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Automatically redelivering failed deliveries for an organization webhook

Automatically redeliver for organization

You can write a script to handle failed deliveries of an organization webhook.

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Webhooks

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/webhooks/using-webhooks/creating-a-script-to-automatically-redeliver-failed-deliveries-for-an-organization-webhook

About automatically redelivering failed deliveries

This article describes how to write a script to find and redeliver failed deliveries for an organization webhook. For more information about failed deliveries, see "AUTOTITLE."

This example shows you:

A script that will find and redeliver failed deliveries for an organization webhook
What credentials your script will need, and how to store the credentials securely as {% data variables.product.prodname_actions %} secrets
A {% data variables.product.prodname_actions %} workflow that can securely access your credentials and run the script periodically

This example uses {% data variables.product.prodname_actions %}, but you can also run this script on your server that handles webhook deliveries. For more information, see "Alternative methods."

Storing credentials for the script

The built in GITHUB_TOKEN does not have sufficient permissions to redeliver webhooks. Instead of using GITHUB_TOKEN, this example uses a {% data variables.product.pat_generic %}. Alternatively, instead of creating a {% data variables.product.pat_generic %}, you can create a {% data variables.product.prodname_github_app %} and use the app's credentials to create an installation access token during the {% data variables.product.prodname_actions %} workflow. For more information, see "AUTOTITLE."

Create a {% data variables.product.pat_generic %} with the following access. For more information, see "AUTOTITLE."
- For a {% data variables.product.pat_v2 %}:
  - Set resource owner to be the organization where your webhook was created
  - Grant the token access to the repository where this workflow will run
  - Grant the token write access to the organization webhooks permission
  - Grant the token write access to the repository variables permission
- For a {% data variables.product.pat_v1 %}, grant the token the admin:org_hook and repo scope.
Store your {% data variables.product.pat_generic %} as a {% data variables.product.prodname_actions %} secret in the repository where you want the workflow to run. For more information, see "AUTOTITLE."

Adding a workflow that will run the script

This section demonstrates how you can use a {% data variables.product.prodname_actions %} workflow to securely access the credentials that you stored in the previous section, set environment variables, and periodically run a script to find and redeliver failed deliveries.

Copy this {% data variables.product.prodname_actions %} workflow into a YAML file in the .github/workflows directory in the repository where you want the workflow to run. Replace the placeholders in the Run script step as described below.

#
name: Redeliver failed webhook deliveries

# This workflow runs every 6 hours or when manually triggered.
on:
  schedule:
    - cron: '15 */6 * * *'
  workflow_dispatch:

# This workflow will use the built in `GITHUB_TOKEN` to check out the repository contents. This grants `GITHUB_TOKEN` permission to do that.
permissions:
  contents: read

#
jobs:
  redeliver-failed-deliveries:
    name: Redeliver failed deliveries
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      # This workflow will run a script that is stored in the repository. This step checks out the repository contents so that the workflow can access the script.
      - name: Check out repo content
        uses: {% data reusables.actions.action-checkout %}

      # This step sets up Node.js. The script that this workflow will run uses Node.js.
      - name: Setup Node.js
        uses: {% data reusables.actions.action-setup-node %}
        with:
          node-version: '18.x'

      # This step installs the octokit library. The script that this workflow will run uses the octokit library.
      - name: Install dependencies
        run: npm install octokit

      # This step sets some environment variables, then runs a script to find and redeliver failed webhook deliveries.
      # - Replace `YOUR_SECRET_NAME` with the name of the secret where you stored your {% data variables.product.pat_generic %}.
      # - Replace `YOUR_ORGANIZATION_NAME` with the name of the organization where the webhook was created.
      # - Replace `YOUR_HOOK_ID` with the ID of the webhook.
      # - Replace `YOUR_LAST_REDELIVERY_VARIABLE_NAME` with the name that you want to use for a configuration variable that will be stored in the repository where this workflow is stored. The name can be any string that contains only alphanumeric characters and `_`, and does not start with `GITHUB_` or a number. For more information, see "[AUTOTITLE](/actions/learn-github-actions/variables#defining-configuration-variables-for-multiple-workflows)."
      {% ifversion ghes %}# - Replace `YOUR_HOSTNAME` with the name of {% data variables.location.product_location %}.{% endif %}
      - name: Run script
        env:
          TOKEN: {% raw %}${{ secrets.YOUR_SECRET_NAME }}{% endraw %}
          ORGANIZATION_NAME: 'YOUR_ORGANIZATION_NAME'
          HOOK_ID: 'YOUR_HOOK_ID'
          LAST_REDELIVERY_VARIABLE_NAME: 'YOUR_LAST_REDELIVERY_VARIABLE_NAME'
          {% ifversion ghes %}HOSTNAME: 'YOUR_HOSTNAME'{% endif %}
          WORKFLOW_REPO_NAME: {% raw %}${{ github.event.repository.name }}{% endraw %}
          WORKFLOW_REPO_OWNER: {% raw %}${{ github.repository_owner }}{% endraw %}
        run: |
          node .github/workflows/scripts/redeliver-failed-deliveries.js

Adding the script

This section demonstrates how you can write a script to find and redeliver failed deliveries.

Copy this script into a file called .github/workflows/scripts/redeliver-failed-deliveries.js in the same repository where you saved the {% data variables.product.prodname_actions %} workflow file above.

// This script uses {% data variables.product.company_short %}'s Octokit SDK to make API requests. For more information, see "[AUTOTITLE](/rest/guides/scripting-with-the-rest-api-and-javascript)."
const { Octokit } = require("octokit");

//
async function checkAndRedeliverWebhooks() {
  // Get the values of environment variables that were set by the {% data variables.product.prodname_actions %} workflow.
  const TOKEN = process.env.TOKEN;
  const ORGANIZATION_NAME = process.env.ORGANIZATION_NAME;
  const HOOK_ID = process.env.HOOK_ID;
  const LAST_REDELIVERY_VARIABLE_NAME = process.env.LAST_REDELIVERY_VARIABLE_NAME;
  {% ifversion ghes %}const HOSTNAME = process.env.HOSTNAME;{% endif %}
  const WORKFLOW_REPO_NAME = process.env.WORKFLOW_REPO_NAME;
  const WORKFLOW_REPO_OWNER = process.env.WORKFLOW_REPO_OWNER;

  // Create an instance of `Octokit` using the token{% ifversion ghes %} and hostname{% endif %} values that were set in the {% data variables.product.prodname_actions %} workflow.
  const octokit = new Octokit({ {% ifversion ghes %}
    baseUrl: "{% data variables.product.rest_url %}",{% endif %}
    auth: TOKEN,
  });

  try {
    // Get the last time that this script ran from the configuration variable. If the variable is not defined, use the current time minus 24 hours.
    const lastStoredRedeliveryTime = await getVariable({
      variableName: LAST_REDELIVERY_VARIABLE_NAME,
      repoOwner: WORKFLOW_REPO_OWNER,
      repoName: WORKFLOW_REPO_NAME,
      octokit,
    });
    const lastWebhookRedeliveryTime = lastStoredRedeliveryTime || (Date.now() - (24 * 60 * 60 * 1000)).toString();

    // Record the time that this script started redelivering webhooks.
    const newWebhookRedeliveryTime = Date.now().toString();

    // Get the webhook deliveries that were delivered after `lastWebhookRedeliveryTime`.
    const deliveries = await fetchWebhookDeliveriesSince({
      lastWebhookRedeliveryTime,
      organizationName: ORGANIZATION_NAME,
      hookId: HOOK_ID,
      octokit,
    });

    // Consolidate deliveries that have the same globally unique identifier (GUID). The GUID is constant across redeliveries of the same delivery.
    let deliveriesByGuid = {};
    for (const delivery of deliveries) {
      deliveriesByGuid[delivery.guid]
        ? deliveriesByGuid[delivery.guid].push(delivery)
        : (deliveriesByGuid[delivery.guid] = [delivery]);
    }

    // For each GUID value, if no deliveries for that GUID have been successfully delivered within the time frame, get the delivery ID of one of the deliveries with that GUID.
    //
    // This will prevent duplicate redeliveries if a delivery has failed multiple times.
    // This will also prevent redelivery of failed deliveries that have already been successfully redelivered.
    let failedDeliveryIDs = [];
    for (const guid in deliveriesByGuid) {
      const deliveries = deliveriesByGuid[guid];
      const anySucceeded = deliveries.some(
        (delivery) => delivery.status === "OK"
      );
      if (!anySucceeded) {
        failedDeliveryIDs.push(deliveries[0].id);
      }
    }

    // Redeliver any failed deliveries.
    for (const deliveryId of failedDeliveryIDs) {
      await redeliverWebhook({
        deliveryId,
        organizationName: ORGANIZATION_NAME,
        hookId: HOOK_ID,
        octokit,
      });
    }

    // Update the configuration variable (or create the variable if it doesn't already exist) to store the time that this script started.
    // This value will be used next time this script runs.
    await updateVariable({
      variableName: LAST_REDELIVERY_VARIABLE_NAME,
      value: newWebhookRedeliveryTime,
      variableExists: Boolean(lastStoredRedeliveryTime),
      repoOwner: WORKFLOW_REPO_OWNER,
      repoName: WORKFLOW_REPO_NAME,
      octokit,
    });

    // Log the number of redeliveries.
    console.log(
      `Redelivered ${
        failedDeliveryIDs.length
      } failed webhook deliveries out of ${
        deliveries.length
      } total deliveries since ${Date(lastWebhookRedeliveryTime)}.`
    );
  } catch (error) {
    // If there was an error, log the error so that it appears in the workflow run log, then throw the error so that the workflow run registers as a failure.
    if (error.response) {
      console.error(
        `Failed to check and redeliver webhooks: ${error.response.data.message}`
      );
    }
    console.error(error);
    throw(error);
  }
}

// This function will fetch all of the webhook deliveries that were delivered since `lastWebhookRedeliveryTime`.
// It uses the `octokit.paginate.iterator()` method to iterate through paginated results. For more information, see "[AUTOTITLE](/rest/guides/scripting-with-the-rest-api-and-javascript#making-paginated-requests)."
//
// If a page of results includes deliveries that occurred before `lastWebhookRedeliveryTime`,
// it will store only the deliveries that occurred after `lastWebhookRedeliveryTime` and then stop.
// Otherwise, it will store all of the deliveries from the page and request the next page.
async function fetchWebhookDeliveriesSince({
  lastWebhookRedeliveryTime,
  organizationName,
  hookId,
  octokit,
}) {
  const iterator = octokit.paginate.iterator(
    "GET /orgs/{org}/hooks/{hook_id}/deliveries",
    {
      org: organizationName,
      hook_id: hookId,
      per_page: 100,
      headers: {
        "x-github-api-version": "{{ allVersions[currentVersion].latestApiVersion }}",
      },
    }
  );

  const deliveries = [];

  for await (const { data } of iterator) {
    const oldestDeliveryTimestamp = new Date(
      data[data.length - 1].delivered_at
    ).getTime();

    if (oldestDeliveryTimestamp < lastWebhookRedeliveryTime) {
      for (const delivery of data) {
        if (
          new Date(delivery.delivered_at).getTime() > lastWebhookRedeliveryTime
        ) {
          deliveries.push(delivery);
        } else {
          break;
        }
      }
      break;
    } else {
      deliveries.push(...data);
    }
  }

  return deliveries;
}

// This function will redeliver a failed webhook delivery.
async function redeliverWebhook({
  deliveryId,
  organizationName,
  hookId,
  octokit,
}) {
  await octokit.request(
    "POST /orgs/{org}/hooks/{hook_id}/deliveries/{delivery_id}/attempts",
    {
      org: organizationName,
      hook_id: hookId,
      delivery_id: deliveryId,
    }
  );
}

// This function gets the value of a configuration variable.
// If the variable does not exist, the endpoint returns a 404 response and this function returns `undefined`.
async function getVariable({ variableName, repoOwner, repoName, octokit }) {
  try {
    const {
      data: { value },
    } = await octokit.request(
      "GET /repos/{owner}/{repo}/actions/variables/{name}",
      {
        owner: repoOwner,
        repo: repoName,
        name: variableName,
      }
    );
    return value;
  } catch (error) {
    if (error.status === 404) {
      return undefined;
    } else {
      throw error;
    }
  }
}

// This function will update a configuration variable (or create the variable if it doesn't already exist). For more information, see "[AUTOTITLE](/actions/learn-github-actions/variables#defining-configuration-variables-for-multiple-workflows)."
async function updateVariable({
  variableName,
  value,
  variableExists,
  repoOwner,
  repoName,
  octokit,
}) {
  if (variableExists) {
    await octokit.request(
      "PATCH /repos/{owner}/{repo}/actions/variables/{name}",
      {
        owner: repoOwner,
        repo: repoName,
        name: variableName,
        value: value,
      }
    );
  } else {
    await octokit.request("POST /repos/{owner}/{repo}/actions/variables", {
      owner: repoOwner,
      repo: repoName,
      name: variableName,
      value: value,
    });
  }
}

// This will execute the `checkAndRedeliverWebhooks` function.
(async () => {
  await checkAndRedeliverWebhooks();
})();

Testing the script

You can manually trigger your workflow to test the script. For more information, see "AUTOTITLE" and "AUTOTITLE."

Alternative methods

This example used {% data variables.product.prodname_actions %} to securely store credentials and to run the script on a schedule. However, if you prefer to run this script on your server than handles webhook deliveries, you can:

Store the credentials in another secure manner, such as a secret manager like Azure key vault. You will also need to update the script to access the credentials from their new location.
Run the script on a schedule on your server, for example by using a cron job or task scheduler.
Update the script to store the last run time somewhere that your server can access and update. If you choose not to store the last run time as a {% data variables.product.prodname_actions %} secret, you can remove the API calls to access and update the configuration variable.

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automatically-redelivering-failed-deliveries-for-an-organization-webhook.md

automatically-redelivering-failed-deliveries-for-an-organization-webhook.md

About automatically redelivering failed deliveries

Storing credentials for the script

Adding a workflow that will run the script

Adding the script

Testing the script

Alternative methods

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automatically-redelivering-failed-deliveries-for-an-organization-webhook.md

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automatically-redelivering-failed-deliveries-for-an-organization-webhook.md

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About automatically redelivering failed deliveries

Storing credentials for the script

Adding a workflow that will run the script

Adding the script

Testing the script

Alternative methods