GitHub· Copilot

Reference same-repository actions with self-repository syntax

You can now reference an action or reusable workflow that lives in the same repository using the new self-repository syntax. A uses: value that starts with $/ resolves to your workflow’s own repository at the exact commit that is running, with no checkout required. It works everywhere the workspace-relative ./ syntax works, including workflow steps, composite action steps, nested composition, and reusable workflow calls. Before this, referencing an action defined in your own repository meant either relying on ./ and a checkout, or hardcoding a version. This was a maintenance burden and quietly defeated commit SHA pinning. With self-repository references, sibling actions and workflows automatically match the ref you are already running, so your internal references stay consistent even when callers pin to a full-length commit SHA. This also makes it possible to adopt the enterprise policy that requires actions to be pinned to a full-length commit SHA for workflows that call their own actions. Self-repository references are now the recommended way to compose actions and reusable workflows within a repository. They are available on github.com. …

Announced

30 Jul 2026 17:39 UTC