Usage guidelines for triggers and branches

This section describes some of the main guidelines when setting up Amazon CodeCatalyst triggers that include branches.

For more information about triggers, see Starting a workflow run automatically using triggers.

• Guideline 1: For both push and pull request triggers, if you are going to specify a branch, you must specify the destination (or 'to') branch in the trigger configuration. Never specify the source (or 'from') branch.

  In the following example, a push from any branch to main activates the workflow.

  Triggers:
    - Type: PUSH
      Branches:
        - main

  In the following example, a pull request from any branch into main activates the workflow.

  Triggers:
    - Type: PULLREQUEST
      Branches:
        - main
      Events:
        - OPEN
        - REVISION

• Guideline 2: For push triggers, after the workflow is activated, the workflow will run using the workflow definition file and source files in the destination branch.

• Guideline 3: For pull request triggers, after the workflow is activated, the workflow will run using the workflow definition file and source files in the source branch (even though you specified the destination branch in the trigger configuration).

• Guideline 4: The exact same trigger in one branch might not run in another branch.

  Consider the following push trigger:

  Triggers:
    - Type: PUSH
      Branches:
        - main

  If the workflow definition file containing this trigger exists in main and gets cloned to test, the workflow will never start automatically using the files in test (although you could start the workflow manually to have it use the files in test). Review Guideline 2 to understand why the workflow will never run automatically using the files in test.

  Consider also the following pull request trigger:

  Triggers:
    - Type: PULLREQUEST
      Branches:
        - main
      Events:
        - OPEN
        - REVISION

  If the workflow definition file containing this trigger exists in main, the workflow will never run using the files in main. (However, if you create a test branch off of main, the workflow will run using the files in test.) Review Guideline 3 to understand why.