report-\\d+ -->'
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comment-author: 'build-bot[bot]'
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body-path: './build-report.md'
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reactions: 'rocket,eyes'
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```
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## Inputs
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| Name | Description | Required | Default |
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|------|-------------|----------|---------|
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| `token` | GITHUB_TOKEN or a repo scoped PAT | No | `${{ github.token }}` |
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| `repository` | The full name of the repository | No | `${{ github.repository }}` |
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| `issue-number` | The number of the issue or pull request | **Yes** | |
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| `body-includes` | A string to search for in comment bodies | No* | |
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| `body-regex` | A regular expression to search for in comment bodies | No* | |
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| `comment-author` | The GitHub username of the comment author | No | |
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| `direction` | Search direction: `first` or `last` | No | `first` |
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| `nth` | 0-indexed number specifying which comment to replace if multiple found | No | `0` |
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| `body` | The comment body content | No** | |
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| `body-path` | Path to a file containing the comment body | No** | |
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| `reactions` | Comma-separated reactions to add (+1, -1, laugh, confused, heart, hooray, rocket, eyes) | No | |
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\* Either `body-includes` or `body-regex` must be provided
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\** Either `body` or `body-path` must be provided
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## Outputs
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| Name | Description |
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|------|-------------|
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| `comment-id` | The ID of the created comment |
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| `comment-url` | The URL of the created comment |
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| `comment-body` | The body of the created comment |
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| `found-comment-id` | The ID of the comment that was found and deleted (empty if none found) |
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## How It Works
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1. **🔍 Find**: Uses [peter-evans/find-comment](https://github.com/peter-evans/find-comment) to search for existing comments
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2. **🗑️ Delete**: Removes the found comment using GitHub's REST API (if any)
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3. **✨ Create**: Uses [peter-evans/create-or-update-comment](https://github.com/peter-evans/create-or-update-comment) to create a new comment at the bottom
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This action is a **composite action** that combines the excellent work of Peter Evans into a simple "find-delete-create" workflow.
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## Examples
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### CI/CD Test Results
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```yaml
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name: Tests
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on: [push, pull_request]
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jobs:
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test:
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runs-on: ubuntu-latest
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steps:
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- uses: actions/checkout@v4
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- name: Run tests
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id: tests
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run: |
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# Your test commands here
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echo "result=✅ All tests passed!" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
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- name: Update test results comment
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if: github.event_name == 'pull_request'
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uses: johanwulf/replace-comment@v1
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with:
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issue-number: ${{ github.event.pull_request.number }}
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body-includes: '<!-- test-results -->'
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comment-author: 'github-actions[bot]'
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body: |
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<!-- test-results -->
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## 🧪 Test Results
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${{ steps.tests.outputs.result }}
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**Commit:** ${{ github.sha }}
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**Workflow:** [${{ github.run_id }}](${{ github.server_url }}/${{ github.repository }}/actions/runs/${{ github.run_id }})
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```
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### Deployment Status
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```yaml
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- name: Update deployment status
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uses: johanwulf/replace-comment@v1
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with:
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issue-number: ${{ github.event.pull_request.number }}
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body-regex: '<!-- deploy-status-.*? -->'
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body: |
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<!-- deploy-status-${{ github.run_id }} -->
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## 🚀 Deployment Status
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**Environment:** staging
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**Status:** ${{ job.status }}
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**URL:** https://staging-${{ github.event.pull_request.number }}.example.com
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**Deploy time:** $(date)
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reactions: 'rocket'
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```
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### Build Artifacts Report
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```yaml
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- name: Generate build report
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run: |
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echo "## 📦 Build Artifacts" > build-report.md
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echo "" >> build-report.md
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echo "| File | Size |" >> build-report.md
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echo "|------|------|" >> build-report.md
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ls -la dist/ | awk '{print "| " $9 " | " $5 " |"}' >> build-report.md
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- name: Post build report
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uses: johanwulf/replace-comment@v1
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with:
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issue-number: ${{ github.event.pull_request.number }}
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body-includes: '<!-- build-artifacts -->'
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body-path: './build-report.md'
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```
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## Tips
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### Unique Comment Identification
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Use HTML comments to uniquely identify your comments:
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```yaml
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body: |
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<!-- my-unique-identifier -->
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Your visible content here
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```
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### Multiple Bot Comments
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Use different identifiers for different types of comments:
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```yaml
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# Test results
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body-includes: '<!-- test-results -->'
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# Build status
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body-includes: '<!-- build-status -->'
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# Deploy status
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body-includes: '<!-- deploy-status -->'
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```
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### Conditional Comments
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Only create comments when needed:
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```yaml
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- name: Replace comment
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if: github.event_name == 'pull_request' && failure()
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uses: johanwulf/replace-comment@v1
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with:
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# ... your config
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```
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## Comparison with Other Actions
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| Action | Find | Update | Delete+Create | Use Case |
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|--------|------|--------|---------------|----------|
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| `peter-evans/create-or-update-comment` | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | Update existing content |
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| `edumserrano/find-create-or-update-comment` | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | Simplified find+update |
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| `replace-comment` (this action) | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ | Keep comments at bottom |
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## Development
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This is a composite GitHub Action that leverages:
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- [peter-evans/find-comment](https://github.com/peter-evans/find-comment) for finding comments
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- [peter-evans/create-or-update-comment](https://github.com/peter-evans/create-or-update-comment) for creating comments
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- GitHub REST API for deleting comments
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No build step required! The action runs directly from the `action.yml` file.
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## Contributing
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Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.
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## License
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This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the [LICENSE](LICENSE) file for details.
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## Acknowledgments
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- Inspired by the excellent work of [Peter Evans](https://github.com/peter-evans) on GitHub Actions for comments
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- Built to fill the gap for delete+create comment workflows

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