Ijay

Posted on Aug 12

How to Automatically Email Daily Quotes Using GitHub Actions

#automation #github #quote #programming

Daily Inspirational Quote GitHub Action: Bringing a Little Motivation to Your Workflows

Hi everyone! I’m excited to share something I built recently: the Daily Inspirational Quote GitHub Action. I’m not a fan of hype, so here’s the real story behind it.

Why I Made This

If you’re like me. I’ve always liked getting a quick pick-me-up during the day—a message or quote that makes me pause and smile. That’s where the idea for this action came from: I wanted something simple that would send out a fresh quote to my inbox, just to lighten my mood for the day and keep me going.
👉 Check out this LinkedIn post to read more about my project.

What It Does

Grabs a new inspirational quote every day.
Sends it where you want—your email.
It’s quick to set up, works with any repo, and doesn’t try to do too much.

This isn’t a huge productivity booster or some magic bullet for culture. It’s just a small, nice thing I wanted in my projects—and now you can use it too.

How to Use It

Here’s a basic example of how to add it to your workflow:

Set up your email or notification target.
Schedule it for whenever you like.
That’s pretty much it.

For more details, check out the wiki or my GitHub repo

What You’ll Get

A message like this, delivered daily:

"The best way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing."

— Walt Disney

Or something similar.

Who Might Like This

Teams who want something light in their day.
Anyone who thinks a small dose of inspiration can’t hurt.

Want to Try It?

If this sounds like something your team (or just you) would enjoy, check it out:

If you have suggestions to make it better, feel free to open an issue.

🛠️ How Does It Work? (For the Curious)

The action triggers on a schedule, fetches a quote, and sends it to you—either by email or in your workflow log.

See technical details

Here’s what’s going on under the hood:

Workflow Trigger: Runs on a schedule or manually.
Main Script: Grabs a quote from an API or built-in list.
Notification: Sends the quote to your email (if configured) or just logs it in the workflow.
Secrets & Config: Uses GitHub Secrets to keep sensitive info safe.
Error Handling: If something fails (like the quote API or email), you'll see a clear error.

flowchart TD
    User --> GitHubActions
    GitHubActions -->|Fetches quote| ZenQuotesAPI
    GitHubActions -->|Sends email| GmailSMTP
    GmailSMTP -->|Delivers| UserEmail

Thanks for taking the time to read! I hope this GitHub Action brings a little positivity to your day, just as it does for me. 😊

If you found this post helpful, feel free to share it with someone who might enjoy it too.

Want to keep up with my projects and journey?
Stay informed about my projects by following me on Twitter, LinkedIn, and GitHub.

Thank you for reading.

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