# Manually running a workflow When a workflow is configured to run on the workflow_dispatch event, you can run the workflow using the Actions tab on GitHub, GitHub CLI, or the REST API. ## Configuring a workflow to run manually To run a workflow manually, the workflow must be configured to run on the `workflow_dispatch` event. To trigger the `workflow_dispatch` event, your workflow must be in the default branch. For more information about configuring the `workflow_dispatch` event, see [Events that trigger workflows](/en/actions/using-workflows/events-that-trigger-workflows#workflow_dispatch). Write access to the repository is required to perform these steps. ## Running a workflow
1. On GitHub, navigate to the main page of the repository. 2. Under your repository name, click ** Actions**. ![Screenshot of the tabs for the "github/docs" repository. The "Actions" tab is highlighted with an orange outline.](/assets/images/help/repository/actions-tab-global-nav-update.png) 3. In the left sidebar, click the name of the workflow you want to run. ![Screenshot of the "Actions" page. In the left sidebar, a workflow name is highlighted with an outline in dark orange.](/assets/images/help/repository/actions-select-workflow-2022.png) 4. Above the list of workflow runs, click the **Run workflow** button. > \[!NOTE] > To see the **Run workflow** button, your workflow file must use the `workflow_dispatch` event trigger. Only workflow files that use the `workflow_dispatch` event trigger will have the option to run the workflow manually using the **Run workflow** button. For more information about configuring the `workflow_dispatch` event, see [Events that trigger workflows](/en/actions/using-workflows/events-that-trigger-workflows#workflow_dispatch). ![Screenshot of a workflow page. Above the list of workflow runs, a button, labeled "Run workflow", is outlined in dark orange.](/assets/images/help/actions/actions-workflow-dispatch.png) 5. Select the **Branch** dropdown menu and click a branch to run the workflow on. 6. If the workflow requires input, fill in the fields. 7. Click **Run workflow**.
> \[!NOTE] > To learn more about GitHub CLI, see [About GitHub CLI](/en/github-cli/github-cli/about-github-cli). To run a workflow, use the `workflow run` subcommand. Replace the `workflow` parameter with either the name, ID, or file name of the workflow you want to run. For example, `"Link Checker"`, `1234567`, or `"link-check-test.yml"`. If you don't specify a workflow, GitHub CLI returns an interactive menu for you to choose a workflow. ```shell gh workflow run WORKFLOW ``` If your workflow accepts inputs, GitHub CLI will prompt you to enter them. Alternatively, you can use `-f` or `-F` to add an input in `key=value` format. Use `-F` to read from a file. ```shell gh workflow run greet.yml -f name=mona -f greeting=hello -F data=@myfile.txt ``` You can also pass inputs as JSON by using standard input. ```shell echo '{"name":"mona", "greeting":"hello"}' | gh workflow run greet.yml --json ``` To run a workflow on a branch other than the repository's default branch, use the `--ref` flag. ```shell gh workflow run WORKFLOW --ref BRANCH ``` To view the progress of the workflow run, use the `run watch` subcommand and select the run from the interactive list. ```shell gh run watch ```
## Running a workflow using the REST API When using the REST API, you configure the `inputs` and `ref` as request body parameters. If the inputs are omitted, the default values defined in the workflow file are used. > \[!NOTE] > You can define up to 25 `inputs` for a `workflow_dispatch` event. For more information about using the REST API, see [REST API endpoints for workflows](/en/rest/actions/workflows#create-a-workflow-dispatch-event).