How to run a workflow (docker/build-push-action@v6 based), based on successful run of another github action

[danilyef]

Why are you starting this discussion?

Question

What GitHub Actions topic or product is this about?

Actions Runner

Discussion Details

I have he following github action:

name: Run Inference Tests

on:
  push:
    branches:
      - main
  pull_request:

jobs:
  test:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v5
      - name: Setup Python
        uses: actions/setup-python@v5
        with:
          python-version: "3.11"

      - name: Install inference dependencies
        run: |
            pip install -r requirements.txt -r requirements-dev.txt

      - name: Run inference tests
        run: pytest tests -s

If this action is successful, another one should be triggered on main:

name: Build and Push Docker Images
on:
    workflow_run:
        workflows: ['Run Inference Tests']
        types: [completed]
        branches: [main]

jobs:
    build-and-push-images:
        runs-on: ubuntu-latest
        if: ${{ github.event.workflow_run.conclusion == 'success' }}

        steps:
        - uses: actions/checkout@v5

        - name: Set up Docker Buildx
          uses: docker/setup-buildx-action@v3

        - name: Login to GitHub Container Registry
          uses: docker/login-action@v3
          with:
            registry: ghcr.io
            username: ${{ github.actor }}
            password: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}

The first one (Run Inference Tests) was triggered and finished successfully, but the second one (Build and Push Docker Images) wasn't triggered and moreover, it didn't even appear in the list of checks.

What did I do wrong here?

[Chamath-Adithya]

The issue likely comes from how workflow_run triggers behave in GitHub Actions.

A few key points to check:
Workflow visibility and permissions
Make sure both workflows are defined in the same repository under .github/workflows/.
The workflow you want to trigger (Build and Push Docker Images) must already exist on the default branch (main in your case).
If you just added it on a feature branch, it won’t trigger until it’s merged into main.
YAML indentation / structure
Your on: section in the second workflow looks correct, but double-check that it’s properly aligned like this:

on:
workflow_run:
workflows: ["Run Inference Tests"]
types:
- completed
branches:
- main

Events from forked repositories
If the workflow run comes from a fork, workflow_run will not trigger due to GitHub’s security model. It only works for runs in the same repository.
Default branch check
The second workflow only triggers when the first completes on the main branch. If your “Run Inference Tests” ran on a pull request (not a direct push to main), it won’t start the dependent one.

Fix suggestion:

Make sure both workflows are on main.
Push a commit directly to main (not a PR) to trigger the chain.
Confirm both workflow names match exactly (Run Inference Tests — case sensitive).
Then check your Actions tab again; the second workflow should appear automatically.
If it still doesn’t appear, you can add a quick debug step:

• run: echo "Triggered by: ${{ github.event.workflow_run.name }}"

…to confirm the event payload is being recognized.

[danilyef]

Thank you for the suggestions! I will test it.