Quickstart: Use GitHub Actions to connect to Azure Database for PostgreSQL - Flexible Server

APPLIES TO: Azure Database for PostgreSQL - Flexible Server

Get started with GitHub Actions by using a workflow to deploy database updates to Azure Database for PostgreSQL flexible server.

Prerequisites

You need:

Workflow file overview

A GitHub Actions workflow is defined by a YAML (.yml) file in the /.github/workflows/ path in your repository. This definition contains the various steps and parameters that make up the workflow.

The file has two sections:

Section Tasks
Authentication 1. Generate deployment credentials.
Deploy 1. Deploy the database.

Generate deployment credentials

Create a service principal with the az ad sp create-for-rbac command in the Azure CLI. Run this command with Azure Cloud Shell in the Azure portal or by selecting the Try it button.

az ad sp create-for-rbac --name "myML" --role contributor \
                            --scopes /subscriptions/<subscription-id>/resourceGroups/<group-name> \
                            --json-auth

The parameter --json-auth is available in Azure CLI versions >= 2.51.0. Versions prior to this use --sdk-auth with a deprecation warning.

In the example above, replace the placeholders with your subscription ID, resource group name, and app name. The output is a JSON object with the role assignment credentials that provide access to your App Service app similar to below. Copy this JSON object for later.

  {
    "clientId": "<GUID>",
    "clientSecret": "<GUID>",
    "subscriptionId": "<GUID>",
    "tenantId": "<GUID>",
    (...)
  }

Copy the Azure Database for PostgreSQL flexible server connection string

In the Azure portal, go to your Azure Database for PostgreSQL flexible server instance and from the resource menu, under Settings, select Connect. In that page, use the Database name combo box to select the name of the database you want to connect to. Expand the Connect from your app section, and copy ADO.NET connection string, and replace the placeholder value {your_password} with your actual password. The connection string looks similar to this.

Server={servername.postgres.database.azure.com};Database={your_database};Port=5432;User Id={adminusername};Password={your_password};Ssl Mode=Require;

You use the connection string as a GitHub secret.

Configure the GitHub secrets

  1. In GitHub, go to your repository.

  2. Go to Settings in the navigation menu.

  3. Select Security > Secrets and variables > Actions.

    Screenshot of adding a secret

  4. Select New repository secret.

  5. Paste the entire JSON output from the Azure CLI command into the secret's value field. Give the secret the name AZURE_CREDENTIALS.

  6. Select Add secret.

Add your workflow

  1. Go to Actions for your GitHub repository.

  2. Select Set up your workflow yourself.

  3. Delete everything after the on: section of your workflow file. For example, your remaining workflow may look like this.

    name: CI
    
    on:
    push:
        branches: [ main ]
    pull_request:
        branches: [ main ]
    
  4. Rename your workflow PostgreSQL for GitHub Actions and add the checkout and sign in actions. These actions check out your site code and authenticate with Azure using the GitHub secret(s) you created earlier.

    name: PostgreSQL for GitHub Actions
    
    on:
    push:
        branches: [ main ]
    pull_request:
        branches: [ main ]
    
    jobs:
    build:
        runs-on: ubuntu-latest
        steps:
        - uses: actions/checkout@v1
        - uses: azure/login@v1
        with:
            creds: ${{ secrets.AZURE_CREDENTIALS }}
    
  5. Use the Azure PostgreSQL Deploy action to connect to your Azure Database for PostgreSQL flexible server instance. Replace POSTGRESQL_SERVER_NAME with the name of your server. You should have an Azure Database for PostgreSQL flexible server data file named data.sql at the root level of your repository.

     - uses: azure/postgresql@v1
       with:
        connection-string: ${{ secrets.AZURE_POSTGRESQL_CONNECTION_STRING }}
        server-name: POSTGRESQL_SERVER_NAME
        plsql-file: './data.sql'
    
  6. Complete your workflow by adding an action to sign out of Azure. Here's the completed workflow. The file appears in the .github/workflows folder of your repository.

    name: PostgreSQL for GitHub Actions
    
    on:
    push:
        branches: [ main ]
    pull_request:
        branches: [ main ]
    
    
    jobs:
    build:
        runs-on: ubuntu-latest
        steps:
        - uses: actions/checkout@v1
        - uses: azure/login@v1
        with:
            client-id: ${{ secrets.AZURE_CREDENTIALS }}
    
    - uses: azure/postgresql@v1
      with:
        server-name: POSTGRESQL_SERVER_NAME
        connection-string: ${{ secrets.AZURE_POSTGRESQL_CONNECTION_STRING }}
        plsql-file: './data.sql'
    
        # Azure logout
    - name: logout
      run: |
         az logout
    

Review your deployment

  1. Go to Actions for your GitHub repository.

  2. Open the first result to see detailed logs of your workflow's run.

    Log of GitHub Actions run.

Clean up resources

When your Azure Database for PostgreSQL flexible server database and repository are no longer needed, clean up the resources you deployed by deleting the resource group and your GitHub repository.

Next steps