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no-pre-if-without-pre

Rule catalog ID: R045

Targeted pattern scopeโ€‹

Action metadata runs.pre-if declarations.

What this rule reportsโ€‹

Reports runs.pre-if when runs.pre is missing.

Why this rule existsโ€‹

pre-if has no effect unless a pre hook exists.

โŒ Incorrectโ€‹

runs:
  using: node20
  main: dist/index.js
  pre-if: runner.os == 'Linux'

โœ… Correctโ€‹

runs:
  using: node20
  pre: dist/setup.js
  pre-if: runner.os == 'Linux'
  main: dist/index.js

Behavior and migration notesโ€‹

The autofixer removes the orphaned runs.pre-if line because that key has no effect without runs.pre. If you meant to run setup conditionally, add the missing runs.pre hook after applying the fix.

Additional examplesโ€‹

For larger repositories, this rule is often enabled together with one of the published presets so violations are caught in pull requests before workflow changes are merged.

ESLint flat config exampleโ€‹

import githubActions from "eslint-plugin-github-actions-2";

export default [
  {
    files: ["**/*.{yml,yaml}"],
    plugins: {
      "github-actions": githubActions,
    },
    rules: {
      "github-actions/no-pre-if-without-pre": "error",
    },
  },
];

When not to use itโ€‹

You can disable this rule when its policy does not match your repository standards, or when equivalent enforcement is already handled by another policy tool.

Further readingโ€‹