GitHub Action for WP Engine Site Deployments

If you need to deploy code from a GitHub repo to WP Engine, this is a great option using GitHub Actions. Deploy a full site directory, a theme, plugin, or other directory with the SRC_PATH and REMOTE_PATH options. Other options include performing a PHP Lint, custom rsync flags, or clearing cache.

This configuration uses WP Engine’s SSH Gateway, instead of WP Engine’s GitPush feature.

View the full guide on GitHub here.

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Setup Instructions

Configuration requires three main steps: Connect Github and WP Engine, save the private and public SSH keys, and set up the local yml configuration to orchestrate the deploy.

1. SSH PRIVATE KEY SETUP IN GITHUB

• Generate a new SSH key pair, if you have not already done so.
• Add the SSH Private Key to your Repository Secrets or your Organization Secrets.
• Save the new secret “Name” as WPE_SSHG_KEY_PRIVATE.

2. SSH PUBLIC KEY SETUP IN WP ENGINE

• Add SSH Public Key to WP Engine SSH Gateway Key settings. This Guide will show you how.

3. YML SETUP

• Create .github/workflows/main.yml directory and file locally. Copy and paste the configuration from below, replacing the value under branches: and the value for WPE_ENV:.
• To deploy from another branch, simply create another yml file locally for that branch, such as .github/workflows/stage.yml and replace the values for branches: and WPE_ENV: for that workflow.

This provides the ability to perform a different workflow for different branches/environments. Consult “Environment Variable & Secrets” for more available options.

4. Git push your site GitHub repo. The action will do the rest!

View your actions progress and logs by navigating to the “Actions” tab in your repo.

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Example GitHub Action Workflow

Simple main.yml:

name: Deploy to WP Engine
on:
  push:
    branches:
     - main
jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest  
    steps: 
    - uses: actions/[email protected]
    - name: GitHub Action Deploy to WP Engine
      uses: wpengine/[email protected]
      with:
        WPE_SSHG_KEY_PRIVATE: ${{ secrets.WPE_SSHG_KEY_PRIVATE }} 
        WPE_ENV: <your_install_name_here>

Extended Sample main.yml:

name: Deploy to WP Engine
on:
  push:
    branches:
     - main
jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest  
    steps: 
    - uses: actions/[email protected]
    - name: GitHub Action Deploy to WP Engine
      uses: wpengine/[email protected]
      with:
      # Deploy vars 
        WPE_SSHG_KEY_PRIVATE: ${{ secrets.WPE_SSHG_KEY_PRIVATE }} 
        WPE_ENV: <your_install_name_here>
        # Deploy Options
        SRC_PATH: "wp-content/themes/genesis-child-theme/"
        REMOTE_PATH: "wp-content/themes/genesis-child-theme/"
        PHP_LINT: TRUE
        FLAGS: -azvr --inplace --delete --exclude=".*" --exclude-from=.deployignore
        SCRIPT: "path/yourscript.sh"
        CACHE_CLEAR: TRUE

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Environment Variables and Secrets

Required

Name	Type	Usage
WPE_SSHG_KEY_PRIVATE	secrets	Private SSH Key for the SSH Gateway and deployment. See below for SSH key usage.

Deploy Options

Name	Type	Usage
WPE_ENV	string	Insert the name of the WP Engine environment you want to deploy to. This also has an alias of PRD_ENV, STG_ENV, or DEV_ENV for multistep workflows.
SRC_PATH	string	Optional path to specify a directory within the repo to deploy from. Ex. "wp-content/themes/genesis-child-theme/". Defaults to root of repo filesystem as source.
REMOTE_PATH	string	Optional path to specify a directory destination to deploy to. Ex. "wp-content/themes/genesis-child-theme/" . Defaults to WordPress root directory on WP Engine.
PHP_LINT	bool	Set to TRUE to execute a php lint on your branch pre-deployment. Default is FALSE.
FLAGS	string	Set optional rsync flags such as --delete or --exclude-from. The example is excluding paths specified in a .deployignore file in the root of the repo. This action defaults to a non-destructive deploy using the flags in the example above.
SCRIPT	string	Remote bash file to execute post-deploy. This can include WP_CLI commands for example. Path is relative to the WP root and file executes on remote. This file can be included in your repo, or be a persistent file that lives on your server.
CACHE_CLEAR	bool	Optionally clear cache post deploy. This takes a few seconds. Default is TRUE.

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Further Reading

• Defining environment variables in GitHub Actions
• Storing secrets in GitHub repositories
• As this script does not restrict files or directories that can be deployed, it is recommended to leverage one of WP Engine’s .gitignore templates.

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NEXT STEP: Check out our best practices for deploying when using version control