Configure GitHub for Dev.to Publishing

Configure GitHub for Dev.to Publishing

1. Prepare Your Dev.to Account

Generate a Dev.to API Key

• Go to your Dev.to account.
• Navigate to Settings > Account > Extensions > API Key.
• Generate a new API key and copy it.

2. Create a GitHub Repository

Create a New Repository

• Go to GitHub and create a new repository.
• Give it a meaningful name (e.g., blog).

Set Up the Repository Structure

• Clone the repository to your local machine:

  git clone https://github.com/<your-username>/<repository-name>.git
  cd <repository-name>

It's always a best practice to create a branch and work from it.

  git branch <branch-name> initial-build
  git checkout <branch-name>

• Create a folder named "articles" to store your Markdown files:

  mkdir articles

After creating the folder, the repository structure should look like this:

  .
  ├── articles
  ├── LICENSE
  └── README.md

3. Add Your Dev.to API Key to GitHub Secrets

Go to Repository Settings

• Navigate to "Settings" > "Secrets and variables" > "Actions" > "New repository secret".

Add a Secret

• Name the secret "DEVTO_TOKEN".
• Paste the "Dev.to" API key from the previous step.

4. Create a GitHub Actions Workflow

Create a Workflow File

• Set up the folder structure for GitHub Actions workflows:

  mkdir -p .github/workflows
  touch .github/workflows/markdown-lint.yml
  touch .github/workflows/devto-publisher.yml

  .
  ├── .github
  │   └── workflows
  │       ├── markdown-lint.yml
  │       └── devto-publisher.yml
  ├── articles
  ├── LICENSE
  └── README.md

Configure markdown-lint.yml

• Update the "markdown-lint.yml" file with the following contents:

  name: markdown-lint

  on:
    push:
      branches:
        - "**"
    pull_request:
      paths:
        - "**/*.md"

  jobs:
    markdown-lint:
      runs-on: ubuntu-latest
      steps:
        - name: Checkout code
          uses: actions/checkout@v4

        - name: Install markdownlint
          run: npm install -g markdownlint-cli@0.41.0

        - name: Run markdownlint
          env:
            CONFIG: |
              {
                "comment": "Default rules",
                "default": true,
                "whitespace": true,
                "line_length": false,
                "ul-start-left": true,
                "ul-indent": true,
                "no-inline-html": true,
                "no-bare-urls": true,
                "fenced-code-language": true,
                "first-line-h1": true,
                "no-duplicate-header": true,
                "no-emphasis-as-header": true,
                "single-h1": true
              }
          run: |
            CONFIG_FILE="$(mktemp)"
            echo "$CONFIG" > "$CONFIG_FILE"
            markdownlint '**/*.md' --ignore node_modules -c "$CONFIG_FILE"

Configure devto-publisher.yml

• Update the "devto-publisher.yml" file with the following contents:

  name: Dev.to Publisher

  on:
    push:
      branches:
        - "**"
      paths:
        - "articles/**/*.md"

  jobs:
    publish:
      runs-on: ubuntu-latest

      steps:
        - name: Checkout code
          uses: actions/checkout@v4

        - name: Set dry-run mode based on branch
          id: dry_run_check
          run: |
            if [[ "${{ github.ref_name }}" == "main" ]]; then
              echo "dry_run=false" >> $GITHUB_ENV
            else
              echo "dry_run=true" >> $GITHUB_ENV
            fi

        - name: Publish articles to Dev.to
          uses: sinedied/publish-devto@v2
          with:
            devto_key: ${{ secrets.DEVTO_TOKEN }}
            github_token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
            files: "articles/**/*.md"
            branch: ${{ env.CURRENT_BRANCH }}
            conventional_commits: true
            dry_run: ${{ env.dry_run }}

Summary

• The "markdown-lint.yml" workflow ensures Markdown files are formatted correctly.
• The "devto-publisher.yml" workflow automates publishing Markdown articles located in the articles directory to your Dev.to account.

5. Push the branch to GitHub

• Execute

git add --all
git commit -m "feat: add GitHub Actions workflows for publishing to Dev.to" \
  -m "Configure automation with markdown linting and article publishing workflows."
git push origin <branch-name>

6. Create a Pull Request (PR)

Go to Your Repository in GitHub

• Visit your repository on GitHub.

Navigate to the "Pull Requests" Tab

• Click on the "Pull Requests" tab at the top of the repository page.

Click "New Pull Request"

• Select the "New Pull Request" button.

Select Branches

• Base branch: Choose the branch you want to merge into (e.g., main or production).
• Compare branch: Select the <branch-name> branch.

Review Changes

• Review the list of commits and the files changed to ensure they are correct.

Add a Title and Description

• Provide a concise and descriptive title (e.g., feat: Add GitHub Actions for Dev.to publishing).
• Add any necessary details in the description box (e.g., reasons for changes, references to issues, etc.).

Review and Approve the PR

• Self-Review or Request Reviews.

Merge the Pull Request

• Navigate to the PR you just created.
• Click "Merge Pull Request".
• Click "Confirm merge".

7. Test and Validate the Workflow

• You might to go have and forth to fix issues other than testing the workflow.