--- title: Run, Cancel And Re-Run Your Software Builds... description: GitHub Actions exposes an API that lets other software, or an AI assistant, start, watch, cancel and clean up CI/CD builds without manual clicking. The API... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/run-cancel-and-re-run-your-software-builds-automatically-with-github-actions-huuvxro5k twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: Run, Cancel And Re-Run Your Software Builds Automatically With GitHub Actions | daily.dev og:description: GitHub Actions exposes an API that lets other software, or an AI assistant, start, watch, cancel and clean up CI/CD builds without manual clicking. The API... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/run-cancel-and-re-run-your-software-builds-automatically-with-github-actions-huuvxro5k og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/HUuvxro5K.png og:image:alt: Run, Cancel And Re-Run Your Software Builds Automatically With GitHub Actions og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Run, Cancel And Re-Run Your Software Builds Automatically With GitHub Actions **[API Evangelist](https://daily.dev/sources/apievangelist)** · 5 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary GitHub Actions exposes an API that lets other software, or an AI assistant, start, watch, cancel and clean up CI/CD builds without manual clicking. The API covers dispatching and canceling workflow runs, reading logs, artifacts and caches, rotating encrypted secrets and variables, and managing self-hosted runners. APIs.io catalogs 11 Arazzo workflows for it, including dispatching and tracking a run, inspecting failed job logs, re-running only failed jobs, canceling a run, approving pending deployments and pruning repository caches. GitHub Actions has a free tier with self-serve signup; authentication requires tokens explained in GitHub's authentication guide. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### How do I trigger a GitHub Actions workflow run through the API instead of clicking the button in the UI? Send a POST request to /repos/{owner}/{repo}/actions/workflows/{workflow_id}/dispatches, which starts the specified workflow on demand. This lets other systems, such as a ticketing tool or a scheduler, kick off builds automatically. You can pair it with GET /repos/{owner}/{repo}/actions/workflows/{workflow_id}/runs to check the run history afterward. _Developers wiring CI triggers into other systems can find endpoint references like this one through daily.dev._ ### Can I delete a GitHub repository secret using the API if it leaks? Yes, send a DELETE request to /repos/{owner}/{repo}/actions/secrets/{secret_name} to remove a leaked secret. You can also list secret names without exposing values via GET /repos/{owner}/{repo}/actions/secrets, and rotate a value with PUT to the same secret name endpoint, useful when a key leaks or a staff member leaves. _Teams handling credential rotation across many repos track API references like this on daily.dev._ ### How do I automatically re-run only the failed jobs in a GitHub Actions workflow run? A prebuilt workflow called 'Re-run Failed Jobs and Track' finds the most recent failed run, re-runs only the jobs that failed within it, and waits for the result, rather than re-running the entire workflow from scratch. It pairs with a separate 'Inspect Failed Job Logs' workflow that finds the latest failed run and job and retrieves its log. _Engineers tired of manually hunting failed build logs can surface automation patterns like this via daily.dev._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [GitHub Agentic Workflows](https://daily.dev/posts/github-agentic-workflows-6xigduvrg) · Hacker News · 1 upvotes · 0 comments - [GitHub Actions alternative: Run Actions on CircleCI \(open preview\)](https://daily.dev/posts/github-actions-alternative-run-actions-on-circleci-open-preview--dcba6vjnb) · CircleCI · 1 upvotes · 0 comments - [GitHub Agentic Workflows generally available](https://daily.dev/posts/github-agentic-workflows-generally-available-ahp2ieyzc) · GitHub Changelog · 0 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#devops](https://daily.dev/tags/devops), [#architecture](https://daily.dev/tags/architecture), [#cicd](https://daily.dev/tags/cicd), [#github-actions](https://daily.dev/tags/github-actions), [#secrets-management](https://daily.dev/tags/secrets-management) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/run-cancel-and-re-run-your-software-builds-automatically-with-github-actions-huuvxro5k) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"Run, Cancel And Re-Run Your Software Builds Automatically With GitHub Actions","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/run-cancel-and-re-run-your-software-builds-automatically-with-github-actions-huuvxro5k","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/run-cancel-and-re-run-your-software-builds-automatically-with-github-actions-huuvxro5k"},"datePublished":"2026-10-30T14:31:57.836Z","dateModified":"2026-10-30T14:32:26.022Z","description":"GitHub Actions exposes an API that lets other software, or an AI assistant, start, watch, cancel and clean up CI/CD builds without manual clicking. 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