Validate required inputs are set before invoking an action

Describe the bug

I have the following action.yml:

name: 'Anka Prepare VM and execute inside'
description: 'Prepare an Anka VM and execute commands inside'
author: Veertu
branding:
  icon: 'anchor'
  color: 'blue'
inputs:
  anka-template:
    description: 'name or UUID of Anka Template'
    required: true

My index.js looks like:

const core = require('@actions/core');
const io = require('@actions/io');
const prepare = require('./prepare');
const execute = require('./execute');

// most @actions toolkit packages have async methods
async function run() {
  try { 
    const ankaVirtCLIPath = await io.which('anka', true)
    console.log(`Anka Virtualization CLI found at: ${ankaVirtCLIPath}`)
    const ankaTemplate = core.getInput('anka-template');
    const ankaTag = core.getInput('anka-tag');
    const ankaCommands = core.getInput('commands');
    const hostPreCommands = core.getInput('host-pre-commands');
    const hostPostCommands = core.getInput('host-post-commands');
    console.log("=========================" + "\n" + `${hostPreCommands}` + "\n" + "=================================")
    console.log("=========================" + "\n" + `${hostPostCommands}` + "\n" + "=================================")
    console.log("=========================" + "\n" + `${ankaCommands}` + "\n" + "=================================")
    if (hostPreCommands) {
      await execute.nodeCommands(hostPreCommands)
    }
    // Prepare VM
    await prepare.ankaRegistryPull(ankaTemplate,ankaTag)
    // Run commands inside VM
    // Cleanup
    if (hostPostCommands) {
      await execute.nodeCommands(hostPostCommands)
    }
  } catch (error) {
    core.setFailed(error);
  }
}

run()

and finally, the important part of my .github/workflows/test.yml:

    - name: basic commands
      id: basic
      uses: ./
      with:
        commands: |
          env
          ls -laht ./
          ls -laht ../
          pwd
          echo "HERE" && \
          echo "THERE HERE WHERE"

Yet, there is no failure for missing anka-template… It fails for a reason inside of the ankaRegistryPull function which is well after it tries to load the input.

https://help.github.com/en/actions/creating-actions/metadata-syntax-for-github-actions#inputs seems to indicate that it shouldn’t allow the action to run if it’s missing that input.

What am I missing?

[anukul]

So what’s the point of required? 🤔

[aggenebbisj]

I just ran into the same issue. Have to say it’s quite unexpected to mark something as required and then finding out it blows up silently. Especially since toolkit is the official GitHub toolkit for actions.

we could also fail the step if the required inputs are not set.

I think this would make a lot of sense 😃