Feature Request: Support for display/value pairs in workflow_dispatch choice inputs

[surgiie]

Why are you starting this discussion?

Product Feedback/Feature Request

What GitHub Actions topic or product is this about?

Workflow Configuration

Discussion Details

Summary:

Currently, the choice input type for workflow_dispatch events in GitHub Actions supports only a flat list of options. Each entry in the options array serves as both the value displayed in the UI dropdown and the value assigned to inputs.<name> within the workflow.

This design limits usability in cases where a human-friendly label should be shown to users, but a different, machine-friendly value should be passed to the workflow logic.

Proposed Enhancement:

Extend the options field in workflow_dispatch choice inputs to support objects with distinct display and value properties.

Example Syntax

on:
  workflow_dispatch:
    inputs:
      s3-bucket:
        description: "Select an S3 bucket to deploy to"
        type: choice
        options:
          - display: "Development S3 Bucket"
            value: "s3://dev-bucket-name"
          - display: "Production S3 Bucket"
            value: "s3://prod-bucket-name"

In this example:

The display key defines the text shown in the GitHub UI dropdown.

The value key defines the actual value assigned to inputs.s3-bucket in the workflow run context.

Motivation:

This enhancement would make workflows more intuitive and user-friendly for non-technical users, while retaining flexibility for automation and scripting.

Benefits include:

• Improved readability in the Actions UI.

• The ability to use descriptive labels for complex or sensitive values (e.g., S3 URIs, environment names, resource IDs).

• Reduced risk of user error when selecting workflow inputs.

Current Workaround:

Currently, workflow authors must either:

• Use cryptic, machine-oriented values as the only visible option text, or

• Parse user-friendly strings into internal values within the workflow logic (e.g., via if statements or lookup maps).

These approaches introduce unnecessary complexity and reduce clarity for workflow users.